Forgotten
Author: GamingWolf
Date: 2021-01-02T00:00:00+00:00
Publisher: anonymous

Table Of Contents

- Table Of Contents -

Sacrifice - Chapter 1: The Truest Form of Freedom

Sacrifice - Chapter 2: Adrift in the Void
Sacrifice - Chapter 3: A Memorable Return
Sacrifice - Chapter 4: All the Wrong Choices
Sacrifice - Chapter 5: Scattered Pieces

Interlude - Guides 1: A Village on the Edge of Peril

Lore - Legends 1: The Gods and the Dark Age
Sacrifice - Chapter 6: Intrepid Adventures
Sacrifice - Chapter 7: Winging It
Sacrifice - Chapter 8: Friend or Foe?
Sacrifice - Chapter 9: Encounter

Sacrifice - Chapter 10: Destination and Discovery

Sacrifice - Chapter 11: A Matter of [Status]
Sacrifice - Chapter 12: Reflection
Sacrifice - Chapter 13: Insight

Sacrifice - Chapter 14: Questionable Decisions

Sacrifice - Chapter 15: Disillusions and Decisions

Sacrifice - Chapter 16: Sticks and Stones
Sacrifice - Chapter 17: A Treacherous Road
Sacrifice - Chapter 18: Underway
Sacrifice - Chapter 19: Actualisation
Sacrifice - Chapter 20: Aura
Sacrifice - Chapter 21: Roadside Revelations
Sacrifice - Chapter 22: Rimose
Sacrifice - Chapter 23: Fruitful Conversation
Sacrifice - Chapter 24: Prelude to Conflict

Sacrifice - Chapter 25: Fight for What Is Right

Sacrifice - Chapter 26: Blessed Truth
Sacrifice - Chapter 27: Onwards, to Ebenlowe
Sacrifice - Chapter 28: Into The City

Sacrifice - Chapter 29: Meeting of Consequence

Sacrifice - Chapter 30: Epiphany
Interlude - Maria 1: A Dream Come True
Advent - Chapter 31: Foretold
Advent - Chapter 32: A Little Bit of Faith
Advent - Chapter 33: Of Lies and Prophecies
Advent - Chapter 34: Dreadful Affliction
Advent - Chapter 35: Miracle Worker
Advent - Chapter 36: Pieces of Truth
Advent - Chapter 37: Proper Introductions
Advent - Chapter 38: Framework
Advent - Chapter 39: Mistakes
Advent - Chapter 40: Fragile Reality
Advent - Chapter 41: Burning Anger
Advent - Chapter 42: Harsh Lessons
Advent - Chapter 43: Divine Punishment
Advent - Chapter 44: Atelophobia
Advent - Chapter 45: House Call
Advent - Chapter 46: The Dungeon's Entrance
Advent - Chapter 47: Beginning the Delve
Advent - Chapter 48: New Layer, New Discovery
Advent - Chapter 49: Delving Deep
Advent - Chapter 50: A Chance Meeting
Advent - Chapter 51: The Second Soul

Advent - Chapter 52: The Village in the Dungeon

Advent - Chapter 53: Continuing the Journey
Advent - Chapter 54: The Core
Advent - Chapter 55: Principle of Creation
Crusade - Chapter 56: Decisions Overseen
Crusade - Chapter 57: Law of The First
Crusade - Chapter 58: Over the Moon
Crusade - Chapter 59: A Most Peculiar Journey
Crusade - Chapter 60: One Small Step
Crusade - Chapter 61: Judgement Day
Crusade - Chapter 62: Unhinged
Crusade - Chapter 63: Down the Rabbit Hole
Crusade - Chapter 64: Forced Ascension
Crusade - Chapter 65: Souls and Solutions
Crusade - Chapter 66: Family Talk
Crusade - Chapter 67: Piercing Truth
Crusade - Chapter 68: The Formless
Crusade - Chapter 69: Regret
Crusade - Chapter 70: Forging Bonds
Crusade - Chapter 71: Off On A Visit

Crusade - Chapter 72: An Overdue Visit (and Art)

Crusade - Chapter 73: Broken Magic
Crusade - Chapter 74: Cruel Reminder
Crusade - Chapter 75: A Test of Patience
Crusade - Chapter 76: An Anomaly
Crusade - Chapter 77: Fragility
Crusade - Chapter 78: Unpleasant Choices
Crusade - Chapter 79: An Overdue Talk
Crusade - Chapter 80: Seeds of Hope
Crusade - Chapter 81: A Step into the Open
Crusade - Chapter 82: A Decision Made
Crusade - Chapter 83: Best Served Cold
Crusade - Chapter 84: Turning Point
Crusade - Chapter 85: Heart of Creation

Crusade - Chapter 86: Home Is Where the Heart Is

Crusade - Chapter 87: A Moment of Clarity
Crusade - Chapter 88: Life Returns
Crusade - Chapter 89: Upsetting the Balance
Crusade - Chapter 90: A View Inside
Crusade - Chapter 91: Unforeseen Progress
Crusade - Chapter 92: Past Dues
Crusade - Chapter 93: Audience
Crusade - Chapter 94: Memory’s Clutch
Crusade - Chapter 95: Opening Up
Crusade - Chapter 96: Unseen Ties
Crusade - Chapter 97: Overture
Crusade - Chapter 98: An Agreeable Agreement
Crusade - Chapter 99: Speaking Truth
Revelations - Chapter 100: Growing Trust
Revelations - Chapter 101: Mortal Foundations
Revelations - Chapter 102: First Impressions
Revelations - Chapter 103: Social Climate

Revelations - Chapter 104: Holding All the Cards

Revelations - Chapter 105: Evocation
Revelations - Chapter 106: Memento Mori
Revelations - Chapter 107: Out of Bounds
Revelations - Chapter 108: Embrace
Revelations - Chapter 109: A Class Act
Revelations - Chapter 110: Puzzling Progress

Revelations - Chapter 111: Focused Distraction

Revelations - Chapter 112: Matters of the Heart

Revelations - Chapter 113: To Foderys

Revelations - Chapter 114: Cake and Conversation

Revelations - Chapter 115: Beyond Her Ken
Revelations - Chapter 116: The Black Pearl
Revelations - Chapter 117: Finders, Keepers

Revelations - Chapter 118: Reading into Things

Revelations - Chapter 119: Reunion
Revelations - Chapter 120: Shades of Memory
Revelations - Chapter 121: Moria's Memory
Revelations - Chapter 122: A New Directive

Side Story - Neria 1: Ancestral Call (And a New Cover!)

Side Story – Neria 2: Induction
Side Story - Neria 3: Newfound Strength
Side Story - Neria 4: The Fight At Hand
Revelations - Chapter 123: Sua Sponte
Revelations - Chapter 124: Pro Hac Vice
Side Story - Moric 1: Woes of the Dead

Sacrifice - Chapter 1: The Truest Form of Freedom

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Finally! How long I have waited for this day!

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

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

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

A few of the passing servants – mostly slaves like herself – stopped to give Aperio a pitying look before hurriedly moving on. The Elf herself didn’t care about the others. To her, it made little difference if they hated or pitied her. It wouldn’t change anything about her life, past or present.

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

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

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

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

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

Ugh.

Her clipped ears were – despite being one of the less painful ‘treatments’ – by far the thing she hated the most about what she saw. She wasn’t the only one they had done it to either. Every Elven slave they had would have their ears cut to be ‘closer to perfection’, as the Emperor put it.

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

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

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

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

A few minutes passed and a man by the door cleared his throat before yelling, “His Imperial Highness! Emperor Jenario Xenthis!” Following the announcement a man in his late fifties, wearing a gaudy crown and holding a golden sceptre, confidently strode into the hall. It didn’t take him long to reach the empty rune-framed square opposite of Aperio, and once there he banged his sceptre against the floor. After the last hushed voices quieted down he began to speak.

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

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

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

“Take the dagger and carve out your heart; offer it in sacrifice so your betters may ascend.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sacrifice - Chapter 2: Adrift in the Void

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wings! I have wings!

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

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

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

She didn’t know how much time had passed – days, weeks, maybe even years – but the steady stream of lights continued floating into her, changing her. She inspected her physical differences, but after having gained a pair of wings it was somewhat underwhelming to notice a more toned body and longer silver hair.

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

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

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

To her surprise, it obeyed immediately.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A few other concerns also surfaced from the depths of her mind, like where she would even emerge if she managed to figure out where the exit was. And where could she get new clothes once outside? While Aperio didn’t mind her current state, she was fairly certain that it would be a good idea to get something to wear if you wanted to talk to people.

Talking to people. That was another thing she wasn’t so sure about. The only people who had ever just talked with her had been other slaves, and she had doubts about her ability to carry her own side of a regular conversation.

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

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

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

She didn’t know how long she flew while arguing with herself about her feelings, but it came to an end as she reached a veritable river of lights that slowly flowed past her. As she looked down the river she had to revise one of her previous thoughts; the lights didn’t deliberately avoid her. Unlike the blue ones that so freely offered themselves, these ones all seemed to be trapped by some unseen current.

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

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

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

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

Doesn’t matter, I need to figure out how to get out.

Deciding to postpone the questions that were bubbling up within her, Aperio grabbed another sphere out of the river and tapped it. The same ripple spread over the surface and the mist, again, flared angrily after being awoken from its apparent slumber. Bringing it close to her eyes she scrutinized the sphere for the tiniest detail. Even after what felt like a small eternity, she couldn’t find anything besides the perfectly smooth surface that confined the unruly mist inside.

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

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

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

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

Sacrifice - Chapter 3: A Memorable Return

The sudden presence of light after having spent what felt like a lifetime in the darkness of the Void left Aperio blinking. She found herself looking into a small but plain stone room. The overly ornate iron reinforced door, lack of windows and otherwise bleak appearance reminded her all too much of the Empire’s cells, a place where she had come to feel distressingly familiar with over the years. She shuddered and shook off the rising tension of memories that threatened to overwhelm her. She couldn’t – wouldn’t – allow herself to be drowned in these unpleasant emotions, especially when she didn’t even know where she was.

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

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

In the end, staying in the Void was the first idea to be discarded. Even if she enjoyed the sense of belonging that it gave her, she simply didn’t know if she would starve to death. While she wasn’t afraid to die again, she did want to take the opportunity the universe had so graciously given her and at least try to live a little.

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

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

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

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

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

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

This one seems more real than the others. It wouldn’t be the first cell with a broken floor she had to live in, or the first time she was used as a test subject for some very vivid illusion magic. Her hand slid across her neck in search for her dreadful ‘companion’, but she couldn’t find any trace of the metal collar. A look at her arms revealed them to be free of scars, just like they had been in the Void. Her hand moved on its own volition and, sure enough, her beloved eartips were present. Everything was as she remembered, even the feeling of boundless energy inside her.

So it wasn’t a dream?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

But that wasn’t possible. She had seen many crystals doing their work – most of them used on her for some experiment she would never understand – but they all followed the same pattern. Either they served as a focus or a reservoir of mana for a mage.

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

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

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

A welcoming warmth spread from the crystal to her fingers, inviting her to hold on just a little longer. It didn’t take long, however, before an insistent nagging in the back of her mind made itself known. One that tried to force her to hold on, to never let go; to acknowledge her new master.

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

“No!”

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

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

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

“I will not bow to anyone!”

With a cry of pure, unadulterated rage the mad Elf kicked off of the battered floor and charged at the offending evil. Once she had moved close enough to see a vague outline of her own reflection she threw a punch that – while it wouldn’t win any awards for form – had enough force to fracture the crystal. The smooth surface broke apart as the crack snaked its way across, letting the trapped mist escape into the open. Soon all that remained on the pedestal were transparent shards that reflected the red light of the escaped cloud above. No longer imprisoned, the red mist quickly made its way to the only other source of magic it could find.

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

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

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

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

Once she was sure the worst was over she peeked through a small gap in her wings and was greeted with chaos. A part of the roof had caved in, revealing loose earth and a few stones with various runes etched on them, some of which had fallen on the broken floor. What remained of said floor was a collection of battered bricks that had spread themselves all over the chamber. Her violent outburst was, as far as she could tell, successful – she couldn’t find a single thing that resembled the crystal or the cloud of red mist.

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

Stay positive. Maybe I can kill a few of them before they get to me, she mentally reprimanded herself. Now how do I get that thing open? Fire doesn’t seem to work.

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

Aperio was at a loss; she knew the chant to activate the thing – some of the less able guards had needed to use it over the years – but she had never even heard the tiniest bit of the one you needed to turn it off. Brute force was probably still an option. The problem was that she didn’t know how many attempts would be needed and if there would still be a room to stand in once she was done.

I guess I expected too much. Stupid universe.

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

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

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

This makes absolutely no sense.

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

On the other side, a most peculiar scene was playing out right in front of her. A group of four people – humans if she had to guess – were fighting a large two-headed dog. She had seen one-headed versions of these beasts before, though they were usually accompanied by a handler of some sort. Why this one was guarding cells by itself and attacking a group of humans was something she didn’t know.

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

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

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

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

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

“I am sorry, but I do not understand what you are saying.”

Sacrifice - Chapter 4: All the Wrong Choices

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The others didn’t seem to like what she had done as the armour-clad giant took a few heavy steps forward and somehow managed to glare at her even though its face was covered by a helmet. She wasn’t sure if the thing was even alive; it could be a magical construct. The Empire had always tried to make them but had never managed to actually do it, at least as far as she knew.

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

While she was contemplating things, the two men had fallen into a discussion of sorts. She couldn’t tell what they were talking about but she was very sure it involved her as they pointed in her direction multiple times. The injured one didn’t seem to like what the other was saying as his face shifted between pain and annoyance.

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

Aperio observed with interest; she had seen such weapons before. Most of them had just been enchanted to be a bit sharper and more durable, but these ones looked to be more complex. While she couldn’t be quite sure, she thought she saw the runes for wind and lightning on the blades. It was times like these that she was especially thankful the guard who put her on library duty tended to forget to forbid her from reading and learning.

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

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

Though, technically it wasn’t talking; she just thought about saying mean things about her captors. Maybe she is a slave? It wouldn’t be too far-fetched for it to be true. Slavery was a widespread practice and people didn’t shy away from enslaving their own.

Another few words from the mage caused the woman to take out a scroll from her satchel and activate it. A moment later the air surrounding the woman grew hazy, reducing her to just a vague outline. Aperio tilted her head to the side as she followed the shadowy outline of a person moving in a wide arc, trying to get behind her. While it wasn’t clear what the group was trying to achieve, she had observed them always keeping their eyes on the beast and each other, so every time the shadow would leave her field of vision Aperio would take a few steps back and shift so she could still see the three remaining people and the sneaky member of their group.

This dance continued for a while before the shadow’s step faltered and she made her way back to the rest of the group. Once there the hazy aura surrounding her ceased to be and she said something to the slightly burned men, whose expression grew more fearful the longer the woman talked. Aperio took a quick glance behind herself but didn’t find anything that would warrant fear in the room.

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

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

Idiots. All of them.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The hunk of metal recaptured her attention once it was close enough to fight and was preparing to swing its sword. For a brief moment she considered trying to stop the blade with her hands but decided against it. Even if she somehow felt that she could, it just wasn’t worth the risk.

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

It had a plethora of gold and silver markings and no obvious runes that would hint at its function; Aperio hadn’t seen one like this before. Before she had time to think about her next course of action the room was bathed in a bright, golden light. As soon as the light touched her a tingling sensation spread throughout her body. She feared it would end in pain like unknown magic usually did, but the pleasant tingle stayed until the last bits of golden light had faded.

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

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

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

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

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

Sacrifice - Chapter 5: Scattered Pieces

Even though the two survivors had long since disappeared, Aperio still stood rooted in place. She wasn’t quite sure what she should feel. Remorse for killing the two mages? Relief that they were gone? Happiness that she finally understood something? Or hate because they tried to force their will on her?

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

[Master] and [Disciple].

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

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

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

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

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

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

Another step and the fine lines connecting the individual parts of the enchantment flared to life with the same intangible blue light that she had observed during her previous outburst. A final step brought her close enough to bend down and touch the necklace but, while a part of her wanted to see what would happen to the runes, she couldn’t bring herself to actually do it.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Die.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Interlude - Guides 1: A Village on the Edge of Peril

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

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

“If you won’t open this door I will!”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Oh.”

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

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

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

“Oh,” he repeated, his shoulders slumping.

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

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

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

Ira’s eyes opened wide as he recalled a very important bit of information. He turned to Laelia who was having a hard time standing still. “Didn’t Inerlius take that Vinmaier brat and his mentor into the ruins a couple of weeks ago?”

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

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

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

“You think they caused this?”

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

Leaning on the staff, he pushed himself off of the bed. “Though I believe you didn’t wake me just to hear me talk about things you already know.”

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

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

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

To some this might seem weird. Why would a bunch of people who couldn’t fend for themselves choose to live right next to a forest with very deadly monsters? There were many reasons, chief among them the presence of the [Guides]. The individuals that laid claim to that title often brought their families with them, knowing that both of the major faiths would send people for their protection. It also helped that the [Guides] themselves were more than capable of dealing with the few monsters that actually left the forest, and this knowledge allowed the common townsfolk to feel more at ease.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Of course.” Ira gave a dismissive wave. “But it will not be enough.”

“Not enough?”

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

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

“Yes,” he replied. “Nothing will be.”

Lore - Legends 1: The Gods and the Dark Age

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

– Excerpt from the Book of Legends –

Written by

Volynoph Endera, [High Priest of Vigil]

Sacrifice - Chapter 6: Intrepid Adventures

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

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

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

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

All of these things were made out of a greenish-golden metal that she had definitely seen before, but couldn’t recall the name of. They were also completely useless for her. She had no use for jewellery that would probably try to bend your mind, and she also didn’t know how to fight with a sword. Putting on the armour? The thought of having her wings squished by the metal sent a shiver down her spine. There was no way she would ever wear something like that.

After walking past a few more discarded items and maimed beast corpses, she stopped. The blue mage took something out of the bigger beast, didn’t he? With that thought, she picked up one of the dead bodies for inspection. It was mostly intact, the only visible damage coming from a deep cut at its neck. She turned the body to look at the chest, the place she saw the blue-robed man pull something out, but couldn’t find anything that would warrant such an action.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Or maybe she wouldn’t; she had no real idea how strong she was now. Sure, beating that small group had made her feel pretty confident, but they might have been some weak idiots with more coin than sense. She would have to wait until she had met – and fought – more people, or monsters. The latter was more likely if the corpses that littered the ground were any indication.

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

No need to head back into the void so soon.

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

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

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

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

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

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

The room that was now accessible looked a lot more like a throne room and less like something you would expect to come before a dungeon, complete with expensive-looking marble flooring and weird sculptures of something she couldn’t identify that held up the ceiling. It had once even featured an actual throne. Or at least a very fancy chair; she couldn’t really tell as it had been smashed to pieces.

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

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

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

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

That would mean that the crystal had been alive. But that was something she could accept, easier than some other things that had happened since she had left the Void. When did I become so pensive? She quickened her pace as she pushed the thoughts from her mind. It was less successful than she had hoped; the nagging feeling that the Humans didn’t choose to attack her just wouldn’t go away.

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

Truly magical.

The one thing that differentiated this floor from the last, besides its much grander appearance, was the absence of corpses. Or monsters. No matter where she looked she couldn’t find anything, living or dead. What she did find were signs of battle. Some blackened stone, and some marks on the walls that could have resulted from either angry claws or a very sharp sword

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

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

There was always the option of going back down, but something told her that she wouldn’t find what she was looking for there either. It would probably be for the best if she simply continued her journey upwards; maybe she would get lucky and find something that could help with the timekeeping.

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

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

Curious.

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

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

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

But, like so many things lately, this would require further investigation that she simply couldn’t do right now. It would, most likely, also require asking a person that actually knew about these things. To do that, she would have to find such a person (and hope they spoke the same language), and to do that she would have to manage to leave this place.

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

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

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

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

She was finally free.

Sacrifice - Chapter 7: Winging It

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

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

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

A small noise caught her attention and, while at first she couldn’t quite make out what it was, it soon revealed itself to be a flock of chirping birds that flew over the broken building she stood in. While the birds’ happy melody belied the corpse-filled place that lurked beneath her feet, it did help to brighten her mood.

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

She was free now.

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

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

Unclenching her fists, she opened her eyes again. The scenery remained mostly the same, save for the circle of withered plants that stretched a few steps in every direction from where she was standing. Tilting her head to the side she bent down and plucked one of the dead flowers from the earth. That was me? She hadn’t felt the warmth that accompanied the use of magic.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

But it wasn’t her; couldn’t be her.

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

Sacrifice - Chapter 8: Friend or Foe?

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

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

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

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

Aperio groaned as she sat back up. What was that?! Looking around, she couldn’t find what had knocked her out of the air, only seeing the path of devastation her involuntary landing had caused. A quick check caused her to freeze; a few of her feathers had were missing.

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

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

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

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

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

She was about to give up when she felt something coming closer. It wasn’t something she saw or heard; it was a subtle feeling, almost instinctual feeling. Turning around, she saw an eight-legged creature that shifted between being nothing more than a foggy shadow and a pulsing, fleshy thing.

It was as if nature had tried to cross a bear with a spider, but had given up halfway in disgust at its own creation. Little hairs protruded from the seven-jointed limbs that held the big, furred body. Some parts were bare, revealing a mess of flesh that pulsed rhythmically and instead of a head it just seemed to have a cluster of eyes with no mouth – or nose – that she could see. As if all of that wasn’t bad enough, the thing was bigger than any creature she had previously seen, except maybe the two-headed dog on the bottom floor of the ruins. That one had been truly massive.

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

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

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

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

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

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

The beast lay in complete disarray, and if it hadn’t attacked her she might have felt bad for it. Half of its legs had been crushed under its considerable bulk, and the other half flopped wearily in whatever direction they had happened to land. Even its high-pitched screeching had been reduced to nothing more than quiet snarls, ones that seemed to be as close to a whimper as the creature could manage to make.

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

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

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

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

Once she stood directly in front of the thing’s presumed chest, she ran her hand over the spot behind which she felt the strange presence. Without a shred of hesitation she plunged her hand inside the beast – a bit more blood wouldn’t really change anything – feeling around for the thing that had piqued her interest.

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

It wasn’t long before the mist took the form of a small bear cub that briefly looked at Aperio as if to confirm something before inclining its head. Is it ...bowing? She had no idea why a bear spirit had emerged, nor how she was able to see it in the first place, neither did she know why it was bowing to her. Both parties remained in their respective positions until the mist that formed the bear started to drift towards the sky, fading from view.

What was that? A ghost?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Calm, we mean you no harm.”

Sacrifice - Chapter 9: Encounter

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

Seeing no change from the Elf the old man took a step forward. “We truly mean you no harm. If my friend would have not done what she did” – he gestured towards the corpse – “the beast would’ve come back given enough time.”

She? Aperio looked over the armoured figure. It didn’t look like a woman, or even a Human for that matter. That was probably the goal of whoever had designed the armour. The only difference between the one currently in front of her and the one she had faced in the ruins was their size, which wasn’t much. The woman – a knight, then? – was quite a bit taller and definitely much broader than the Elf.

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

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

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

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

Aperio fixed her gaze on the fidgeting woman. “What did you do?”

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

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

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

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

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

“An Elf?” she asked.

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

She certainly felt different, but she chalked most of that up to simply being more than flesh and bones now. While punching holes in people and walls might be more than she had expected, it wasn’t the first time she had seen people perform such feats. The Royal Knights were able to do similar things and there had been hundreds of them. She had just skipped through the training thanks to the little lights. Or, maybe, she was always like this and the collar had simply suppressed it somehow.

Probably not.

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

The knight turned her helmeted head towards the aging mage and quietly said something in the same language the other Human party had used. The two exchanged a few hushed words that Aperio wouldn’t have understood even if they had yelled at each other. She was about to cut their unintelligible gibberish short when the knight turned to face her.

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

“She truly meant you no harm,” the old man quickly added.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“A follower of Vigil?” Aperio asked, earning her a curt nod from the knight. Even though these people talked, she wasn’t sure what to think of them. Were they here to kill the supposed demon? Or did she know that she was coming, and wanted to be present when she arrived?

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

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

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

Aperio hesitated for a moment. I don’t have a fancy title. Should I make one up? As the thought crossed her mind, a little tingle at the back of her mind tugged at her consciousness. But as soon as it came, it went again. Just her name would have to be enough for them.

“Aperio.”

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

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

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

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

Disgusting? Yes. Dangerous? No.

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

Following the two could, potentially, lead to much more harm than staying in the woods, but it was also the best – the only way she currently had into the village. These two humans also hadn’t tried anything too weird, besides throwing a spear past her, thus far. No magics and no mind-bending equipment. None that was directed at her, anyway.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I could fight her!”

Ira looked at the armoured form next to him before shaking his head. “Yes, you could fight her, but you wouldn’t win.” If you went merely by looks, the taller and broader paladin should win, but stature had little to do with actual strength.

“Why not?” she scoffed. “Because some dead guy wrote it on a piece of paper?”

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

“She could’ve surprised them! Or murdered them after they had dealt with a monster!” The paladin was practically yelling at this point, an action that seemed to displease their thus far quiet guest. Or maybe it was the contents of their discussion? Ira couldn’t be quite sure. All he knew was that an inexplicable feeling of dread was making itself known in his mind and the air felt a bit colder. A glance over his shoulder confirmed his suspicion. Her eyes were narrowed and the ground beneath her feet had actually frosted over a little.

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

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

“Why is she yelling?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Answer me!”

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

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

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

Ira cleared his throat once again before he asked his question. “Did you fight the person who wore the same armour as she” – he gestured towards the paladin – “does?”

The Elf shook her head. “He fled.”

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

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

“Please, if we could continue. It is not much longer.”

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

Sacrifice - Chapter 10: Destination and Discovery

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

She gave a brief nod. “Yes, it does.”

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

“Would I be right that you do not frequent cities or other settlements often?”

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

They didn't need to know of her confusion.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Aperio turned the card every which way, ignoring the unintelligible yells from the man on the wall. No matter how she looked at it, she couldn’t figure why this rune looked so familiar nor why it behaved differently from the others. Turning to the old man she asked him, “What is this?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

Another thing that felt abnormal was the lack of people. The Elf couldn’t see, or hear, anyone else. Aside from the two people in front of her and the – admittedly numerous – guards on the wall, there weren’t any people around. Even a town this small should have someone going about their business; a few children playing in the streets. Was everything she had seen an illusion? A setup to lure her inside?

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

“Attack?” She tilted her head. “From what?”

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

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

“Wouldn’t the wards stop them?” She did not want to ask directly if the demons broke wards like she did – not being lumped together with those things seemed like a good idea.

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

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

“Would you be willing to use an [Appraisers Stone]?”

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

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

Laelia wanted to say something but Ira waved her off. “That’s fine. Please follow me.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“You know how to use this?”

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

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

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

The only problem was that it made absolutely no sense.

Sacrifice - Chapter 11: A Matter of [Status]

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

Status

Name

A͟pe͏r͜͝҉i͏o͝͞

Race

P̨҉͝͞r̕͞͠ʌ̴̡́͜͢ɪ̸́̕͟ˈ̴̴͠m͝҉ɔ̶̧̛̛ː̧́̕d̴̵̡͞͝ɪ҉͡͞ə̧̡͏m͟͠

Level

̧41̕͢6a̵!̸͠c͟b̸́4͏́8͏͡͞d̨͏̢

Mana

̧͟͡3̵̨̧5̶͘͝6̕d̢̀͢ę͘e̸̢̕10̴̧͠a̷͢͡!̧3̢̢  / ̴̧̧́͟͜͢͡͠7̢8͞d̕͘f҉!̡9͝ç̶͝1͞f̴̀f́

Strength

̛g͏2͠͡$͏̛e1͏͢͠2̀4͟͝4̢́7̧̕%

Dexterity

$̷b̷̴0́b̛͝8̕͢b̧͜9̀͘͟!̵̵̴3̴7̸

Intelligence

͜͜7̴29͢҉b͡͡$̀͝!҉͢c̸$͏$̶͞!

Vitality

̶͠%2͟͠$̸͘͝g̨%̴̧̀$̴́9̛̛ǵ̷c̕͏!̢

Titles

F̨͜ə̸̕͡ˈ̶̡͠ɡ̷̢͟ɒ̢͜͞͡t̶̨͟n̨͡

D͏̴̴̨i҉̡͞ː́͜͞m̵̀ɪ͢͜͟͜͞ə́҉́ː̕͜d̷͞ʒ̸̵̷

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

Besides only showing a senseless heap of things, this [Status] was missing a third column that she knew should be there. At least, she remembered there to be another part of the status screen. While she wasn’t able to read what was displayed the last time she had seen it, the section had been there nonetheless.

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

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

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

“I don’t think the stone is the problem here,” Ira said, shaking his head.

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

“So I am the problem?” she asked in a low voice.

“I mean... I can’t be sure. I just thought it would be the most logical conclusion,” Ira stammered.

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

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

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

Status

Name

Ira Heremal

Race

Human

Level

84

Mana

3564 / 3583

Strength

95

Dexterity

70

Intelligence

183

Vitality

104

Tiltes

Guide

Favourite of the Roots

Blessing of Edisicio

Ward Smith

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

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

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

“So it is only broken for me? Why?”

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

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

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

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

The sound of Ira’s voice interrupted her thoughts yet again. “I would like to ask you to accompany us to Ebenlowe.”

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

“I believe it to be in your best interest.”

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

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

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

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

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

“Inerlius?”

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

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

Not that she cared.

“They wanted to put a collar on me!” she hissed through clenched teeth, every word driving the colour from the man's face. “Enslave me!”

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

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

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

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

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

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

“I did not lie!” Aperio spat.

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

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

“If you would please follow me.”

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

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

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

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

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

Sacrifice - Chapter 12: Reflection

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

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

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

As if suddenly remembering something, Thaddeus approached timidly and offered the folded cloth in his arms to the Elf. Aperio accepted the bundle with a slightly confused expression; she still hadn’t figured out why the man was helping her. But asking why feels so ...wrong. Why does it feel wrong? Much like the feeling she got when thinking about a potential fight with the people in front of her, this one told her that asking for clarification would be wrong. An affront to the universe. But why?

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

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

“Of course,” Ira said before briefly switching to the annoying language she couldn’t understand, saying something to the other two and causing them to leave. Before departing himself, he added, “Should you need anything please ask Thaddeus, he will either be in the main hall or in the room opposite yours.” After she gave him a sign of understanding he closed the door, presumably to call it a night himself.

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

No, she wanted something else.

Stepping into the room she deposited the bundle of cloth she still held on nearby cabinet before looking around, hoping to spot what had been such a rarity in her days as a slave. It didn’t take her long to find the object of her desire on the wall above the sink.

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

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

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

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

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

Aperio put the now lit candle on a nearby cabinet, keeping her eyes on the little flame that still vigorously flickered on her finger. The fire felt like an extension of herself, just waiting to obey her will. She just couldn’t figure out when she conjured it, nor why the warmth of the mana flowing through her had been absent again.

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

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

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

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

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

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

She stretched out her hand to grab the lovely blue and black fabric that had caught her eye but her hand froze just above its surface. Do I have to give it back if I don’t accompany them? She shook her head and simply grabbed the garment.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sacrifice - Chapter 13: Insight

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

A brief moment later Aperio was back in her room, rummaging through the discarded robe that still lay on the floor of her bathroom for the two stones she had taken with her. It wasn’t long before her fingers brushed against smooth surfaces; one warm and the other cold that reminded her of the bath she just used. Maybe that’s what they’re for?

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

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

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

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

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

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

It seemed to work as he only hesitated for a moment before pointing at a table to her left. After she had walked to the other table he gave her a nod and turned back to his scroll. Aperio’s eyes lingered on his form for a moment longer; she wasn’t sure if she should try to disperse some of the fear or if she should use it to get some answers. Maybe later, she thought, shaking her head. The wrongness of the task was still something that she had to overcome, but for now the books would hopefully provide some answers.

She directed her attention to the books in front of her; there was no guarantee that she would be able to read any of these, but trying couldn’t hurt. It wasn’t like the attempt would suddenly drain the life out of her surroundings like her magic did. To be comfortable with trying her hand with that again she would need a place far away from civilization. Maybe back in the ruins?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gods had Domains – something they held absolute control over – and she assumed that any God would know their Domain. It would be weird if they didn’t. But neither had she tried to find the full extent of her power nor was she particularly inclined to do so anywhere close to a city. The only thing she knew was that she was deeply confused, and she doubted a ‘Goddess of Confusion’ was something that existed.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The image of the mist-filled crystal surfaced in her mind. Did it summon me? She shook her head; she wasn’t summoned by it. She had just taken the portal that was made for the small orb. So those orbs are ...monsters? Their essence? A soul? She lowered the book to rest on her lap.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Maybe I should do everyone a favour and kill them? The thought… excited her. Simply thinking about eradicating some slaving bastards filled her with joyous anticipation. She didn’t know if she could even fight them, but she knew she wanted to. The memory of the circle of death reappeared in her mind and, startled, she turned to look for the young man at the other table, dropping the book on her lap in the process.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sacrifice - Chapter 14: Questionable Decisions

Thaddeus was lying on the floor, holding his side as he gasped for breath. Why the Elf – if, indeed, she was an Elf – had deemed it necessary to shove him off his chair he didn’t know, but as he looked up into her earnest face all thoughts of asking drained out of him. Any back-talk, he was certain, would be met with punishment. He could do without that just fine. No need to hurt more than he already did.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thaddeus wanted to answer but he still couldn’t get the words to leave his mouth; all he managed was a rather pathetic whimper. He truly wanted to answer her question, if only so he could leave and hide in his bed until the morning sun would hopefully scare away this monster.

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

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

Thaddeus desperately struggled for breath as he tried to pry open the hand that was holding him, but no matter how hard he tried it wouldn’t budge. His attempts were interrupted as the Elf used her free hand to force him to look at her.

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

“Answer me!”

The sound of something clattering onto the wooden floor and the absence of the hot sensation on his chest signaled the demise of his trusty pendant. For the first time since he had been knocked to the ground, Thaddeus felt true fear. Much to his surprise, his assailant loosened her grip and looked at the fallen accessory. He tried to use this chance to break free but was met with failure; he still wasn’t able to pry open the hand holding him. He did, however, manage to get the attention of the maybe-Elf again.

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

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

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

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

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

Laelia glared at her, barely restrained fury in her eyes. “What you doing?”

“Asking questions,” Aperio said, eyeing the man behind the paladin. “But he seems to be incapable of speech.”

“Questions don’t need magic!”

But I didn’t use any? “I am just speaking?”

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

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

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

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

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

Aperio tilted her head quizzically. “Attack?”

“His protective charm broke, that only happens after an attack.”

“This?” Aperio asked, picking up the deformed piece of metal from the floor.

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

“It broke when I talked to him.” When the thing had fallen from the man she wasn’t sure what to make of it, but now she knew it was just like the clothes of the Imperial mages she had known. Just a lot smaller and weaker. Or my ability to break things is stronger than I thought.

Ira eyes flicked between her face and the leftovers of the charm. “Did you talk or did you talk?” The last word that left his mouth carried with it a wave of something Aperio couldn’t quite place. She fixed her eyes on the man, trying to spot anything that would tell her what it was, but the only difference she could see was the look of exhaustion on his face.

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

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

“This might be rude of me to ask, but”– Ira coughed lightly –”are you aware of your own presence?”

Presence? Aperio wasn’t even sure what that was supposed to be, let alone if she even had one. Judging by the man’s words, however, it was fairly clear that she did. Is that what’s breaking the wards?

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

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

“No.”

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

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

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

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

Keep? She didn’t have to keep it there, it stayed on its own. There was more mana flowing through her since she had been in the Void than her total capacity had been before, but now that was just a drop in the ocean. Probably less than a drop. She didn’t know how much she had; it simply felt like a bottomless well.

“Almost nothing?” She wasn’t sure how else to say it. There simply wasn’t much when compared to the rest.

Ira’s eyes widened at her reply. She had guessed that it wouldn’t be normal but his surprised expression confirmed it. He quickly schooled his expression and cleared his throat. “If you would indulge an old man, how old are you?”

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

“It would help me understand,” he replied. “But if you don’t want to answer that, I understand. I do, however, have another question.”

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

“Would I be right to assume that you have spent a significant amount of time in”– he paused briefly, looking for the right word –” ...seclusion, and only recently returned?”

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

She gave the man a curt nod. “Yes.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“You are… ” He trailed off, apparently unable to find the right words.

“Intimidating.”

Aperio perked up at the voice of the paladin. Intimidating? Thinking back on her actions around the Humans she could see why the warrior would say that. She certainly hadn’t made a good first impression, but neither did she want to. She had little reason to trust or like any Humans; the first she had met after returning did try to enslave her, and even a paladin of the supposedly righteous Vigil had done nothing to stop them.

She was also certain that she wasn’t the only one that was as strong as her current self; she had seen others perform feats similar to what she could do now after all. But, with what Ira had said, it would seem that there were fewer than she had previously thought.

In the end, she simply shrugged, a gesture that was exaggerated by the movement of her wings. “I have another question. How likely is it that I will need to learn ...whatever you are speaking?” It seemed her hunch was right, the feeling of wrong was just a tiny echo in the back of her mind. Sadly it didn’t answer where it came from in the first place. Probably the same place my knowledge of flight comes from, or the silly idea to catch swords.

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

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

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

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

“Before I decide, there is someone I need to meet.”

Sacrifice - Chapter 15: Disillusions and Decisions

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

“A Beastkin with a crooked ear and mottled brown fur. She should be called Moria.” Her voice was filled with excitement, the prospect of maybe seeing her closest friend again filling the Elf with a joy that she hadn’t known before.

The old mage remained quiet for a while, his brows knitted together in thought. “I don’t know someone with the name Moria, but I know who would fit your description.”

“Where is she?”

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

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

Laelia quickly left the building, the Human twig in tow. Through the open door the sound of people walking and talked reached Aperio’s ears. It seemed that the danger they had prepared for had been a false alarm. Or was I the danger? They wouldn’t let me in then, would they?

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

“May I know why you want to meet Neria?”

“Neria? Is that her name now?” Aperio wouldn’t be surprised if she had changed it; she was living a new life after all. Maybe I should also change my name? She shook her head at the thought. She did like her name and it wasn’t like the people of the Empire had used it. For them she had been just another slave.

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

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

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

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

“Moria?” Aperio asked with a shaky voice.

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

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

She was lost, without a plan or direction.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The woman trembled, her voice shaking. “How do you know the name Moria?”

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

Neria looked puzzled. “A friend?”

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

“Yes. Anything wrong with that?”

The hostility in her voice caused Neria to quickly take a step back and the guard at the door had his hand hovering above the handle of his sword. The room was quiet for a few breaths, but seeing the Elf hadn’t moved, the guard relaxed a little.

The Beastkin shook her head. “No, I just didn’t think I would find a friend of my mother.”

“Your mother?” Aperio tilted her head at the statement. “How old are you?”

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

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

Ira shook his head. “We have records of multiple people who are older. It wouldn’t be the first time it happened. The [Grandmaster] too is approaching her millenia.”

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

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

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

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

“Does it say anything else?”

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

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

Getting up from her chair attracted the attention of everyone in the room. Now they all seemed to be even more wary of her. Aperio just sighed. Her chance at appearing like a normal friendly Elf had, at least with these people, long since disappeared. She couldn’t complain though, it really was her own fault. Mostly. She wouldn’t take responsibility for breaking wards by just standing near them.

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

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

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

Having made up her mind she turned around and asked the man, “How long will the journey be?”

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

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

Ira shook his head. “Some might be faster on foot, but most aren’t.”

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

“How long until you set out?” Aperio inquired.

“Tonight,” Ira replied. “Do you need more time to prepare?”

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

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

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

Sacrifice - Chapter 16: Sticks and Stones

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reality, however, wasn’t so nice. It had given her someone who maybe, just maybe, was a descendant of some sort. What she was supposed to do with the woman was something she would have to figure out later. If she even met her again.

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

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

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

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

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

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

A couple of steps brought her to a collapsed house. Bending down she picked up a fairly intact looking stone that was bigger than her head.. The simple act of lifting the piece of rock one handed brought joy to Aperio. If she ever needed to place old tomes somewhere she was sure that she wouldn’t have to struggle. Or she could engage in some belated catharsis and break the shelves herself.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lowering her hand, she found the sphere of water simply stayed where she wanted it to be, not where her hand had moved. A thought later and the ball had grown enough for her to put both of her hands inside. The blood clinging to her palm came off easily enough, not having hardened for Gods know how long.

Having cleaned her hand, Aperio walked closer to the empty fountain, the small mass of water floating behind her. It felt like the water was an extension of herself in a way, the knowledge of how much there was and where it was coming to her mind just as easily as knowing where her hands were. At the same time, the liquid was its own entity, and she felt it yearning to obey her wishes.

Depositing the water she had summoned into the fountain, she set to work filling the entire thing. The small puddle she had created before seemed to boil before more water poured out of it, rapidly filling the fountain. Water that makes more water. I love magic. Quite pleased with the result, she stopped her thoughts and the water, too, stopped its rise.

Forming a rock from nothing and seeing it cut by air was a weirdly amusing sight to Aperio. Another idea came to mind and soon after tiny bubbles of air rose to the surface of the fountain. I should do that in a bath, she thought with a giggle.

Next on her list to try was the elusive light magic. She had seen it work twice now, though both times from someone devoted to a God. She was wary of trying it herself, as she was not inclined to offer thoughts and prayers to something that had for all intents and purposes abandoned her.

Aperio wasn’t sure how to even summon a bit of light. She knew the four core elements well enough to imagine how they looked and felt. But light was not something she could connect to an image in her head nor did she have a wound to try and heal. Can’t make one either. Her, apparently natural, regeneration was simply too fast on its own, leaving no time to try and heal it with a conscious effort.

There was, however, another thing she could try.

Entering one of the buildings that surrounded the fountain, she grabbed a broken chair and liberated one of its legs. Walking back outside, Aperio took what she assumed to be an appropriate stance to throw her makeshift spear.

The wood sailed through the air before shattering on the stone wall she had aimed for. She went back and acquired more unorthodox spears before trying again, this time attempting to infuse her throw with light. No matter what she tried to do, the golden glow that the two paladins had managed was absent. Maybe it does need a God? She would have to look into that once she had reached Ebenlowe. Deciding which God to follow was another question entirely. The mere idea of being beneath someone was something her entire being resented. She didn’t want somebody to tell her what to do! If that meant she wouldn’t get some fancy golden magic, then so be it.

Looking into the sky, she saw the sun had already passed its apex. She had spent more time than she had thought here; running around, testing things. To her the time wasn’t wasted, she had learned that she was sturdier than she had assumed, but still didn't have a clear idea of exactly how sturdy. Magic seemed to be only limited by what she could imagine and the annoying need for a God.

Before she would leave to join Ira and the others, she had a couple more things she wanted to try. One of which was mentally ticked of her list as a nearby stone floated towards her. It was soon joined by more of the rubble that surrounded her. Aperio was surprised at the ease with which she could manipulate mana to her whims; before her sacrifice she had only ever used magic of the chanted variety. Not that she would complain of her newfound powers.

Dropping the sticks and stones she had floated towards herself, Aperio set her sights on one of the more intact buildings. If she went to Ebenlowe she would likely have to fight and while her fists had made short work of the two mages and the demon, magic from afar seemed like the better solution.

Just like the time she wanted to rid the world of the mage’s collar, she willed a flame into existence. The warmth that accompanied a conscious use of magic was like a welcome friend. Her days as a slave had not always been the most comfortable, temperature-wise, and the idea of being able to chase away the cold appealed to her. Not that I have felt too hot or too cold since I came back.

Pushing her musings aside, she threw the fist-sized flame at the building in front of her, willing it to expand and swallow it whole. A smile spread across her face as the remains of the house were engulfed by fire. A mental push and the flame grew hotter until the hem of her dress caught on fire, causing Aperio to quickly extinguish it.

The heat from the burning building had felt like nothing more than a warm summer breeze, but her singed dress told a different story. Her attention was drawn back to the building as what had survived her assault collapsed in on itself. While it wasn't a living target she was fairly certain that her magic would work just as well on flesh and bone, should it come to it. And if not, then she could always resort to the tried and true: punching.

I need more clothes, she thought as she touched the burned part of her dress. But I need money for that. What do they even use for currency? I doubt it’s the same coins the Empire had. Yet another thing to ask Ira about once she had caught up.

There was one more thing she wanted – needed – to test before she left. Steeling her nerves and closing her eyes, Aperio tried to paint the Void in her mind. She wasn't sure if it would work, but if her other attempts had worked with her imagination alone, then this had a chance. It took time, but eventually the familiar warmth spread through her body, and the feeling of the world around her shifted. Opening her eyes, she was greeted by a black rift filled with countless orbs of light.

So I can return here. But can I go back...

The twinkling of the lights around her seemed to call out, begging her to stay and join them in the Void. But she wouldn't do that yet. As comfortable as she felt here in the black nothingness, Aperio wanted to experience the world. She closed her eyes again and sank back into her imagination, willing the world to reappear around her.

The radiating warmth of sunshine reappeared on her skin, and she knew she had succeeded.

Following up on an earlier notion, Aperio picked up a piece of singed wood from the ground and returned to the Void. As soon as she saw the river of lights, she felt the wood in her hand crumble. Taking a look at the stick showed it to be dissolving into a silver mist that faded into nothingness once it hovered outside her reach. So I can’t use it as storage.

Ignoring the call of the lights, Aperio willed the world to return yet again.

Looking at the setting sun, she kicked off the ground and flew as fast as she could towards where she knew the road would be. There might have been more things she could have tested, but she felt she had accrued enough knowledge to be able to be around people. She found herself wanting to spend more time with them. Talking to them. She paused before correcting herself. Learn how to not make them wince when I talk. Maybe try to learn their language?

She had much to do and all the time she needed, nobody willing or able to tell her what to do.

Sacrifice - Chapter 17: A Treacherous Road

Twirling through the air with a smile on her face, Aperio flew eastwards. It did not take her long to find the road Ira and the others would be travelling on, the cobblestone parting the sea of green easy to spot. She flew higher this time, up past the lower puffy clouds and into the higher layers of white that blanketed the world. Dipping joyously in and out of the upper edges of the clouds, she gave no thought to the droplets of water that clung to her form. The air was thin this high up, but Aperio did not find herself struggling for breath. The sense of joy that flying brought almost allowed her to forget her questions and the inevitable confrontation with the nobles in Ebenlowe. Not that she feared them.

She was not completely certain that she would be able to beat them in a fight, but everything she had seen thus far led her to believe that she would do fine. Maybe I should ask Laelia to fight me? The woman did want to fight her and a friendly bout would probably not be something she would reject. That would, however, require Aperio to actually ask. Ignoring the disgust and simple sensation of wrong when asking questions was a lot harder to overcome than the one that told her catching swords and breaking walls was fine, completely normal. For her, at least.

The sound of hooves clattering against stone directed her attention downwards. Below her she was able to spot a carriage moving at a steady pace along the road, and sitting on the drivers seat were Ira and Laelia. Just Thaddeus inside then? It did not really matter who drove and who was inside, Aperio had simply not expected the old man to be the one actually doing it.

The mere fact that she could see them from her position just below the clouds brought her back to her time awakening in the Void; there she could also see the tiny orbs Gods-know how far away. I have wings, magic and can break walls with my fist now. Why not have eyes that don't care about distance? While the changes did make her question if she was actually still herself, they were remained welcome. Anything that ensured her freedom would be.

Not quite wanting to fly down just yet, she followed the carriage until the sun was rising once again. Aperio simply did not know what to do when she joined them. Asking them more questions seemed like the best thing but, judging by who sat where, the only one she could reasonably sit and talk to was Thaddeus. Last time she had tried that, it had not turned out so well. There was also the fact that she might have injured the man, which she didn't quite know how to process. On the one hand, she did not feel anything for the man. No pity. No remorse. Nothing.

She did not really care about them, not past the fact that they could provide information for her, anyway. Most of her interactions with their kind were ...less than pleasant. Viewing these Humans as people who did not want to cause her harm was harder than she thought. On the other hand, she did want their help and wanted to avoid appearing as cold-hearted. Though I probably am. That her voice caused them discomfort or even pain was certainly not helping her image. They probably think I do it on purpose as well.

With a sigh she swooped down. For now they were her only source of information.

She was closing in on the carriage when she noticed the tell-tale shimmer of blade in the thick of the woods. She stopped her descent to take a closer look. Hidden behind the trees she could see a few Humans in various armours, mostly leather and chain mail. Members of their party? While Aperio did want more contact with people – hopefully her own kind as well – she most certainly did not trust any random one she would meet. For all she knew the ones hiding could have been planted by Ira to attack her when she joined them. Not that he would know when I would do that. She decided to observe first; the way the two groups of Humans interacted would hopefully give her enough information.

Once the carriage had passed a few of the hidden Humans, one of the ones wearing chain mail stepped out onto the road. Aperio could already see Laelia standing up and putting on her helmet. Not their friends then? Aperio considered going down to intervene. None of the Humans looked stronger than the mages – not that that meant much – but she decided to see how the paladin would fare. Maybe if she loses hard? They did help me after all. Having them die at the hands of what she now assumed to be bandits after they had helped her felt almost as wrong as asking questions. What is up with that?

While she could see them in more detail than she had ever thought possible, Aperio could not understand a single word they said. Not that she needed to, the way the hidden Humans moved were enough of a hint to proove her assumption. Laelia grabbing a spear from somewhere on the carriage and jumping down just confirmed it.

The speed of the paladin surprised Aperio, but so did her ability to follow the movement. Not that it should, she was able see the world perfectly fine when dashing around at ludicrous speeds after all. The bandit on the other hand seemed to be surprised as he was quickly dispatched by the charging paladin with a stab to his heart. So his armour was useless? She made a mental note to try to get her hand on that spear later if she could. Maybe it would be capable of cutting her skin.

Another bandit was dispatched when Laelia threw her spear into the forest, nailing him to a tree. Only after two of their men had already died did the others spring into action. A burning arrow was shot at the carriage but harmlessly impacted a shimmering blue barrier that had formed around it. Taking a quick look at the driver's seat confirmed Aperio's suspicion; Ira stood there staff in hand, eyes closed, mumbling something. It didn't look complicated, but neither had light magic. I wonder if I can do that. Then again, do I even need to learn it?

Her attention went back to the paladin as she engaged two of the leather-clad bandits. The way the woman took a half-step to the side or simply leaned one way or another to dodge her two assailants was mesmerising. Aperio knew their movements to be fast, she could see the others moving at a more normal pace after all, but they still seemed slow to her. Almost sluggish. The same had happened when the mage had thrown a fireball at her, almost like time had slowed down just so she could step aside. She knew now that it wasn't time slowing down but rather her going faster than anyone should be able to.

A smile graced Aperio's face as she saw Laelia swatting an arrow out of the air before taking care of the last bandit attacking her. Before the corpse hit the ground the paladin was already on her way to the archer that had dared to shoot at her. The woman dropped her bow and stumbled backwards as Laelia's armoured form appeared before her. If Aperio had not seen her actually move, she would have thought the woman to have teleported.

Instead of killing the archer, Laelia dragged her back to the carriage where Ira had, to her surprise, bound the other two bandits. The fight of the paladin had been too entertaining and thus she had missed how he had captured them. I really should ask her for a fight. Though losing to the woman would be ...disgusting, she did not feel like that would happen. If anything I will misjudge my strength and injure her. Though, that would offer the opportunity to try and heal someone.

Shaking her head she started to descend again; if the opportunity arose she would gladly take it. For now Aperio was very interested as to why these people would want to attack their own.

The two friendly Humans were already questioning the surviving bandits when she let herself fall to the ground again. Sadly, she still couldn't understand a word of what they said. Her rather violent landing did, however, attract the attention of everyone around. A flicker of hope shot through the eyes of the tied up bandits, but that was quickly crushed when Aperio approached Ira.

"Why did they attack you?" Her voice was barely audible, an attempt to make it more bearable for the people in front of her.

A snort from Laelia caused Aperio to tilt her head. Was that a stupid question? She hadn't felt the sense of wrong when asking this one, but it seemed that she should really not trust that feeling.

Ira made a gesture Aperio did not quite understand, but caused the paladin to continue her questioning before he turned his attention to the Elf. "I cannot claim to know what your experience with banditry is, but here it is quite common for people of the same race to attack one another." He hesitated for a moment before he continued. "Most of the time all they want is money, but sometimes they are hired to remove ...unwanted people."

Aperio did not answer his implied question, as she had no experience with bandits. All she knew about them was what some of the guards had talked about while she was around and they rarely mentioned what race they belonged to. What she did know was that most of the caught bandits would end up as slaves, though not in the palace.

"What will happen to them now?"

This time Laelia spoke before the old man had the chance. "Take to city, judged by [Judicator]."

"Is that the same one Ira will report the death of the slaver to?" Aperio's voice had turned cold and one of the bandits looked at her with fear in his eyes. Does he understand me? Focusing her gaze on the man caused him to shiver, trying to make himself as small as he could.

Apparently recovered from her vocal assault, Ira responded. "No, the [Grandmaster] will be the one I report to. A [Judicator] from the guard or one of the churches will take care of these people. We just have to take them there."

"That does not tell me what will happen to them."

Ira paled, gripping his staff tighter. "It will depend on the crimes they have committed in the past. They might be imprisoned, or executed."

He looked at her apprehensively, almost like he expected her to be angry at his reply. Aperio's head tilted as she considered his reply. She had no reason to be angry. Human affairs were not hers to meddle in, as long as they did not try to limit her freedom that is. She just wanted to know what would happen to criminals. The Empire simply killed or threw a collar on people they deemed to have broken the law.

"Will you take them the entire way to Ebenlowe?" Won't they need another six days to reach it? To her pleasant surprise the feeling of wrong had not made an appearance after her question. Did it learn that it is useless?

"No," Ira said shaking his head. "Laelia will take them back to the Village and they will take care of it."

At the mention of her name, the paladin turned around, immediately asking the old mage something in their annoying gibberish. I really need to learn that. Their unintelligible conversation grew in intensity, Laelia seeming to take an unwavering stance that Ira was trying to placate, until Aperio could stand it no longer. Taking a step forward caught the attention of the two arguing Humans. "What is her problem?"

At her question, the two turned to face her. Much like the time she had met the two, Laelia seemed instantly prepared for battle. Aperio cocked her head to the side. "Does she want to fight?"

Ira seemed unable to find words for his answer, paling as the two woman continued to stare at one another. Aperio wouldn't say no to a fight with the paladin. Having seen her take care of the bandits had made the idea of a skirmish all the more appealing. It was awfully close to what she had felt when she imagined taking on the house of the noble that had dared to try and enslave her. Why does the thought of a fight seem so exciting?

"Please, she means no ill will. Do not kill her." The old man's voice was shaky, his knuckles white from the strong grip he had on his staff.

Kill her? She wanted to fight the paladin. To know how strong she was, not to kill her. The deaths of the two mages may have been quite intentional, but the way she had achieved those goals was not. Accidentally having something similar happen to the feisty paladin was not something she wanted. The more Aperio considered the woman, the more she seemed to intrigue her. It was strangely interesting that she was always ready to fight, even when it was clear that she feared her opponent. At least, she assumed the quickened breathing of the paladin to be fear. It could be anticipation as well.

Laelia shifted her weight, taking what Aperio assumed to be a stance to better engage her. Aperio looked back at the old mage. "I do not want to kill her." The man was visibly relieved, but tensed right back up when Aperio continued. "I would like to fight her, but I want to talk to your [Grandmaster] first." And not accidentally kill her.

Ira said something to Laelia in their language, his voice still shaky. The woman loosened her grip on her sword and turned to the bound Humans. Once all of them were back on their feet, the paladin started to walk away from the carriage. I don't understand her. When Aperio turned her attention back towards Ira, she saw him holding his breath. The old mage seemed almost desperate, ready to drop to his knees in order to beg her forgiveness. Am I that scary?

Aperio heaved a sigh. She thought she had handled this well, but that was apparently not the case. "Can we continue?"

The question seemed to rip Ira out of his stupor as he hastily bowed and opened the door to the carriage. "Yes, of course."

Stepping inside, Aperio laid her eyes on a very pale Thaddeus. The old man’s apprentice stared at her, seeming almost too afraid to even blink. She did her best to ignore the young man's shaky breathing, as well as the groan of the seat as she sat down rigidly straight to avoid squashing her wings. Her attention slowly sank to her hand as she unconsciously began to slowly open and close it.

That scary?

Sacrifice - Chapter 18: Underway

Laelia ignored the groaning and muffled complaints of the bandits she was dragging behind her. It had been their choice to attack. Not that her triumph over the bandits mattered much – that Elf could probably kill her without moving a finger. Doesn't even tell me what level I reached, she thought as she dismissed the tiny blue window that told her she had levelled up. 220? Or 221? Maybe I should check before I leave again? She shook her head at the thought; the less time that Elf was alone with Thaddeus and Ira, the better.

The way the newcomer behaved was, to put it mildly, odd. On one hand, she seemed aloof, holding knowledge that was far beyond their reach. But on the other, she seemed to not quite grasp the world around her, as if it was somehow foreign to her. Ira had said that she had been in a lengthy seclusion in order to train, and while that made a certain amount of sense, she couldn't see how the Elf needed it. If anything, Aperio could do with less power. She had bruised Thaddeus through a minor bout of annoyance, and had broken his charm with the simple application of mana infusion. Well, maybe not so simple. After all, I still can't do it. The thought didn't make her too sad, as she had other skills to her name. Holy Magic had a greater utility to it than a magical voice. Unless mana practically rolls off of you, it seems.

What annoyed her most about their guest, however, was the way she seemed to bring out the worst in her own behaviour. Laelia had reacted before she could think on multiple occasions, and most of them ended just shy of a fight. When she had first met Aperio she had been sure she could take her. Just another Elven mage, this one wearing nothing more than rags. How wrong she had been.

In a sense she was glad that Ira had stopped her pitiful attempt, having seen what that woman did to the wards of the village just by standing near them had put a lid on her will to fight. And now she wants to fight me. Laelia shuddered at the thought. The difference between herself and that Elf was likely the same as the difference between the bandits and herself.

For a brief moment Laelia wondered how exactly she had become that strong. Unbidden, pictures of blood sacrifices flashed through her mind, followed by memories of savage battles to take the powered-up maniacs down. She had killed enough of them to know how terrifyingly much one could gain from that vile magic. And Aperio first meeting them while covered in blood did not help that mental image any. Not that I could take her down.

Shaking her head, she increased her speed. The sooner she got back to Ira, the better. No matter how she tried, she simply didn't trust this Aperio. While she might not be able to fight the Elf, she could at least delay her while Ira and Thaddeus escaped. Not that it would matter much. She can fly. Or use some ridiculous spell nobody has heard about.

A few of the words mumbled by one of the bandits caught her attention. What? No. He can't really think she would come to help them, can he? When the mumbling did not cease, she decided to put a stop to it. "The Elf was more likely to kill you than to offer help. You are quite lucky that she doesn't speak Common. Now be quiet."

The man fell silent, but his mumbles were replaced by the timid voice of the archer. "M-Miss Paladin?"

Laelia turned her head to look at the woman while she continued to walk. "Yes ‘miss’ bandit?"

The archer shuddered a little but soon found her voice again, shaky as it was. "W-Why would you think that?"

"Why indeed," the paladin said with a dry laugh. "The last time she heard someone mention slavery and her in the same sentence, she went ballistic." Why am I speaking as if I have known her for years? She shook her head. "No more questions."

The Festival of Life! She's been in seclusion for who knows how long, and the festival only happens every three years... is that why she behaves the way she does? Laelia couldn't claim to know what Elves actually went through during that time. All she knew was that they made quite the fuss about the whole thing. Can't imagine the core of it being much different from what I have to deal with every month. Maybe they have more pain? Laelia knew little of Elf biology as a whole. She did, however, know that the festival was one of the few chances they had to make children. These days, most people just used the festival as an excuse to have fun, Elves included. Is she a traditionalist, maybe?

The thought of that Elf meeting some of the more stuck-up nobles was a fun one, but also something she could do without. Laelia lived in Ebenlowe, and would like there to continue to be an Ebenlowe for her to live in. Until I find them, at least. The memory of years past caused her to quicken her pace yet again; she would get this done as fast as she could.

Should I just carry the carriage to the city? It would certainly make the journey quicker. But what of the horses? The animals had done nothing to upset her, besides being slower than she liked, and having them dangle in the air seemed wrong; so did leaving them.

Aperio, staring at her hand, heaved a sigh. So boring.

A look at Thaddeus showed that he was still as scared as ever, trying to be as small as possible in the opposite corner of the carriage. As soon as she laid her eyes on the man, he redoubled his efforts to appear invisible. She understood why he was scared, on an intellectual level at least. For him the ordeal was likely an attack of sorts and, while she was thoroughly annoyed, she should have kept her new strength in mind. Though I already held back a lot. She also found that she did not particularly want to hold back; now that she finally had magic, and was strong, she wanted to use it.

She fixed her eyes on the young mage as she thought. Should I ...apologise? The idea left a foul taste in her mouth, enough to make her retch if she hadn't been used to more vile things. A part of her wanted to simply listen to her new instincts, but a bigger part rebelled against the thought of bowing to it.

Her eyes wandered back to her hand, slowly balling it into a fist before opening it again. She was her own master, not forced to obey some feeling! Unbound! Free from the silly rules of… What? Aperio blinked, rubbing her head to ease the headache, her brows knitted together in confused frustration. What am I supposed to remember? She could recall her life! Every tiny, agonising moment. In more detail than she had any right to. And yet there was something missing. But how do I know it is missing when it wasn't there before?

A muffled whimper brought her attention back to Thaddeus. What she saw caused her to tilt her head; the young man was shivering and covered in a thin layer of frost. Breathing out, she noticed her breath forming a tiny cloud that quickly rose to the ceiling. Oh. Her mind no longer focusing on the absence of knowledge she did not know she should possess, the carriage began to heat back up. How does it do that? She shook her head at the thought. It doesn't matter.

"I…" Her voice caused Thaddeus to tremble and her to hesitate for a moment. After a moment she pressed on. She wouldn't give in to that stupid feeling. "I would like to apologise."

The man still winced at her words, but gave her a look of confusion nonetheless. If I talk any quieter nobody would understand me. I need to figure out how to restrain my… What did he call it? Presence?

Having no idea how she could even tell what her presence was like, she opted to continue with the hushed voice for now. “I did not expect you to be so... ” She hesitated for a moment, trying to find the right word while fighting the feeling bile rising in her throat. “Frail.”

Of course there was no actual bile, the food she had consumed had long since disappeared to Gods-know where. Definitely not where it should end up though. A matter for a different time.

Thaddeus still did not respond, but at least he had stopped shivering. Aperio simply looked at him, head cocked slightly to the side. He had talked before… is he just that scared? She had been through worse and could still talk to those who did it. Though the words were never what I wanted to say.

Maybe it was just me? She quickly dismissed the notion; she had not been special in any way. Maybe now I am. Or am I like this now because I was different before? The thought was shelved for later; Aperio wouldn’t find answers here. Thaddeus was too frightened to talk to her and Ira had to drive. And Laelia just wants to fight? What the paladin really wanted was still a mystery to her.

She acted like she did not care what Aperio thought, but every time she got annoyed or irritated the paladin would prepare for combat, almost as if she expected Aperio to lash out at any moment.

She briefly considered asking Thaddeus about Laelia. Very briefly. He seemed unable or unwilling to talk to her, even after she had apologized – if one could call it that. Stuck in the carriage, her options seemed limited, and boredom began rising once more. In an effort to do something, anything, Aperio decided to try to figure out the mystery of what Ira had called her presence. He had asked her about the mana in her body, which was a tiny amount compared to the vast amounts she could draw on. That tiny amount, however, seemed to be much larger than the norm. But all it does is flow around.

If she focused on the mana coursing through her body, she could feel every bit of it, follow it, see where it went. Just not where it came from. Closing her eyes in order to better pay attention, Aperio's seated self settled into calmness. Her mana seeped gently through her flesh and bones, again and again like waves upon the shore.

While she was paying such close attention, her view seemed to magnify and she was finally able to observe how the mana changed her. With every pass, she could perceive herself growing stronger, her muscles feeling firmer, her skin becoming sturdier. It was only a minuscule amount of change with each wave, but nonetheless it left her physical self improved every time. Is that normal? The mana that brought these changes seemed to fuse with her body, every drop that vanished instantly replaced.

Did this also happen while I was in the Void for… Millennia?

It would certainly explain her strength. Previously, Aperio had assumed it to be a purely magical boost, rather like the way the Royal Guard had used their own mana to strengthen themselves. She had seen them pass out during their training, and sometimes had even been tasked with delivering (and administering) mana potions to help them recover more quickly. She knew those guards used mana as a temporary boost to strengthen themselves – Or they were very good actors.

While it was a pleasant discovery, it did not tell her what exactly her presence was nor why this was happening. An idea crept into her mind as she was observing the inner workings of her body with such proximity. Would she be able to find out if any of the vast amounts of mana flooding her body was leaving her in any way? Aperio did not know if the notion was stupid or not, but neither did she care. A lot of things that did not make a whole lot of sense were happening to her, so her notions of impossibility were shifting on the daily.

She did not know how much time had passed, but after looking again and again, Aperio found something. There was indeed mana leaving her, flowing into the surroundings. If she focused on it, she could actually spot tiny arcs of silvery-blue almost playfully streaking through the air and a constant hazy fog that surrounded her. As soon as she blinked the world looked normal again, and Aperio had to start finding those escaping tendrils all over again. Is that my ...presence? Looks more like an aura to me.

Aperio wanted to immediately try and manipulate the mist and the playful arcs, but she feared that she might further injure the man sitting across from her. He seemed to be very easily affected by the mana that surrounded her. Is that why he doesn't speak? She was about to ask when a noise from the outside and the slowing of the carriage took her attention.

Once they had come to a stop, Aperio opened the door, briefly noting that the sun had started to rise again. How long was I figuring things out? Turning towards the front of the carriage, she saw Ira speaking with a group consisting of two Humans, a Beastkin and an Elf. The Beastkin wore a full plate, had a sword strapped to his hip and a shield on his back. One of the Humans and the Elf wore robes that denoted them as magicians of some kind, at least to her, though the robed Human also had a bow strung across his back. The last member of their party wore leather armour that reminded her of the bandits, but seemed to be of a much higher quality. Much like the leather-wearing Human she had seen in the ruins, this one too had a pair of daggers at their side.

Maybe it was the noise of the door or the mana that clung to her that drew their attention, but the Elf, as well as the robed Human, turned to face her. Ira hesitated briefly as the Human seemed to ask him something, but then he nodded and gave a response.

Aperio heard the Human whisper a 'be careful' to the Elf before they came her way. She simply cocked her head at their approach. Are they Adventurers or simple Mercenaries? Is there even a difference?

Sacrifice - Chapter 19: Actualisation

The party of two approached her, the robed Elf stopping briefly to chant a spell under his breath. When he continued on his way a faint blue hugged his form. With the thin barrier surrounding him, his steps seemed to have more confidence. For Aperio, it was just a reminder that she had to work on her aura.

What was of interest to her, however, was that the Human seemed completely unconcerned. It likely didn't mean much, as neither Ira nor Laelia had shown much of a reaction to her until she had first spoken, but it was intriguing nonetheless.

As the pair continued their approach, Aperio stepped out of the carriage, closing the door behind her. Her wings seemed to be the center of attention yet again as both of their eyes lingered on them. "What do you want?"

The question drew their attention away from her feathered limbs and caused the Elf to bow slightly. Both Aperio and the robed Human gave the man a look of confusion. Before either of them managed to ask, the bowing Elf righted himself and spoke. "It is an honour to meet an Elder of the Moons."

The fact that he had spoken not in Common but the language of their kind only managed to gain a passing interest from her. The title he had used was much more intriguing. Even Ira had turned away from the rest of the Adventurers, either able to understand what the Elf had said or – more likely – recognising the title.

Elder, to her, meant a leader or teacher, and she was neither of those. Her pale skin and taller than average stature, however, would be enough for anyone who knew at least a little about Elves to draw a particular conclusion. She was a Moon Elf, though looks did not always align with origins. Shaking her head, she replied, "I am not an Elder."

The man looked at her for a moment, confusion in his eyes, before he quickly nodded. "Not here for politics, then. I apologise."

He doesn't believe me, does he? "That does not tell me why you are here."

"Ah yes. We were supposed to investigate what had happened near the ruins, but the old man has already given us the information we need." He laughed as he glanced at Ira before he quietly continued. "Three days of travel for nothing. At least we still get paid."

That she likely wasn't supposed to have heard him was pointedly ignored, as what he had said was quite unsettling. Three days? I spent almost four days figuring out this aura stuff? I can’t even control it yet! Not having to sleep or eat was certainly nice, but it seemed to mess with her perception of time. Aperio had thought that she had just spent the night trying to figure it out. Is it because of the changes that time seems so… irrelevant?

She had been unconcerned with it when she had made her way out of the ruins, dismissing it as an unimportant circumstance of her surroundings. But if she wanted to live with others, disappearing for days on end was probably not the best idea. Maybe there are other people who don't need to sleep? It was yet another thing she would, hopefully, find the answers to in Ebenlowe. For now, there was something else on her mind.

"Why does your friend keep staring at me?" The robed Human had been fixated on her during their talk. Yes, she had wings, but otherwise she looked like a normal Elf. Maybe he has a thing for Elves? Should that be the case, he would be saddened to find out that Aperio held no interest in those matters. At least, not now, and most definitely not with him. She was in no rush to be reminded of the times she had been ordered to share a bed with the men and women that called themselves her masters.

As she was contemplating the periphery of the subject, a thought occurred to her. Given her current physical state, would any partner she hypothetically chose even survive the encounter? She could pick up a stick or a stone without breaking them, or even put on her fragile dress without ripping it, but as soon as she tried to gently nudge a person they'd go and fall to the ground. Maybe it was an unconscious assumption on her part that a living being should be able to withstand more than a stick. Or, more likely, it was pent-up frustration from her life as a slave.

Control was something she sorely needed to work on, both physical and magical. She could not reasonably expect everyone she met to have a barrier handy, nor could she expect people to simply accept that their wards would break when she came by. Not that they could do much to stop it. A small smile tugged at her lips at the thought of a group of guards trying to apprehend her for damaging their wards. Why do I want them to try?

"Pay him no mind, he is just taken by your aura," he said with a small laugh, pulling her out of her thoughts. "His goal in life is to seek out and fight people he deems powerful. Those are his words, not mine."

Aperio turned to look at the Human. A fight? He did not strike her as powerful, but neither had she thought of herself as such. Having a willing participant to fight caused something within to her fall into place and the feeling of excitement she had felt at the mere thought of a fight was back in force. She did not know why, but she wanted to fight. If not this man, then something else. Power flowed through her body, not the calm mana she had investigated during the ride but something more. Something pure. The introspective lazy river of mana could not compare to what flooded her being.

A part of her she never knew should be there was suddenly back, and with it came an undeniable urge to assert herself as stronger.

As better.

It felt so right.

Whatever it was that flowed through her brought with it parts of the knowledge she had tried to remember before. Knowledge that was hers but somehow had not found its way back. The Void, a place unbound by the laws of mortals. Her home. Her Domain. Hers to do with as she pleased.

She had thought herself weak for most her life, unable to fight against her masters or the collar. Her only solace was that she did not go mad, as some of her peers did. Aperio had always remained lucid. For better or for worse. She had tried to remain strong, to somehow fight what was happening to her, but it had never worked. In the end, she had given up. Resigned herself to be an observer trapped in her own body, eagerly awaiting her end. Now she was here, back from the dead; stronger than she would have ever thought possible.

It would seem that the Empire had managed to create a God; just not the one they had desired.

She wanted to let the world know who she was; impose her will on all of creation.

In the corner of her eye she saw silver-blue arcs streaking through the air around her. She heard a faint snapping and someone yelling, but she did not care. Her attention was focused on the robed Human in front of her. She took a heavy step towards him, leaving cracked stone behind. Another step and she was directly in front of him. She could hear his ragged breathing, struggling against what she now knew to be her aura. Tilting her head to the side she asked. "You want to fight me?" A challenge had been issued and she would take it.

The Human in front of her meant nothing. Just an adventurer that had come here to challenge her. His life was as good as any for a test of her strength.

A trickle of blood running from his nose ripped Aperio out of her trance. Before she was able to ask the man any more questions, he toppled over. She caught him before he hit the ground, and felt surprise at how light he was. Like a feather. It was difficult to gauge how much strength she should use, but she took extra care to cause no more harm. After laying the man on the ground as carefully as she could, Aperio took a deep breath to steady her thoughts.

Is that why the Void feels like I belong there? Because it is my… Domain? She wanted to question her thoughts, argue that she was not what they claimed to be, but she knew it was right. Not like the feeling of wrong she got when she wanted to ask a question or the vague sense that it was fine to catch a sword with her hand. No, this knowledge was absolute. Shaking her head she turned to look at her surroundings; if the Human in front of her had been injured others might have been as well.

The carriage seemed fine, but the same could not be said about Ira and the other adventurers. The armour-clad Beastkin had sword and shield in hand, ready for battle, but he also seemed to be ready to collapse at any moment. Ira and the Elf leaned against the carriage itself, seemingly spent. The adventurer in leathers appeared to be largely unaffected and tending to a Thaddeus that was so pale Aperio could swear he had no more blood left in his body.

All of this because I got excited? ...Because a Goddess got excited? She had been brushing aside the title ever since she had returned from the Void, as she didn't really feel like a Goddess. However, given her recent experiences she found she had to reconsider the thought.

She had not previously known how to fly, but now she knew how to. And it worked. This knowledge that had appeared from thin air also had that same tinge of knowing. Of truth.

Thinking of herself as a Goddess felt right, but only almost. It was as though there was something still missing. Maybe because I don't know what my Domain is supposed to be? She knew the Void to be hers, but Goddess of the Void was not right. Yes, it was hers to rule, but she felt more like the Queen of the Void with the tiny orbs of lights as her subjects. Maybe it is only the lights?

The image of the little lights brought another memory to the forefront of her mind. Souls! She had entertained the notion that they were souls before, but now the word alone felt like the truth. Why I am so sure about that now? Thinking about it further, Goddess of Souls also felt off, as did Death, and most other things she could think of pertaining to the afterlife.

Looking within herself, she could still feel whatever had been set free coursing through her, waiting for her to command it. It felt like a purer form of mana, more potent. Right. Like something she should have used all along. A closer look revealed that it was merging with the rest of her mana, both in her body and in what she had come to call the Well. While she was curious to know if this new mana changed the way her body was being enhanced, she first wanted to try her hand at healing. And maybe stop the rest from trying to attack her.

As she took off the hood of the Human, she noticed the blood coming from both his nose and ears. Why it came from there she did not know, but it wouldn’t keep her from trying to heal the damage. If it went wrong, he only had himself to blame. Mortal against a Goddess. She almost snorted at the thought. Even if she had not truly known what she was before, she had known it to be an unfair fight. But he had managed to reveal things to her. Maybe I should thank him? The thought crossed her mind, but she quickly discarded it. He likely had not known what she was and had simply looked for a fight as the Elf had said.

Now, how do I heal?

Very carefully placing her hand on his chest, Aperio tried to imagine the Human as she had seen him before. Conscious, no blood running from his nose and ears. She waited, but the warmth of magic did not come. Opening her eyes showed that the man was still just as injured as before. Do I need to know what exactly is wrong with him? ...How would I even do that?

On a hunch she tried to push her mana into the man. It always felt eager to obey her every whim, so why not try to use it to figure out what was wrong? Aperio felt surprisingly little resistance when she eased her mana in the Human. What came next, however, was not what she had expected. She could feel – see – the man's mana rushing through his body, trying to mend his wounds only to fizzle out when it reached them; sucked into an abyss that screamed death to her. Did I do that? ...With my voice?

It only took a couple of seconds before he had more of her mana in him than his own, and his body seemed to try and fight against the invasion of foreign mana at first. As soon as Aperio directed it to aid the man's own efforts to heal, it stopped resisting. She watched in fascination as, with the help of her mana, the broken parts stitched themselves together, stronger than before; just like it had with her. That's not light magic, is it.

It did not take long before she couldn't feel any more wrong with the man, not that it meant much. Aperio knew precious little on how Humans worked, she had simply let the man's mana lead the way. It seemed to know what he needed.

She quickly pulled her hand away as she felt his chest try and fail to rise below her hand. The man flew into a coughing fit as he attempted to sit up. Once he had his breathing under control he muttered a quiet "What?" and looked at Aperio with an expression she could not place.

Aperio simply cocked her head to the side. "I think I won."

Sacrifice - Chapter 20: Aura

Aperio looked between the man she had just healed and the others in front of the carriage. The silence was only broken by the clattering of armour as the Beastkin finally gave in to his exhaustion and let himself fall. Should I try to heal him as well? She set aside the thought for now, as she did not even know if her first attempt had succeeded. Just because her patient seemed fine did not mean that he actually was.

Turning her attention back to the man she had, presumably, healed, she found him still staring at her. "Something wrong?" Aperio's voice was back to a whisper, not wanting to knock the man out again. Adding a feeling of power to her voice was easy, almost second nature; doing the opposite was not something she had figured out quite yet. The best she could manage was lowering her voice to what she thought was a barely audible level. So far they managed to understand her just fine, and only flinched slightly.

“Yes-No… I just…” His voice trailed off as he simply stared at Aperio again. She still could not place the expression he had. Her best guess would be fear, and possibly something akin to reverence? Or is he just not able to process that someone is stronger than him? It did not matter for now. She would give him some time to gather his thoughts. And my own.

Realising she was a Goddess was a lot more anticlimactic than she had assumed it would be. There was no grand display of power – at least from Aperio’s perspective – and no enlightenment.

Standing up, Aperio moved towards the group by the carriage. The Beastkin tried and failed to stand up to her approach while Ira and the robed Elf did not even lift a finger to try and stop her. Stepping past the three, she came to a stop behind the leather-clad adventurer.

She was intrigued as to what had happened to Thaddeus. Besides being deathly pale and unconscious, the young mage did not appear to be injured in anyway. Her approach had not stopped the Human, who was doing... Aperio had no idea what he was doing. The Human poked at a few places with needles, then having seemed to find at least a partial answer he reached out and gave Thaddeus some form of potion before returning to his needles and continuing to explore the unconscious man's skin with them.

“What are you doing?”

The man winced at her words; she had forgotten to speak in a whisper and it showed. While it might be a hindrance to living a normal life, Aperio actually found herself enjoying the feeling of power in her voice, and the almost ethereal quality of it. Now that it wasn’t hoarse from not having spoken for actual millennia any more, she actually liked to hear her own words. Though, the fact that she got to choose what she said might be another factor for her enjoyment.

“I am trying to ease his pain,” he replied in a gruff voice without turning away from his task. He did not give her any more attention as he engrossed himself in his work, seemingly unimpressed by her previous show of force. The question of how sticking needles in someone was supposed to help was quickly replaced with another thought as she stared at his back. Maybe he is a better test subject?

She shook her head in an effort to clear her mind of the itch to fight, but only managing to force it to a silent corner of her mind. There was a more immediate concern, a question she wanted answered. If this man could lessen Thaddeus’s pain, he might also know why he reacted the way he did to her presence; to her aura.

“Why is he even in pain? I know some people find it...” Her voice trailed off. She did not want to admit what she knew to be true, it felt disgusting to do. But she had no choice if she wanted answers. I had always thought a Goddess was supposed to just know things. With an inaudible sigh, she steeled herself and tried again. “Some find it... unpleasant to stand near me or hear me talk, but none of them show the reaction he does.”

Her statement caused the man to finally turn and face her. His face did not match the voice Aperio had heard. She had expected an old man like Ira. Experienced. Weathered. One that could lead the group of adventurers. Instead she saw a face whose age she could not place. It wasn't due to the presence of beauty or timelessness that she was unable to guess, but simply because Aperio was unable to determine someone's age without an obvious indicator. Like grey hair, or wrinkles, or youthful exuberance.

"I know you Elves don't deal with this stuff often, but show some restraint! The man did not choose his ability to feel every bit of mana in the air. He was trying his best to keep his composure and ignore the pain, while you continue to walk around shining with mana like the Gods-damned midday sun."

After the man had fallen silent Aperio could feel the eyes of everyone present on her, waiting for her response with bated breath. She could hear the Beastkin's sword move in its sheath, the wood of Ira's staff groaning slightly under his strained grip, and an almost inaudible rustle of a robe.

The thought that she should punish this foolish mortal for his words, rip him limb from limb and post his head on a pike so nobody else would dare to disrespect her, briefly flashed through her mind.Then, she gently discarded the notion. She actually kind of enjoyed his bluntness, even if a part of her wanted – demanded – his death.

Restraint was something she sorely needed, but had no idea how to do. She knew that her aura was a tangible thing, as she could see it if she concentrated. But it is my mana, isn't it? Shouldn't I be able to control it? The process of seeing her aura was surprisingly easy once she knew what she had to do.

The hazy-fog she had seen in the carriage hung in the air around her, stretching as far as she could see. Does it look… denser? It did appear to be heavier, a proper fog. Thick enough that it should reduce her vision to an arm's length, and yet, it didn't seem to be there at all. Because of the purer mana? Or will it just become denser the longer I live? She was sure she could touch it at this point, but Aperio did not want to try that now on the off-chance she could not. Appearing as anything but regal and in control still felt disgusting to her. Do all Gods feel this way?

While she would not try to physically move the fog, she would most certainly try to move it with her mind. So far the mana had done what she wished, even when it was no longer in her body or Well. With nothing more than a thought, the fires she had started extinguished themselves as easily as she had made them. So why wouldn't it work on her aura.

Focusing on controlling – touching – the fog sent her mind spinning. Small insects scurrying through the underbrush, a worm burrowing itself deeper into the ground, the trees gently swaying in the wind – she felt everything around her. If the sheer amount of information flooding her mind wasn't so overwhelming she would have been in awe, but as it was she wanted it to stop. She didn't want to know that thousands of ants were currently running around their burrow or that a bird was building a nest in a tree to her left.

Before she was drowned in the sensation of knowing every tiny detail around her, Aperio let her control over the fog drop. As suddenly as it had appeared, the influx of information slowed to a trickle, the connection still present but subdued. It stays? She could still feel the presence of the world around her, in places she both could and could not see, but it was now muted. Like the view from a foggy window, it was lacking in detail, and ever-so-slightly distorted.

All of this just because I… I don't know? Accepted that I might be a Goddess? Aperio could not quite wrap her head around the concept. Why is this happening now? The only thing that had changed was that she no longer outright dismissed the notion of being something divine. But, it's not like many things make sense at the moment. Maybe the world is indeed broken.

It was an amusing yet frightening idea. But, when she considered what was happening to her and how the stone had only produced garbled mess it was not so easily dismissed. Maybe the world wasn’t meant to have another Goddess? Or I am not supposed to be here, but in the Void?

Directing her attention back to the people surrounding her revealed no change. Either they had not noticed, or her lapse had happened a lot more quickly than it had seemed. Not that time has felt very consistent lately.

This time prepared for the mental assault, Aperio tried to increase her control over her aura. At first she tried to sense the leather-clad man that had gone back to poking needles into Thaddeus. The information was there; not nearly as detailed as it was the first time, but no longer distorted. She knew where he was and what he did without looking at him, almost like she knew where the debris was that she had floated behind her. How it worked, she did not know, but neither did she care. She already had enough questions and simply taking it as something all the Gods could do was probably for the best. At least for now.

Trying to glean more from her aura, she felt a slight resistance as she directed more of her attention on the leather-clad man. A thin barrier, just like the one the Elf had used, was doing its best to block her. It seemed so fragile to her, a tiny poke and it would be gone. But she did not break it to sate her curiosity. This was supposed to be an exercise in restraint, after all.

If her will dictated how much of her mana drifted where, she could surely just retract it, put it back in her body.

Her attempt was met with failure.

The mana refused to enter, and simply clung to her like a second skin. She stopped her attempt fairly quickly, as there was simply too much to reasonably keep close to her. That would probably only make the problem worse. The concentration of her mana was already denser near her, increasing that range would probably mean that she would break wards from even further away.

Her next experiment also accomplished little. Trying to push the fog of mana away from her resulted in more mana simply taking its place. She did not even feel it leave her Well or body. It was either too little to notice, got replaced too fast or came from somewhere else.

There was one last thing she could think of to try. It wasn't really showing restraint but it should have the same effect. Creating a bubble of nothing in her aura was the most strenuous use of magic she had done so far. Guiding the mana away and stopping the rest from filling its place took more effort than she had thought it would, but once it had formed, it seemed to stay, obediently informing her where it was like any other magic she had used. Even moving it was easy when she compared it with the initial effort of creation. Or is it removal?

Whenever the bubble of nothing got within arm's reach of Aperio, it seemed to falter. The mana right next to her was, perhaps, too dense for it to cope with, and so it tended to nudge around the outer edges of the denseness, taking the path of least resistance. Why did it take me so long to sense this, and yet manipulating it is so easy? ...Almost like flight. Where her knowledge came from was rapidly moving up on her list of things to learn.

Letting her test bubble collapse, she formed a new one around Thaddeus and the adventurer. The man stopped his needle-poking and looked at her with what she would call a relived expression. Was he scared I would hurt him after what he said? There was still an urge to do just that, but she had already declared such feelings to be advisers at best.

The man merely gave her a nod of thanks before he continued tending to Thaddeus. He did not ask what she did, seemingly content that she did something. Maybe it's good that he didn't ask? I can't really explain what I did after all.

Moving a short distance away, she sat down. None of the others seemed ready to talk or do anything aside from looking exhausted. Even the man she had healed still only shifted his gaze between Aperio and something only he could see. For Aperio it was a good opportunity to better learn how to use her aura. And come up with a better name for it.

Sacrifice - Chapter 21: Roadside Revelations

The blue-tinted window still hung in the air in front of Arden. The woman responsible for it was sitting on the ground with her eyes closed, seemingly uncaring for her surroundings while Roland was still fussing over the old [Guide]'s apprentice. He shifted his attention back to the notification, still not quite believing what it said. Or understanding what it said for that matter.

You have received a blessing from A̸̵p̴e̢͝r̶̸i̡͏͏̛͢o̧̕͝,̛ ͏̨͟ ̴͡ś̢͟͟͞ˈ̶͞á̷͠k̶̴̢ɹ͝͞i͞҉̛̀͡ː̶̡̢̛̕ ̵̵͞n̡͞͝j̷̷̡ˈ̸̢̧͟u̸̵̡̕͝ː̴̴̀́m̷͟ɛ̧͘͘͟͢n̴̨̕͡ ̴̡͟͠d̶̀͜͞͠ˈ̶̛͝͞͡i̴̧ː̴

Do not disappoint.

The blessing part was easy to figure out; from who it came was harder. The only readable part of it was 'Aperio'. Not that it meant much to him, as he knew of no God or Goddess with that name. Whose name is it, then? Hers? Maybe she is a priestess of some kind.

But why does it say 'Do not disappoint'?

He glanced back at the woman who was still sitting on the ground, ignoring what was happening around her. Arden tried to recall what had happened but could only remember approaching her together with Merius, and them talking in what he assumed to be some Elven language. Then, the woman had turned to him, and...his mind went blank. The last thing he knew before he woke back up was that the air around her seemed to be alive in some way.

Arden was taken from his thoughts by Perian. "You okay? Got some blood on your face." Despite the heavy breaths he took between the words, the Beastkin's rumbling voice sounded calm. In control. After he had received a nod from Arden he continued, "What did Merius say to make her do that?"

"I don't know. They spoke in some language – something Elven, maybe – and once she turned to face me I… I passed out?"

"You did." Perian said, nodding. "She asked if you wanted to fight her, but I think she might have overestimated your strength as well as ours. I didn't know it was possible for a person to do something like this with only their voice."

"Yeah, I don't think I can fight her. Jayren would probably try though, if she really did do that with just her voice."

Perian only gave a grunt in response, as for some reason he did not approve of the other mage of their group. Arden wanted to tell him about the blessing but was stopped when the hairs on his neck stood up and an inexplicable feeling of dread washed over him. When he tried to find the source he only found the Elven woman looking at him with narrowed eyes. She held his gaze for a second longer before going back to what Arden assumed to be a kind of meditation.

Do not disappoint. The message echoed through his mind. Arden did not know what was meant by that, but he was very sure that if he should somehow disappoint the God behind the blessing, the Elf would make short work of him. A thought surfaced on the fringes of his mind, almost lost in the swirl of contradictions it brought with it. What if she gave the blessing?

With a firm shake of his head, Arden dismissed the idea and the window that still hung in the air in front of him. "I need to talk to Roland."

"Something you want to tell me?" Perian asked.

"Once I know what it is, I will tell you."

The Beastkin simply grunted at that and moved back to Merius and the old [Guide], making sure they had what they needed. Arden was happy they had brought him on – the knight had saved them more than once already, and his calm and caring personality was something they needed. Too bad Enrya and Jayren aren't here. The surprisingly knowledgeable thief and enigmatic mage would be a nice reassurance should that Elf – Is she even one? – decide to do more than violently dispense blessings.

Wiping the bit of blood off of his face, Arden stood up. His legs did not feel shaky and neither did his head swim like it usually would after getting knocked out. Maybe getting a blessing heals you? Now I just have to figure out what else it does, if anything. A few quick steps brought him past the exhausted looking mages and behind Roland. The monk was sticking his needles into the young man that lay unconscious on the ground. Roland had once explained what the needles did, but Arden had already forgotten. Something about allowing mana to flow better?

"Roland, you have a minute?"

"Yes. As the Lady has decided to no longer drown the poor boy in mana, I can spare a moment." The man's voice was just loud enough that the woman in question had to have heard it. The Elf showed no reaction, still sitting on the ground, not a thought spared to the rather expensive-looking dress she wore.

Arden lowered his voice to a whisper he was sure none could hear, and also hoped that the sitting Elf could not speak Common. "You, uh, know a lot about the Gods right?"

"That I do my friend!" A delighted smile spread on the monk’s face as he answered. "What can I help you with?" The volume of his reply attracted the attention of everyone around, though only the [Guide] looked like he had an understanding of what was said.

"Please! Quiet!" he urged the man in a raised whisper.

"Something personal then?"

Arden nodded to the monk’s thankfully quiet question. "When I woke up, I got a notification that said I received a blessing, but it was all messed up and I could only make out a bit of the name."

The rhythm of needle-sticking abruptly ceased as Roland turned to face him more fully. "Messed up? How? And what could you make out?"

He scratched the back of his head. "Scattered and messy. Like it tried to layer lots of different texts on top of each other," he finally said, unable to come up with a better explanation. "As for the name… the only part I could read properly seemed to spell 'Aperio', but I have never heard of a God or Goddess with that name. Can it be that the name of the priest that officiated the blessing shows up?"

Roland shook his head. "No. The System always shows the name of the God that gave the blessing. As for the messed up part... I cannot tell you much about it. I know that some [Appraisers Stones] can produce a garbled screen if they can't deal with the power of the person using them, but I have never heard of the System itself breaking in that way."

Arden turned to look at the woman he now assumed to be Aperio. "I'm certain it came from her. What is she? A Goddess that chose to come out of hiding?"

Roland followed his gaze and remained silent for a few breaths. "I don't know for sure, but I don't think that is the case. Word was given to all churches from their respective Gods the last time the pantheon grew. Even Roots had announced it. It would also not explain why the notification broke."

"Can you at least tell me what the blessing does?"

All he got in response to his question was a short laugh. "You'd have to ask her."

While it was nowhere near perfect, Aperio's control over her aura got better by the minute. At first she had always tried to think of a logical way to make things work, but it turned out that all she needed was to will the mana to do what she wanted. A simple flex of her mental muscles and it obeyed. No complicated formulas needed; to an extent, at least. She could not make it disappear, only move it, and neither could she figure out where it came from. Another thing of note was that, much like how the mana consistently changed her body, her aura was expanding ever so slowly with her as some kind of beacon at its centre.

The Human she had healed had caught her attention a couple of times. He had talked to the Beastkin, mentioning someone named Jayren that would potentially want to fight her. Please do. Her attention had been drawn again by her own mana, which was buzzing around the Human like a swarm of angry insects. She had tried to figure out the cause of such a reaction, but had come up short for the moment.

Then, when he had spoken to the needle-man, the delighted outburst was impossible to ignore. He was rather loud when expressing his eagerness. Better hearing is not always a blessing it seems. Not that it had hurt, but it was annoying nonetheless.

She tried to listen to their conversation, but they had switched back to the incomprehensible gibberish they called their language and the only thing she could understand was her own name. How does he know my name? Did I miss Ira telling him that? She had not been the best at paying attention recently, so it was a plausible enough answer for her liking. Who knows how long they talked before I noticed we had stopped.

Focusing back on her aura, she tried something she should have already done in the ruins. At the time she had not thought of it as she had thought herself limited to creating magic in close proximity to her own self, but with her new knowledge of her ever-expanding aura it was something she simply had to try. A small flame came into existence further down the road, out of sight of any living being that would care to notice. It wasn't as effortless as the times she had summoned one near her, but still easy enough that it required nothing more than a thought. Aperio had the urge to try something bigger, but the last time she had set something on fire she had not felt a thing while her clothes smouldered away. Probably not the best idea.

Snuffing out the small fire, Aperio returned her attention to the people surrounding her. Observing them through the aura and not her eyes was a fun exercise, though whenever she tried to focus on a person they would tense up and look around, as though they were trying to find something. Maybe they can feel it but don't know what it is? She had assumed the mage-looking people would be able to figure it out, but only the Human she had healed had looked directly at her.

Though, admittedly, at that time she was not personally focused on him. It was her mana that had tingled around the man like an alert of some sort, almost as if it was not pleased with whatever he had done. Is it alive? Aperio hoped that was not the case, as she had no desire to become what she had hated for her entire life. She nudged her mana closer to him in an effort to figure out what had caused it to behave like that before.

The man himself showed no reaction to her attempts and, instead of the wild buzzing she had observed before, she saw no change in the mana itself. What she did feel was a faint itch, located at the back of her mind. It clearly wanted to be grasped, to be understood, but it lingered out of reach, her mind only managing to brush past it without gleaning any information from the encounter. Aperio tried again and again, but did not manage to hold onto it.

With a sigh, she eased her mental grasp of her aura, letting the connection dim until it would only alert her if someone came too close. Coming to grips with all the information at her disposal was more mentally exhausting than she expected, and for now she needed a break. Even in this subdued state, the amount and detail of information coming her way was still something she needed to adjust to.

Aperio directed her attention inwards instead, trying to see how the purer mana enhanced her. Feeling her own body, even in a way she had not known to be possible in her days before the sacrifice, did not require anything close to the mental effort the aura needed. She instinctively understood what was going on. What was changing. What the outcome would be.

Not only was her body changing faster than before, but it was also more pronounced. If this continues for as long as I live, won't I break everything by simply touching it? Her concerns were allayed when she realized that the Pantheon was always on the watch. Why would the world make something that would break their creation?

Instead of worrying about the potential harm of her mere existence, she tried to focus on something else, and landed on the river that flowed as calmly as ever through her body. It was, indeed, a soothing thing to concentrate on, and as she observed the movements of her own mana something occurred to her. Is there more than before? She felt like there was, though apparently the increase had not affected her aura much. At least things did not look any worse than before. Is that why I could control it so easily?

Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt something enter her aura, farther away than she thought she would have noticed with the little control she had kept over it. It was rapidly approaching their group, pushing her mana aside as it moved. The displacement did not hurt, nor was it annoying; it simply told her that something was moving through it. Almost like the bubble.

Reasserting her control, she tried to figure out what it was. Laelia? No, wrong direction. Whatever it was, it was difficult to perceive clearly. Throwing her previous caution about her aura to the wind, Aperio focused, giving the approaching form her undivided attention.

She could feel stones breaking with every step they took. Their mana flowed through their body, reinforcing it as much as it could. Possibly due to her own inspection, she sensed the being slowing down for a moment before continuing on with newfound vigour. Aperio could not see much more, unable to detect anything past whatever the approaching person wore. It was not a matter of a lack of power – she was sure she could force her way in – but she did not know what the person's intent was. For all she knew, they could be a high-speed delivery service. Not that she saw any letters or parcels.

Standing up, she very lightly brushed a bit of dirt from her dress before turning to face in the direction of the newcomer. Ira was about to speak when he was cut off by Aperio's voice. "Someone is coming."

Sacrifice - Chapter 22: Rimose

The figure came into view and headed towards Aperio as soon as it caught sight of her. The Elf for her part simply stayed where she was, feeling confident that whoever was approaching would not crash into her. Or be able to seriously harm her if they did. There was also her newfound instinct that told her it would be fine, but all that did was make her question the choice. If it seems too dangerous I can still dodge. I am faster than them. Probably.

Even though she was able to see the approaching person, Aperio was unable to tell what they were. They wore a brown overcoat that only managed to hide part of the gleaming armour underneath; the greenish-gold metal it was made from was familiar, something she had seen both in the ruins and her previous life. What was it called again? Maybe I can ask them. Her hope to find answers was quickly dashed as she saw the figure draw a big two-handed sword from its back. How did that fit under the coat?

With a fight seemingly unavoidable the excitement was back, eliciting a small, involuntary twitch from her wings. She still had not figured out why she wanted to fight, besides the joy of testing her own power that is. A commotion behind her caused her to briefly flick her attention back towards the group. It might be that Thaddeus was waking up – she could not perceive what was happening inside of the hole she had created in her aura, after all.

What she saw surprised her. The slowness of their actions was something she had almost gotten used to by now, but she found she still marveled at it to an extent. Being able to perceive the world in this way was something she would never grow tired of. Her aura, however, was something that felt quite foreign to her in this moment. It flared out in full force, likely because she was anticipating the upcoming fight. Aperio noted with mild amusement that the bubble of nothing in her aura seemed to be unaffected by her emotional state. Because I am conscious of it?

The group she was with were sluggishly doing their best to prepare for combat. Probably. Ira was leaning on the carriage, looking as if he would like nothing more than to slide down again and continue his rest. The adventurers looked better prepared, both Beastkin and Elf seeming ready to fight while the needle-poking Human was putting tiny stone plates around the unconscious form of Thaddeus. What are those?

Most interesting, though, was the Human she had healed. He seemed to be largely unaffected by her mana that hung in the air, taking a moment longer to react than the others. Taking the bow from his back, he slowly moved behind the carriage. Aperio would have liked to spend some time investigating how he intended to shoot without arrows, but the newcomer was drawing closer – fast.

Having knowledge of what was happening behind her was nice, but it distracted her from the foe she wanted to fight. Hopefully it will be a fitting opponent. Her last bouts had all been resolved in disappointingly short order, and her excitement gained had been minimal at best.

As soon as she focused on more than just the mana that was near the figure, the voices behind her ceased and the mana-fog that was her aura returned to its normal calm. I hope there are books on aura control in Ebenlowe. Or maybe it will become easier the more I practice?

The rapid approach of the sword-wielding figure brought Aperio out of her reverie and back to the present. Judging by how they always adjusted to stay focused on her, and the way they angled their sword, they seemed to want to skewer her. Should I let them?

The feeling in the back of her mind assured her it was fine; no harm would come to her. She was inclined to believe it; if she really was a Goddess – Probably – how could a puny mortal harm her? The more rational part of her mind cried out, telling her that it would end her life. Rob her of her newfound freedom. What if that is a God? For now she would not let herself get stabbed, as she could always test her presumed sword immunity later.

It only took a few more breaths before the figure was close enough to prove that her hunch was right. A step to the side removed the possibility of being sword-skewered and, with a strong punch to the back, she sent her attacker into the ground. So I am not the only one who is sturdier than stone. The fact that she had just used her bare fist to punch an armoured person and felt no pain only managed to briefly take hold in her mind before it was replaced with the image of a sword that aimed for her neck.

Leaning back, letting the sword pass over her, Aperio was surprised by her ability to perform such a movement and the speed at which she had done it. She had known she was a lot faster than someone should be and had assumed she would be able to dodge, but actually doing it made the action seem a bit absurd.

Aperio was not the only one confused as her attacker hesitated after their first two misses. Whoever it was did not seem to be used to others dodging their attacks so effortlessly. How do I even know how to move like this? She had never thought about where she should move to in order to avoid the weapon; she just did. Her life as a slave had taught her how to behave in a court setting, how to be a proper servant – absolutely no training in swordsmanship. And yet, here she was, uninjured in a fight against a foe who could have killed her in an instant before she had been sacrificed.

Their dance continued, Aperio dodging the sword as it tried to cut her. Her attempts weren't graceful and efficient, they were clumsy at best and only worked because of her raw speed. She was constantly alert for the potential of her foe to switch to a magical attack, but they were either unable to use mana or simply did not know the right use for this particular fight.

Aperio found herself enjoying the encounter, even though it was not a fight as she had hoped. Whoever was attacking her was a skilled swordsman to her eye – not that that meant much – but they were simply outclassed in terms of speed and strength. If it wasn't for them trying to kill her she would commend them for their efforts. Maybe I can get Laelia to fight this one? It would be a good opportunity to learn, but also required her to resolve this peacefully, something she doubted she could manage.

The sword came at her again, but this time it seemed to shift mid-swing and suddenly veer towards her stomach. Instead of taking her usual dodging option to avoid the strike, Aperio took a daring step forwards and grabbed hold of her attacker's arm. The metal of their armor groaned and bent as she tightened her grip, and as blood started to flow from a wound somewhere on her opponent's limb the sword slipped from their grip and fell ungracefully to the ground. First blood!

Her attacker did not scream or yell in pain, but instead used their free hand to punch her abdomen. Aperio tilted her head at her foe – she felt little of the onslaught. How is that possible? She could feel the silky smooth fabric of her dress brushing against her skin just fine, but the punches of an armoured fist barely registered in her mind.

What did register was the dagger that had replaced the fist. For all her speed, Aperio had let herself get lost in thought and had to pay the price as her attacker thrust the blade towards her.

The unmistakable sound of something breaking caused Aperio to look down. Her dress was ruined, no longer offering much in terms of modesty, but that was of no concern to her. Not when she saw a hilt with a broken blade in the hand of her attacker and pieces of metal on the floor. She could also see a tiny cut on her abs, the wound already closing and leaving only a thin line of fresh blood on her skin.

She looked at what remained of the dagger. It was made from the same greenish-golden metal as the armour and sword. So it can cut me, but not much. A smile spread across her face as she looked at the featureless helm that stared back without emotion. Aperio wanted to punch her foe with rage and abandon like they had done with her, but the image of her fist piercing through the mage flashing through her mind stopped her. They would not be able to answer questions if they were dead.

With her free hand she grabbed hold of the helmet of her attacker, the metal shrieking as it deformed under her fingers. The figure tried to free themselves from her grip, but only managed to cut their arm with the jagged pieces of their broken armour.

Taking off the helmet required more effort than she had anticipated, though that was mainly because Aperio was more concerned with not killing the person underneath than being quick. It's not like they can go anywhere.

Holding her enemy by the throat and carefully prying yielded better results. Once she had successfully removed the helmet from her foe, she found a youth staring at her with black hair, eyes gleaming with unconcealed hatred. Is she young, or does she just look young? How are you supposed to tell?

"Why did you attack me?" Her question caused the woman – girl? – to clench her teeth, much to Aperio's delight. She liked the ethereal quality of her voice and what it did to others. Am I becoming a narcissist? The pain the woman found herself in, if it was not an act, was her own fault; Aperio would not lose any sleep over it. Literally.

"You are an abomination! You do not belong!" Her voice was strained, the effort she put in to talk clear. She can barely speak, why did she think he can kill me? ...did she know she would lose?

"Belong? Where?" Aperio chose to ignore the insult for now; punishment would be handed out once she had her answers. Was I right that I was never supposed to have left the Void?

"I will not answer your questions, beast! Die like Natio has decreed!"

Beast? I am an Elf with wings, not a Beastkin. And who is Natio? Are they related to the mage, maybe? "And why did they do that?"

Instead of answering, the attacker-turned-captive redoubled her efforts to free herself, trying to punch Aperio again. Nothing had changed from the first time she had tried. Are all youths brats now? A light jab to the chest caused the woman to cough up blood. "Answer the question." Should I just kill her?

Something in the woman's demeanor seemed to have broken. She began to laugh, and to cough up more blood. "You dare question a God?!" she declared, face stretching into a manic grin. "You are an abomination!" She dissolved into wet, coughing laughter again, bloody spittle hitting Aperio in the face. Before a rational response could even begin to be formed, the Elf reacted.

A blue flame spread from Aperio's hand. For the first time since their encounter, the woman screamed as it rapidly engulfed her like a wildfire. The thoughts came unbidden to the Elf's mind. She will burn for her sins. I will cleanse this world of her rotten self, rip her very soul from her body and squash it. How dare she defile me! She can't even begin to comprehend what I am! Judgement is mine to pass, not some random God who up and decided that it was their job!

She let the limp body fall to the floor as the the moment ended as abruptly as it had started, returning her mind to its usual state and leaving her thoughtful. What was that? It had felt right, in some way, and she found herself dwelling on the fact. Is that what I'm supposed to do? Judge people? ...Judging people... She rolled the potential title over her tongue, speaking it silently. Goddess of Judgement. No, that's still not right. While she still wasn't sure of what exactly her Domain encompassed, she felt that she was on the right track. But what of the Void? It needs to be included somehow, but how exactly does it fit in?

As the last of the corpse's limbs found gravity's stopping point, a particular warmth she had not felt since she had first arrived in the Void flowed through her. She took a blink's worth of time to focus inward on herself. Instead of the slow waves of inexorable change she had become accustomed to, her body was suddenly back in a state of repeatedly being broken and reforged. This time, thankfully, there was no pain. Only the pleasant warmth. Did I… take her strength? Were all those lights...people? Sinners? She shook her head in disgust at herself – it wasn't like her to lose her temper because of a little bit of blood splatter on her person. Why am I so appalled by this? I have been through worse.

Aperio could not find any remorse about her actions. The woman had been out to kill her. Neither could she find herself caring about the countless others that had died, if all of those tiny blue lights had indeed been people. The people she had cared about had died long before the ritual was carried out.

With another shake of her head she turned to face the people behind her, ignoring the looks she got from them. Instead, she headed straight for Ira. Aperio had finally had enough of stumbling about in the dark. She looked at him pointedly. "I want answers."

Sacrifice - Chapter 23: Fruitful Conversation

A tense silence filled the air as nobody responded to Aperio's statement. The Elf took another step towards the frail-looking mage, causing him to finally give in to gravity's embrace and slide down the side of the carriage until he sat on the floor. She wanted to be mad at them all for their insolence – punish them – but, could she really fault them? Besides their rather uncourtly behaviour, they had been nothing but helpful. Mostly. Thaddeus had been a nuisance at best, though if she could trust the words of the needle-poking Human, it was through no fault of his own. Feel every bit of mana… Aren't I doing the same? Maybe it hurts if it is foreign mana?

Even though she let her thoughts wander, Aperio held her gaze fixed on the old man. He was her best bet for answers. For reasons unknown to her, he had known that she would come. Or, at least, that someone would appear. The Prophecy he had mentioned had not contained anything in terms of location. If is even about me. Maybe he has others? Then, he had given her an Oath just so she would feel safer staying with them. Is this all some elaborate trap, and now he can't handle that I killed the one that was supposed to end me? But why?

Her one-sided staring contest was interrupted as the Human who had looked after Thaddeus spoke up. "Lady Aperio, I think he is in no state to answer questions."

Aperio focused her gaze on the man, the fanatic’s blood on her face already forgotten, causing him to shudder slightly. Why does everyone know my name? "How do you know my name?"

The man's expression switched between confusion and fright, seemingly unsure what he should feel. It took a couple of seconds, but he finally swallowed his fears and answered her. "The blessing you have given to Arden. Your title was undecipherable but your name was clear enough for him to decipher."

Blessing? ...But I just healed him? She directed her attention to the Human stepping out from behind the carriage – Arden apparently. Even though she had not tried to inspect the man further, the itch was back. That faint feeling in the back of her mind that always remained just out of reach. Is that the blessing? She still could not grab hold of the feeling, but she had an idea on how she might. It was probably stupid, but definitely worth a try.

A loud crack resounded, louder than stone breaking had any right to be, and Aperio appeared behind Arden, very gently placing her hand on his shoulder. If she had indeed given him a blessing, it was surely connected to the mana she had practically filled the man with.

As soon as she reached out for her mana that still remained in his body the itch disappeared, replaced by the knowledge of what she had given him. She had made him stronger, but that was information Aperio already knew, having observed how her mana had changed him. What was more surprising to her was that she simply knew he would be able to recover from most wounds. How do I know that?

There was something else; a third part to her blessing. What it did was beyond her, but the essence of it felt right. What could it be? If the theme of her mana doing what she wanted continued, then it would probably help him remain unbound. She had only meant to heal him; everything else the blessing did were things she wanted for herself. Not like it will change much. She had recovered the mana she had apparently used to bless the man as soon a she had used it. Maybe I could've made a better one? It was something to try later, when she encountered a sufficiently trustworthy person.

Removing her hand from Arden's shoulder, she could see him let out a heavy breath only to tense up again when he noticed she was still looking at him. Did he think I would take back the blessing? ...How would I do that, anyway? Giving one seems easy enough; maybe it's the opposite, take all my mana out of him?

Aperio wanted to try, but something told her it would be painful for him. She had the impression that her mana had somehow gotten...attached to its new placement. It was changing him like it did with her and in the process seemed to further intertwine itself with his person. I just hope he does not turn into a thrall of some kind.

Having people do as she wished certainly felt good, but so far they had done so out of what she assumed to be fear. Or maybe respect? If she turned someone into a mindless thrall… she did not know what she would do.

Having found what she was looking for she went back to the flabbergasted Human she was previously conversing with, this time managing to not break any more of the road with her movement. “What is your name?"

The words echoed through the open road, causing some of the people to look around. Aperio did not know or care if they just did it to hide their discomfort or if they really tried to figure something out, she finally felt good about herself and would not let some random strangers take that from her. Though it also seemed that the surer she was about herself and her capabilities, the heavier her mere presence weighed on the people around her.

"R-Roland, miss." The words sounded weak, a long shot from the snarky attitude he had had before. Maybe because he now knows I am a Goddess? Aperio felt a pang of guilt. She had liked the rather unbiased exchange. At least Laelia won't change. Probably. When will she be back, anyway? I still want to have a fight. After her encounter with the fanatic – Lunatic? – Aperio wanted to know how Laelia would hold up in comparison.

They looked to be a similar class, the only difference being that Laelia favoured a spear and a one-handed sword. Or would that make them something completely different? Questions for the paladin when she returned; for now she wanted to figure out who this 'Natio' was and why they thought she should die.

"Roland"–the man winced as Aperio spoke his name–"do you have any idea why Natio would want to kill me?" She could have asked who the person in question was first, but she knew that they were a God and it would seem awfully weird if a Goddess did not know of the others. I can always ask later, anyway.

He seemed to have gotten some of his confidence back as he straightened himself and answered. "I cannot claim to know what the Gods think, but maybe he thinks you are encroaching on his Domain? While it has only happened once before, some Gods don't seem to like the idea of sharing their Domain."

"His Domain," Aperio mumbled to herself. The thoughts that had overcome her as she had killed her attacker had given her the impression that it was the other way around. But that does not make any sense. I have been a Goddess for… Aperio found that she did not know for how long. She might have only returned to the world recently, but she was fairly sure she already counted as a Goddess when she was still in the Void. Is that why I got so mad? Because he claimed part of my Domain?

"When did he join the pantheon?" Aperio did not know if he had appeared later than her, but she had a suspicion that he did. If the ritual marked the return of the Gods and her ascension, she would assume that she had acquired a Domain before he did. If, of course, they did not keep their specialties from before they disappeared. And if he was even a God before. She also felt like this Natio knew more about herself than she did. Maybe I should pay him a visit? As the idea settled in her mind it brought about more excited anticipation than any she had had before, and it required her to immediately focus on her aura to keep it from flaring up yet again. If my previous excitement was uncomfortable I don't want to know what this would do.

Roland looked thoughtful for a moment. Perhaps he did not know and was trying to come up with something that sounded plausible, or he might be earnestly trying to remember how long ago it was. The seconds that ticked by felt like an eternity to Aperio, but when the man finally spoke he sounded sure of his words. "Around a thousand years ago Natio and Mayeia joined the pantheon. But, I beg your pardon, I had thought all the Gods would have been informed of this? Every church and even Roots itself made an announcement."

Aperio cocked her head at his statement. A thousand years ago… I was in the Void then. Was I even awake? Did that happen while the little lights flooded into me or did I just hang around the Void in a state of unconsciousness, and it happened during that time? "I was otherwise occupied at the time." They did not need to know that she had no idea when anything had happened. And who is Roots?

She was fairly sure she had heard that before. No, not heard. Seen. Ira had a title with the name in it, did he not? Another God then? Does it also want to kill me? Aperio was excited, something even she herself found odd. She had just learned that an actual bonâ fide God wanted to kill her and somehow she was looking forward to his attempts instead of being scared like she probably should be. Maybe he is a weak God? What determines how strong one is anyway? Can't be followers; I have none. She briefly looked to the Human she had blessed. Maybe one.

"Is there a temple of Natio in Ebenlowe?" Her question seemed to catch the man off guard.

"Of course. Ever– nearly every God or Goddess has one there."

Aperio still had no idea what it meant to be a Goddess. Do I need a temple? Was she required to do anything? Not that she had felt the urge to do anything specific lately. Except fight, I want to fight. But why? That was something she probably had to figure out on her own. She also had to rethink her image of Gods in general.

When she had emerged from the Void, what little she had known of Gods and Goddesses had led her to imagine that their mere presence would somehow force people to their knees. While she was certainly capable of doing just that, it seemed that the people found it commonplace to have a Goddess simply standing around talking with them. Or maybe they think I would kill them if they fall to their knees?

I don't understand people.

For the first time since she had returned, Aperio felt tired. Not physically, as her body still seemed perfectly fine, but mentally. It was draining, not to mention annoying, to ignore her strange instinctual urge to not ask questions. A Goddess should know, right? With a sigh she rubbed the bridge of her nose. Maybe I should go back to the Void for a while. The calm she felt when she was there was something she wanted at the moment, but simply disappearing in front of everyone did not seem right. Bring them with me maybe? ...No.

"What are we supposed to do with the body?" The abrupt shift of topics seemed to release some tension of the group, as the mundanity of death – something they all had had to deal with at some point – likely made them feel more comfortable.

A deep, calm voice drew her attention. "You acted in self-defence, the kill is yours to do with as you please." The Beastkin seemed to want to add something, but decided against it.

Walking over to the corpse with the same almost floating gait she had learned during her time as a slave garnered a few confused looks. She could not really blame them. So far she had acted with speed, using more power than necessary for the simple joy in it, but she knew full well that she would not be able to continue with such actions in the city. Not without upsetting most of it, anyway. There was also the fact that she simply wanted to know if she could still move with silent grace. The answer was yes, she could. Even better than before if she was honest with herself, but she assumed most of that was due to her increased strength which allowed her to avoid toppling over, as well as the presence of her wings for counterbalance.

Picking up the corpse she ripped off its armour – she had no need for that. What she wanted were the clothes underneath, at least a shirt. She would ask Ira for a proper replacement once he had collected himself. Much to Aperio's disappointment, the woman wore no shirt underneath her armour. Instead she wore a gambeson that had been tailored to fit her perfectly. Not something I can use.

At least the corpse presented another opportunity to try and store things in her Void. Last time she had not really known it was hers to do with as she pleased, nor had she spent a thought on the fact that her dress stayed with her.

With a wave of her hand, she opened a rift to her Void and threw the corpse inside. It drifted away from the opening she had created, but though she took an extra moment or two to observe, it did not dissolve as the stick had. Neat. A simple thought caused the limp body to halt in the nothingness and another sent it tumbling around. Mine to do with as I want. Pleased with the results she willed the rift to close and picked up the sword that was lying on the ground.

It was light – too light for its size – but she chalked that up to her strength rather than the actual weight of the blade. Certainly not a two handed weapon for me then. Not that I know how to fight with it. Looks nice though. While the sword had little use to her as a weapon she could probably use it to pass as some form of warrior. If I manage to avoid suppressing everyone with my aura, that is. Knowing how far her aura stretched, that was likely not possible. Maybe I should give everyone that is close a Thaddeus-bubble? At the very least it would be good training in aura manipulation.

A shift in her aura got Aperio's attention. Something was brushing it aside much like the fanatic had, but this time it appeared in the direction they had come from. A smile spread across her lips as she inspected the travelling form. She knew who that was. She turned to Ira as she directed her attention back to the sword she now owned. "Your friend is coming."

Sacrifice - Chapter 24: Prelude to Conflict

Aperio chose to ignore the approaching form of Laelia. Trying to use her aura to observe the paladin closely would likely just upset them, and she would prefer to be able to ask some questions before their potential fight takes place. Or maybe fight her and then ask questions? Maybe that way is easier?

So far, her mana had been more helpful than anything else in telling her what was going on. As she put her musing on hold and started to attempt to nudge her mana into the blade she now held, she hoped that the helpful trend would continue. Trying to guide her magic through something that was not alive turned out to be more difficult than Aperio had first assumed. The information she gleaned from the act was also rather meager when compared to what she had received while healing Arden. Perhaps my mana interacts with the mana of others? It would explain why it doesn't work with the sword.

As her attempts at mana aided inspection did not bear fruit, she returned to using her eyes. She gave the blade her undivided attention – truly focusing on it. The effort revealed numerous tiny imperfections all over the surface. Aperio blinked in surprise. She had known her eyes were better than before, but she had not expected to see tiny fissures in forged metal. There was another observation to be made though: every time she tried to focus on something, the world seemed to obey her will and provide her with a lot of tiny details she never knew existed.

She could see her mana hang in the air should she want to, or she could now spot the tiniest of cracks in a sword. Aperio ran her finger across the blade but felt none of the imperfections she knew to be there. So touch is not enhanced? Or do I just not know how to do that? Bending the world to her will was nice, but she did not know how she did it. When she used magic, Aperio had at least an idea of why it happened. Her mana was sacrificed to impose her will on the world. That was not the case when she simply looked at something. Or is the amount consumed simply too small to notice?

The thought of her mana usage brought another question to her mind. So far she had used only minuscule amounts of what she could draw on – even setting the building on fire was a mere drop in the ocean. Or Well, as it were. What would happen if I used more? What spell would even need more? It was something she wanted to try, but with an almost certainty that warded her away as surely as it drew her in, she knew that the attempt would end with a lot of destruction. Could I speed up the enhancement of my body instead? That idea involved a lot less potential disaster and was something she could try immediately. It should not affect anyone but herself – Probably – and she had not much else to do.

She could try to get more answers from Roland or the other adventurers, but being in the middle of questioning them would just lead to Laelia misinterpreting the situation when she arrived. With her decision made, she directed her attention inwards. Now, how can I speed this up? Drawing a small sliver of mana from her Well, she guided it through her body. Matching the patterns that her mana took when it flowed without her guidance was an easy task, weaving it into her being on the other hand was not.

Whenever she tried to fuse it into her muscles or bones, it did as it was told but only for as long as she actively held it there. A temporary boost like this was what she had previously known to be possible and, while it was nice to know she could achieve such effects, it was not what she was trying to do. She tried it again and again, but nothing stuck. With a mental sigh, Aperio brought her attention back to her surroundings. She would continue her attempts to speed up the enhancement later. Do I even need to? Probably not.

She was a Goddess now, free from the ravages of time. Simply waiting was an option but, she assumed, another God could still end her. And I know of at least one that definitely wants to. Aperio did have a problem that the simple application of patience didn't immediately solve, though. She already had a difficult time controlling her own strength and, if she continued to get stronger, it did not bode well for her ability to live life as she pleased.

There was a small voice in the back of her mind that told her she would just need time to learn how to control herself. A reasonable thought; she had only been back in the land of the living for a short amount of time. A month? Maybe? But there was also another part of her mind that told her that she would reach a point where living with mortals would not be an option. She squashed the thought as soon as it appeared. She would live where she pleased! If she had to give every single person a blessing so they would not perish in her presence, then she would.

The universe had dealt her a shitty hand before and now that she was free to pursue her dreams, it tried to limit her with the very thing that granted her freedom? Aperio would have none of that.

She took a deep breath to calm herself, an action that got the attention of almost everyone around. It took a moment, but soon Aperio remembered the state of her dress and the fact that her action had only furthered its demise. While she did not particularly care, the others seemed to mind and being properly dressed seemed like the correct choice. Unless my Domain is not what I thought? She silently went through a few of the possible titles in her mind and found that none of them felt even close to being right. If I know how close I am, why don’t I know what my Domain actually is?

With a slight shake of her head, Aperio moved to the back of the carriage. Ira was still not looking any better but she did not want to wait any longer to get new clothes. Opening one of the chests at the back revealed an assortment of books: not what she was looking for. The next one she opened held dresses she could wear, but sadly no bindings for her to use.

Picking another open-backed dress that closely matched what she was wearing now, Aperio moved to the side of the carriage without prying eyes in order to change. While she did not have a problem with being seen naked, she would choose the option that kept her modesty intact. What remains of it, anyway.

Putting on the dress was still an act that required a lot of wiggling and bending in ways she would not have been able to do before. This time, however, it only took a fraction of the length of her previous attempt. And also no ripping of the dress? Why can I handle that without breaking it, but not a person?

Was she so spiteful that she wanted to subconsciously hurt people that had nothing to do with the suffering she had to live through? Or was it something completely unrelated? She would have to ask someone about that, someone she could trust. Not that I have met such a person yet. The closest she could get was Ira who, while he had been very helpful, was still not someone she would consider trustworthy. She had only known him for a couple of days and whether he was secretly trying to get her killed or not remained to be seen. Good luck with that. I already died once.

A quick check revealed that Laelia was still a little ways away and while she was travelling fast, the fanatic that had attacked Aperio had been significantly faster. But they also really wanted me dead. Maybe she is just taking her time. If the paladin was weaker than the fanatic the whole idea of having a bout was kind of useless. Though I can still learn how to actually fight. ...If she is willing to teach. The thought of asking to be taught how to fight felt overwhelmingly disgusting, worse than most hypothetical questions she had thought so far.

Stepping out behind the carriage in her new dress, she noted that Thaddeus was awake and visibly confused. He was talking to Roland in their Human tongue, something she should have been able to hear while she was changing but had not. I really need to pay more attention. It was barely an effort to strain her ears to hear their conversation in perfect clarity. Not that it helped her understand them. It's the same as with my eyes, is it not?

Her reemergence got the attention of the young mage, causing him to seize up. Is he still scared? she thought, tilting her head slightly. I already apologised, you aren't getting another.

Why do I even care what any of them think?

The reality of her new life was something she had still not quite comprehended. She knew she was above the people she was surrounded with. Not in terms of morality or intelligence, but simple strength. Aperio would like to think of herself as just, but she knew that she held biases that she would have to work hard to overcome. Life as a slave did not make one like the race of their masters. Especially so when they had done what they pleased with her. How have I not gone mad?

At the time, she had never questioned why she had remained mostly sane even after rape and torture; she had just assumed it was another part of the collar’s magic. Now, she was not so sure.

There had to be a reason why they had chosen her specifically for the sacrifice. She had known, even then, that it was somehow bound to her [Status] that she had never personally seen. The happy news of her selection for the sacrifice had come only a couple of years after her own appraisal, after all. And I doubt that is coincidence. Now, I just need to figure out what it says. Hopefully the [Grandmaster], whoever she is, can help.

Her musings were interrupted by a new voice; one she knew. How did I miss when she got here? Did I just stand here staring at nothing? Aperio shifted her focus onto the newly arrived paladin who was already looking on edge. She heard her name in their conversation again; talk about the blessing if she had to guess. There wasn’t really another reason for Arden to say her name otherwise. I really need to learn how to not get distracted.

She had her aura, one of the – if not the – best methods to perceive her surroundings. At least, as far as she knew. It always provided her with information. Now, all she had to learn was to not get lost in thought every time she considered something marginally interesting.

The group of Humans soon noticed that they had attracted the attention of their resident Goddess, something Thaddeus seemed even less comfortable with. Maybe he does have something against Elves? She noted that he was still inside the bubble of nothing that she had made. Somehow that stayed created, even when she was not paying attention. I don't even know how my own abilities work.

Aperio noticed with slight amusement that Laelia seemed to be unsure about what to do. She had probably just been told that Aperio was a Goddess and had disposed of some over-eager zealot that had tried to kill her. She no longer wants to fight? It did make sense; who in their right mind would want to fight a Goddess?

As none of them seemed to want to break the silence that had descended onto the group, Aperio took the opportunity to let them know that she did not like being talked about behind her back. "If you have something to say about me, say it to my face."

Unsurprisingly, Arden was the first to recover. The blessing also seemed to make her voice more bearable for him, even when she only held back a little. Speaking in a whisper might have been the nice choice, but Aperio did not want to hold back any more than she already did.

"We just told her what happened! None of us would dare to insult you." He was frantic, seemingly single-minded in his goal to smooth over any perceived anger. But I didn’t even mean that as a threat? She just wanted to let them know that she did not appreciate being talked about without knowing what was said. Trying to dictate what others should think was definitely not what she wanted. Though, I guess my image is not the best at the moment.

In an attempt to shift attention away from the unintended threat, Aperio asked something that had bothered her for a while. "Why do you speak the Common I know but the other paladin did not?"

The confusion was visible on Laelia's face and for a few breaths Aperio feared that she had somehow broken the woman. Her fears were unfounded as, only a moment later, the paladin answered with a question of her own. "Inerlius?"

A brief nod from the Elf confirmed that they were indeed talking about the same person. "He from Kejeran, almost exclusively Human," she said before pausing to consider her next words. "Also not good with languages." So, he had never had a need to learn, and when the need arose he simply failed?

"How did he get to be a paladin here, then?" In Aperio's mind it made little sense to send someone to a place where they could barely communicate. The same would go for her, I guess. But at least she can speak the language.

"Request from nobles. The one you..." Her voice trailed off, unwilling to speak further.

"The one I killed?" The anger she felt at the mere thought of the encounter was enough to cause more power than intended to slip into her words. "And why would a God that claims to be just and righteous lend one of his paladins to slavers?"

Whether it was her voice or the simple fact that she appeared to be angry, Aperio did not know. Whatever the cause was, the people around her took a step back. Even Ira managed to move himself a little further from her with the help of the Elven mage. The only one who stayed where they were was Laelia. The paladin took a few breaths to answer, seemingly not as immune to the vocal assault as she had first appeared.

"The church is not above politics." Her voice sounded small, almost ashamed to admit that reality.

Aperio raised an eyebrow at her reply. "What kind of God needs to give in to the demands of mortals?" As far as she could tell, there was no need for followers. She – at best – had one and was able to handle a fully armed and armoured enemy without any weapons of her own. Are the other Gods just weak, or have I only found weak people?

Laelia hesitated for a moment before her face took on an expression of resigned resolve and she took the spear from her back. She said something that Aperio did not understand before charging. The only thing that came to Aperio's mind as the spear flew towards her was excited confusion. Why did she attack now?

Sacrifice - Chapter 25: Fight for What Is Right

Aperio did not move to dodge the spear, simply letting it hit her square in the chest. She knew the greenish-golden metal would only deal minimal damage, and as much as she might like her dresses she didn't really need to care for them either. Ira has enough of them. Even though the spear managed to cut deeper than the sword, it still only barely managed to penetrate her skin. The muscles underneath were too hard and the spear, for all the force it had been thrown with, simply fell to the ground. What little damage it had done had long been healed by the time Laelia arrived with her sword in hand.

The back of Aperio's hand easily diverted the blade from its path, but despite this the paladin continued her attack. She embraced the turn her body had been forced into, spinning around and hitting the Elf with her fist. The armoured gauntlet smashed into Aperio's unmoving side. What is she trying to accomplish?

Aperio did not know if Laelia was simply letting out her anger at a target she knew she could not really hurt, or if she was honestly trying to kill her. She let the paladin hit her again, but this time she returned the gesture.

She could feel the metal bending under her fist, something breaking underneath it. Her blow was by no means weak, but she had held back quite a bit. Despite the rather unjustified attack, and the little voice that excitedly screamed for the death of the one who dared to try and harm her, Aperio did not want to kill the paladin.

Laelia stumbled back from the hit, but still raised her sword for the next attack. She carefully circled around the Elf, ignoring the calls from the other Humans. Aperio did not know what they said, but they sounded worried. Do they think I will kill her?

Any further thoughts on what the others might have been saying were chased from her mind as the paladin swung her sword higher, aiming to cut Aperio's chest. The Elf moved to the side in an attempt to dodge the blade, only to move straight into the path of Laelia's armoured fist.

The impact of the gauntlet barely registered in Aperio's mind; something that, while quite welcome, would require some getting used to. Despite her attacks having little to no effect, the paladin did not let up. Another attempt to injure the Goddess ended with another disappointing result. While the blade had managed to technically pierce Aperio's arm, instead of cutting deeply as it would have to a normal person's flesh and bone it only managed to form the tiniest of wounds.

A few flecks of the greenish metal fell to the ground as Laelia took a step back. Aperio could see that the paladin knew as surely as she did that if things continued unchanged, the sword would fail long before the Goddess would. The only thing she had lost thus far during their fight was a bit more dignity as her dress was yet again in tatters. Maybe I should get some armour.

Taking the moment of respite, Aperio chose to ask the Human a question. "Why do you fight?" It was an honest question. She was aware that what she had said previously might have been taken as an insult to her God, but the level of the paladin's response seemed entirely out of proportion. Why would she throw her life away because of that? Aperio knew of one possible answer, but she dearly hoped that was not the case.

For an answer Laelia spoke a few quiet words, wrapping her sword in a golden light. Then she attacked, swinging her sword in an arc and a wave of light came rushing at Aperio. For once she chose to trust her instincts, to not dodge and let the light hit her. It had been right when it came to swords or most anything relating to her newfound capabilities.

The gleaming crescent crashed into the Elf. It didn't hurt, but neither was it pleasant as the previous uses of holy magic had been. Aperio did not know what the attack was supposed to do, but she had come out unscathed. Mostly. Her clothes were now more of a two-piece than an actual dress.

More of the arcs of light came her way and, not wanting to lose the rest of her clothing, Aperio opted to try her hand at magic. With a flex of her mental muscles, she willed a barrier into existence in front of her. Her attempt manifested into a thin silver-blue wall, and if she didn't know better she would have thought she had summoned a pane of glass. What she had actually brought into existence was not made from any of the mundane elements but, instead, from her very own mana. She did not know what could stop holy magic, but if it failed to harm her the same might be true for her mana.

With a crack, the first wave of the paladin's magic slammed into the wall of silver-blue. Her barrier held and after a couple more impacts, the onslaught of light ceased. The entire fight had seemed off to Aperio from the start. To attack someone right after you were told that they were a Goddess, well, that just seemed stupid. A quick glance behind her showed that the rest of their group was cowering in fear – the paladin of a supposedly righteous and just God was endangering innocents in a reckless fight. If I had chosen to dodge those arcs...I am not sure they could have blocked them. Would she have had the presence of mind to stop them herself?

Aperio kicked up off the ground, spreading her wings to fly low. She headed straight for Laelia who she grabbed by the throat after briefly slowing down. With the paladin held firmly in hand, she took to the skies. While she still might not trust any of them, she did not want the others to come to harm. And, if her suspicions about the paladin’s behaviour were correct, she was not sure what her own reaction would be. Nothing good, though.

The paladin struggled against her grip, trying to free herself by clawing at her fingers and punching her stomach. Each successive punch only served to further break the gauntlets, and soon she began to paint Aperio's abs with Human blood. The longer the fight – You can't call this a fight, right? – went on, the surer Aperio became that something was off. Laelia seemed more like the fanatic than the person she had been before. I really hope I am wrong.

She stopped her ascent, simply hanging in the air. The onslaught of punches had ceased and Aperio lifted the Human higher to get a better look at her face. What she saw was a very exhausted-looking woman who was struggling to breathe.

Aperio immediately loosened her grip just a fraction, and Laelia took a deep breath and immediately renewed her struggles. A question from the Elf put an end to the pointless attempts. "Do you want to die?"

No answer came, the woman only looking on with a blank expression. Is she just waiting for me to execute her? "Why did you attack me? Just because I might have insulted your God?"

The seconds ticked by in silence as neither of them spoke. As the willingness to fight had seemingly left Laelia, Aperio shifted her grip to hold the paladin up by her armour instead of the throat. Maybe she’ll speak when she doesn't think I will kill her for her answer?

"No." Her voice was barely audible – even to Aperio's ears.

"No? Then why?"

"I fight for what is right," the paladin replied.

Aperio narrowed her eyes in irritation. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"A saying. Held dear by many of my kind." Her kind?

"Humans?"

Laelia shook her head. "Others of order. I do not know word."

"But"– she brought the Human a little closer to her face –"that does not tell me what it means. What is 'right'?" Why can nobody just tell me what they mean? Why do they have to speak in meaningless riddles?

"Words of Vigil are right. Actions for the good of others are right."

"Attacking me is for the good of others?" Aperio snorted. "You do not make sense."

"You are dangerous."

The statement caused Aperio to scrunch her brows in confusion. Yes, she was dangerous, but so were the adventurers, or even the paladin herself. What kind of reason is that? There was something else that was off besides the paladin’s behaviour; she had shown little to no reaction to the power of her voice. Was that just an act?

"Who are you?"

Her question caused the woman to look at her; actually pay attention. Somehow, still dangling in the air from Aperio's grasp, the Human managed to hang straighter as if held up by invisible strings.

"Laelia Whytegaard. Paladin of Vigil; Bringer of Order." Her voice was monotone, almost as if she had been trained to respond this way.

The person she had first met had not behaved like this. She had had a hunch that the woman was not quite herself, but the recklessness that had endangered the others had removed almost any doubt. In the short time she had known Laelia, it had become obvious that she protected those she held dear. She had been ready to fight her when she had had the altercation with Thaddeus, and while she killed some of the bandits that had attacked the carriage, she had spared the rest so they might receive proper judgement. Though Aperio might not be the best judge of character, Laelia attacking without considering what might happen to those not involved really did not seem to fit.

With her free hand, Aperio touched Laelia's forehead. Something is definitely not right.

Sending a tiny sliver of her mana into the paladin caused her to resume her struggles. Violently. Aperio ignored the attempts, instead focusing on her mana as it wandered through the woman. At first she felt only Laelia's mana, but then something else flared into her awareness. It was bright, almost blinding her senses, and shifted between colours Aperio could not begin to describe. What she did know was that it felt closer to the purity of the mana she herself now used. A middle ground between what seemed to be common and what Aperio considered divine.

The foreign mana had mixed itself with that of the paladin, twisting it into more of its own. The sight almost made her retch, but she had spent more than enough time figuring out how to suppress that urge. Besides the disgusting feeling it brought, it also caused an anger that she had not felt before to well up inside her. She didn't know why, but she knew she would punish the one who did this. Righteous my ass!

Aperio did not care if she had to launch a crusade against a God. Nobody should be forced to live like this. She was about to try and untangle the merged mess of mana in front of her when a small voice in the back of her mind brought to light the idea that maybe, just maybe the paladin had chosen to become like this. Would it still be right for me to remove it?

Is this what blessings do? ...Will mine do this as well?

Steeling herself, Aperio directed her magic to split the mana in the woman's body apart. Her want to grant freedom to someone who helped was stronger than the ideal of not imposing her will on others. If she hates me, she can do that. At least she will be free.

The idea that removing a blessing would be painful was confirmed when Laelia let out a deafening scream. The noise tore at Aperio, hurting her more than any physical attack the paladin had previously made, but the discomfort did not manage to stop her actions. Little by little she removed the other God's blessing, all the while questioning if she was doing the right thing. She wasn't even sure if it really was a blessing from another God. Their mana should be more like mine, shouldn't it? Maybe this is something else. Whatever the origins of the foul magic were, they mattered little now.

By the time Aperio had removed the last bits of the foreign mana from Laelia's body, the sun had already set. She had succeeded. Whatever had been trying to usurp the body of the paladin had been removed. Sadly, the only way she could find to free the woman from the previous blessing was to allow her own mana to take its place. As she knew the paladin would not be able to recover without it, Aperio did not want to remove her own influence. She could only hope that her own blessings did not twist themselves as this one had.

Shifting, she carried the armoured Human with both hands. Aperio wanted to apologise for what she did, but the woman had fallen unconscious during the ordeal. Better that way. Freeing her from that influence had been the right choice in Aperio's mind, even if she still doubted herself a little.

What am I? The Goddess of Freedom? She shook her. The scope of that title felt…small. Constricting. It wasn't right. Something more?

Lost in thought, Aperio continued her slow descent. She made no attempt to hurry. The others would undoubtedly have questions, and she needed a bit more time alone.

Sacrifice - Chapter 26: Blessed Truth

Aperio continued her slow descent, questions still forming in her mind. Are the other Gods just weak? Or do they bless people with lesser stuff on purpose? She could not see a reason why they would use anything but the best, but then, she had only been a Goddess for a short while. Maybe blessing more people gets exponentially harder? The accidental blessing she had given Arden and the replacement she made for Laelia required such small amounts that she would not even notice if she did not look, and even then it required a decent amount of scrutiny. Just another thing she would have to figure out.

She was also still not sure how she should feel about imposing her will on others. Being helpless, nothing more than a passenger in her own body, was something she had hated for as long as she could remember. Doing that to someone else was something she could not bear to do, and yet, she had had potentially set two unsuspecting Humans on such a path. The only thing keeping her from flying into a rage against the universe and herself was the fact that – thus far – her mana had never done something she did not want. And the thing she wanted most was to be free.

I hope it stays that way.

Setting down as lightly as she could, still holding the unconscious form of Laelia in her arms, Aperio pushed the apprehensions from her mind. They would only be in the way for what was to come. The others had been busy while she had cleansed the paladin – Is she still one? – of what she considered to be corruption. Thaddeus had disappeared, likely inside the carriage again, while the Beastkin was looking after the horses who seemed to have simply ignored most of the commotion. Are those really horses?

Aperio never got to further question just what kind of animal was drawing the carriage, as a still rather pale-looking Ira approached her. He gripped his staff a little tighter as he saw Laelia's limp body in her arms.

"I-Is she..." He was unable to finish the question, either dreading her reply or simply unable to find the right words.

"Dead? No, just unconscious." Aperio chose not to tell him about the corrupted blessing for now; she wanted to talk about that with Laelia herself first. Ira seemed to relax at her words, but was only able to do that to a small extent as she had chosen to not hold back her voice. There has to be a way to get rid of that without having to whisper.

Moving past the old man Aperio ignored the hushed voices behind her, instead grabbing hold of the carriage’s door with her magic and swinging it open. She had always wanted to use magic, but it had never been available to her before and once she had been reborn with the ablility to use it, she had feared she would not be able to control it. Now, she knew that it was just like another limb for her to use. A hand to shape the world as she saw fit.

Ignoring the wide-eyed Thaddeus inside, she very gently placed the unconscious Laelia on on the other bench inside the carriage. Before leaving, Aperio briefly checked on her replacement blessing. So far it only seemed to do what her mana always did, running around the paladin’s body and making it better. But, having seen what a blessing could do, Aperio was not sure if she was just perceiving her own blessing as something good for Laelia while it was acting the same way as Vigil's had without her knowledge.

Stepping back outside, she found herself surrounded by Ira and the adventurers. They seemed to be on edge, but that was understandable – she was as well. Not for the same reasons, but that mattered little. Aperio would prepare herself for the worst. The possibility that they would try to kill her was there. Not that they could.

She shifted her weight and tilted her head, simply looking at them. If they had questions, they could ask them. She would not start the conversation. The only one Aperio herself wanted to talk to was currently unconscious.

Her movement caused some of the adventurers to squirm. She was not sure if it was because they were nervous or because she had stopped caring about preserving her dignity. Not that that matters. If they got any ideas she would put them in their place.

The one to speak was the Elven mage. Do they expect some form of kinship? "We ask for your forgiveness. We did not know–"

Aperio waved him off. "Her actions were neither yours nor those of your companions."

She had no quarrel with them. If anything, them asking for her forgiveness annoyed her. Do they really think I would kill them if they did not apologise? There was a part of her that abhorred the fact that mere mortals were in her presence and demanded their deaths, but it was easily ignored. The joy of being able to actually talk to people was far greater; even if said joy was quite small to begin with.

"Is there anything else or can we be on our way?" Suddenly Aperio felt something: a light tug on her mind. It felt much like the blessing she had given to Arden, but this was something she could mentally grasp hold of. There was only one other person who she had blessed, and the fact that she could feel it now lead her to believe that the ex-paladin was beginning to wake up.

The group seemed surprised by her quick dismissal and rather abrupt question. Ira was the first to get his bearings again, daring to ask a question in return. "You… still want to travel with us?"

Aperio cocked her head and directed her gaze on him. "Should I not?"

"No. I-I"– He was struggling for words, either not knowing which ones to use or simply unable to give voice to his thoughts. Or did he just think I would leave?

"I still want to meet your [Grandmaster]." Ira shrunk at her words. Does he no longer want me to meet them? Maybe they also have a blessing? While she was not particularly inclined to visit another person who would potentially try to murder her, she had an inkling that it was something else that caused the old man's reaction.

"That won't be an issue. It's just the nature of your… existence, will cause quite a stir."

"Then why not simply tell people I am an Elf and not a Goddess? Should garner less attention, no?"

At her words the others just stared at her in disbelief, something Aperio did not understand. Was it not logical to not announce her as a Goddess if she wanted to enter quietly? Or try to, at least. It seemed like the right choice to her.

"Yes, but you are a Goddess. Wouldn't that break a sacred rule of your kind, to go unannounced?" The Elven mage sounded more composed than he looked. "The last time the pantheon grew, it was heavily implied that all Gods and Goddesses had to be announced."

And who would force the Gods to do that? She chose to keep the thought to herself, their views on the Divine obviously already faltering. Maybe a Goddess walking among the people is not that normal?

"I do not know of any such rules," Aperio said while she shifted her weight to the other leg and slightly stretched her wings. The motion put the group of adventurers on edge yet again, some of them even going for their weapons. Why are they so jumpy? "I do not intend to punish or otherwise hurt you, so you can stop reaching for your weapons." Not like they would be able to do much even if they used them.

While the others seemed to relax again, Aperio took the moment to briefly check on Laelia's blessing. Being able to do that without touching her was nice, but it also made her more anxious. The amount of mana she had put into the other's body had exceeded both that of the blessing she had removed and of the healing and blessing she had given to Arden. So far she could spot nothing out of the ordinary, as her mana was still diligently improving the Human’s body and repairing the last bits of damage the corruption had left behind.

Maybe it was a curse? Can a curse overcome a blessing? She knew nothing about curses or how they worked. She had always assumed the collar's magic worked with one though, but she couldn't be sure.

A movement inside the carriage, perceived through her aura, caught at her attention; Laelia was, without a doubt, waking. Turning around Aperio ignored the people behind her; their stammered questions could wait. She had to talk to the ex-paladin of Vigil.

Opening the door, she looked at Thaddeus. Words were not needed for the man to understand that he was not welcome for the coming talk and he hastily left through the opposite door. Stepping inside Aperio sat down on a free bench, watching the woman in front of her stir awake.

j̵͕̥͔̜͔͉u͖̮͔̣̰͠ː̧̖͈̝ͅ ̴͡҉͕̣̺̜̹h̵̫̘̺̳͖̮̥æ͓͓͠v̵̹͡͞ ̣̖̥͟b̷̜͝ì̛̲̯͇̩̪͈̺̯̱̕ː̩̯n̯͎̘͖ͅ ̵̳̣̭͖̼͔̲̰͉f̞̼̦̰͚̺̲͝͡r̵̝̝̤̥̱͞i̧̢̟̻̼̹̘͈̞ː̶̡̢̗̮̝̹ͅd͓͕̰̫͟ ̲́͜f̢͉̗̤͍̼͔͞r̭̖̙̹̘ɒ̛̤͎͖m͏̸͕̙ ̡͏̣͕͈̭̫̗ͅð̸͈͕͡ə͎ ͇̗p̧͖̲̪̠̙̹̝͘͟r͢͏̤͍̙̱ɪ͎̮͙̻̦ˈ̵̨͕̬͓ṭ̰̠̕̕ɛ̗̘̤̫͓̲̻͘̕n͇̝͠d̳͎͖̳̦̥͕͈ə̢̧̝̘!̫҉̬͚͍̙̱͢͡
m̡̛̓ͬ͂̓͐͆́e̍͂̍̾͛ͪɪ̢̡̇͌̽̔ͣ̄͛ ̴ͬ̓́̓̑ͬͭͦ͐͏ð̸ͥə̽̋ͣ̿̀ ̵̴͋̏̿̓ͦ͞ˈ̐̿ͦ̃̃͠b͑ͦ́̊̅҉̴lͬ̄̓͂ͣͧ͟͞ɛ̨̓ͬͥ͂͆̑̚ś̆̑̓̎̔̅͠͡ɪ̡̇̈́̓̒ŋ̈̃̆̅̂͞ ̊̈̽̒́ͦ̓͑҉͡ɒ̑ͣ̀̈́̊̆͂͑̀v̷͐͋̾͜ ̡͗̾̋̅̓͠ð̷ͣ̐ͬ͘i̷ͬ͐́ͭ̆ͥ̅͗͡ ̐ͥͬ͒͋ͭ̓ɔ̧̓̈́ː̈́̐̂͌̕҉l̈́̒́͑̀-̈͌ˈ̶̸͆͋̈͘m̵̨̐ͤ̂ͤ̐̊̚͡ʌ̢̊ͮ͛ͥ͌ͯ͜ð͆̔̒̅͆̍ə̓̏ͦͮ̚ ́̆ͦ̆͜g̏̽̇́ͩͦ̋ͯ̀ã̶̶̛ͭͥͦ̾ͣ͊ͫɪ̆ͣ̽d̢̓̿̃ͣͯ̀ ͒ͫͬ͛͑̏̈́̉͡j̶ͥ͑ɔ̈ͣ̃ͤ͏̢ː͐ͤͯ̑̐ͯ̅͒͜͞,̈́̑ͣͦ͒j̽̊ʊ̴̐ͨͨͬ͛͛͊͢͜ə̵͒̀͆̀ͯ ͤ͜ˈ͒̆̄́͠͏̵f̑̀j̛̊̌̉̽u̴̡ͣ̃̋̆̈́̔̇͟ː̵̷̑͗̈̑ͦ̐̀ʧͨ͟ə̑̊̈͂ͮ͐̊͏̷ ̛ͯ̔p̴̴ͧ̓͞ɑͮͨ̃̔ː͋͐͟͡ð̡ͫ͘͝z̶ͭ͛ͨ́.̴̧̍̒ͬͭ͐̋͡

Before she even opened her eyes, Laelia saw the notification in front of her. What it said she did not know; she could only see a garbled mess. She did not question the absurdity of something breaking the System, instead trying to figure out why she had fallen unconscious and felt like she had broken every bone and torn every muscle in her body.

Luckily, pain was not everything she was feeling. A soothing warmth spread through her, and while not taking all of it away, it did lessen the pain significantly. It felt different from any magic she knew. A potion, maybe? But who...

The events that had lead to her current situation flooded her mind. The pitiful attack of the bandits, the delivery of them to the village, and the boring journey back. After that the memories were fuzzy. She had talked to some adventurers, and they had told her something about a follower of Natio attacking what apparently was a Goddess.

Laelia opened her eyes and was greeted by a pair of unblinking silver-grey eyes that seemed to bore into her very soul. The woman in question tilted her head, causing her silvery-blue hair to slide over her sharp features and pointed ears, making it immediately obvious that she was an Elf. With a preternatural grace that belied the strength she knew the woman had, she brushed aside the hair. The paladin wanted to look away, but her eyes were drawn next to the newly-torn patch of the dress. Upon toned abs lay what seemed to be freshly shed blood – none of it belonging to the Elf. Of that, she was sure.

Laelia knew who this was.

Aperio, the Elven woman that had wandered into their village in a stolen, blood-covered robe. No, not an Elf. She was supposedly a Goddess of some kind. And I fought her? ...why? After her talk with the adventurers, the Elf had approached her to ask some questions, but Laelia could not recall what she said. She only knew that she felt an overwhelming need to kill her. Or die trying.

Looking at her now she felt no such urge; only a small amount of embarrassment at the state of her clothes. Decency was apparently not something the woman cared about. Not that she has to. Laelia knew first hand that she would have little trouble dealing with anyone who got any bright ideas.

She shifted her eyes to look at her feet, not knowing where else to look. She wanted to apologise, but did not know how to start. It wasn't the first time she had lost control and it probably would not be the last. Her blessing was supposed to help with that, but she did not feel its presence.

A second passed before she realised what that meant. "I… failed."

The rustling of feathers and cloth caused her to look back up. The Elven-Goddess had tilted her head at her words, something she seemed to do quite often. Does she really only speak that old-ass Common all Elves use? Laelia knew that at least Vigil spoke all the mortal tongues and she would've expected other Gods to be able to as well. But it was clear that the woman in front of her had no clue what she said.

With a sigh, Laelia willed the System notification away; she could not read it anyway. It was replaced by another – equally unreadable – one which she dismissed after giving it a brief glance.

j̧҉͞͏u͏́͟͢͝ː̶̢̛͘ ̛̛́́͠h̛æ̸͠͡v̷҉̷͜͟ ̨̕͘͟ǵ̕͘e҉̧ɪ͜n̸̸͜ḑ̸̀ ̸̷̕͡ð̶͟҉̵̡ə̰̺̭̠̲̞̜̙ ͡҉̸͍̬̱̪̼̥͇̤ͅˈ̸̪͇̼͞b̶҉̱͜l̸̨̪̦̥͈̣͕̱̙͟ͅɛ͈͖s̶̜̹͜ɪ̗͕̕ŋ̧̜̳͙͈͙ ҉̢ɒ̷̛̀̕̕v̸͘͘͡͠ ̴̀͘͜A͏̮̜͕p͙̜̱̮̱̩̭͜͞͞e̩͈͉̫͎̬͠r̶̝͔̙͓̭̫̠i̱͍͓̱̝͓͡o̭͉̼͇,̪̪͓̭ ̸̯̠̟͎̥̦̯͟ ̶̢̩̦̲̬s̛̝͉͉ˈ̙͈̘͔̀a̴̗̰̘̘͇k̥̕͡ɹ̧̪͍̤̙i̖͚͖̳̞̙̯̕ː͜҉̫̟̘̮̝͍͜ ̦̲͈͇̞͇̦͘͝n͎̭̩̬͖̬͈̲͟j̳͇̙̬̞̻͕̻͍͜͜ˈ́͡҉̭̗̦͙̯̗͈u҉̠̞̜̝̤̖̰̕ͅː̦͇̻̣m̢̫͢ɛ̵̨̟͇̩̯n͔͎͖͓̟̖ ̢̭̬͞ͅd̸̪̭̱͍̼̕͟ˈ͟͠҉̘i͓͝ː͍͇̕
d̍̃̌̈́ͬuͩ̈́ːͩ̉̆ͫ̊͟͞ ͫ͐̀͑͟͞ń̶̷̑ͯ̍̆ͩ̍͢ɒ̀̅̾͠ẗͥ̕ ͣ͗ˌ̡ͤͫ̍ͤ̒̓̑̏ͤ͘d̨ͦ̑̊͐ͧɪͪ̽̈́̎̒̈́͘̕͜ş̴̃̄́̄͐ͮ͌̄ə͑̾ͫͮ͛̌̎͠ˈ̡̅p̏͛̃̈́̈͑҉͠ɔ̊̂̈́͡ɪ̍̿̇̎ͧ̌ͫ̿n̛̊̈́ͯ҉t̷̐̃̚͜.͌̅̽͒͠

She waited for the woman in front of her to speak, or deliver her punishment, but nothing happened. Aperio simply looked at her, shifting on her bench occasionally in an obvious attempt to make herself more comfortable. Something that did not quite work thanks to her wings. Every time she moved, Laelia feared the wood would give. She had no idea how much the Goddess weighed, but it had to be a lot more than one would assume by looking at her. Definitely won't ask her about that, though.

A couple more seconds ticked by, but soon the Goddess grew tired of waiting. "How do you feel?" The words she spoke still held the same power they had before, but for reasons Laelia did not understand it now felt more pleasant than harmful. Something within her danced in harmony with the words of Aperio. The soothing warmth that she had previously felt spread further with every word she spoke; spurred on by the Goddess.

Realisation dawned on Laelia. "Did you heal me?" Why else would the magic inside her react that way?

"Yes," Aperio replied. "But I also stripped you of your blessing. It tried to take you over, forced you take a fight you knew you could not win."

Laelia shook her head. "That can't be true! The blessing's supposed to help me. Stop The Rage."

The Elven-Goddess cocked her head at the mention of The Rage. Laelia clamped her mouth shut – she had been warned to never speak of it in front of others. She was lucky the priest had found her when they did, so she was able to get a blessing from Vigil to save her soul from eternal damnation.

"I removed what had tried to wrest control from you." She paused for a moment, seemingly lost in thought. "Can you still feel your blessing?"

She couldn't.

It was one of the first observations she had made after waking up. She thought she had disappointed Vigil, causing him to temporarily withdraw his grace.

"No..." The words were a mere whisper, but Aperio seemed to understand her just fine.

"I gave you one in exchange." Her voice sounded small, as much as that was possible when every word would still shake a normal person’s being.

Laelia blinked at that. She did not feel a new blessing. Or is that warmth it? She directed her attention inward and was shocked to find her body flooded with divine mana. It was healing her wounds; mending things the healers had declared incurable. She was unable to truly grasp the godly energy, but it still followed her intent. Were the notifications about that? But why were they scrambled? ...Could the Gods always do that?

"Thank you?" Laelia was unsure what to say. The Goddess had stripped her blessing, something that only Vigil himself should be able to do according to the priests. But she knew it was gone just as sure as she knew her name to be Laelia Whytegaard. A Goddess that could remove the blessings of others surely had to be known far and wide.

How have I not heard of her before? It was a simple fact that the Gods and Goddesses gained power from their followers. Everyone knew that. Is that a lie? No. Maybe her followers are secretive? Not everyone openly advertised who they pledged their loyalty to, after all. Some even claimed to not believe in the Gods, a silly notion when you could pray to one and get an answer.

The Goddess left Laelia to her thoughts, leaving the carriage before returning with Thaddeus. A short while later, they were joined by one the adventurers who seated himself next to Aperio, obviously uncomfortable. With a slight shake, the carriage resumed its journey towards Ebenlowe. As they were rocked back and forth by the uneven road, Laelia let her eyes rest on the Elven-Goddess. If the old blessing really tried to control me, will hers do the same?

Sacrifice - Chapter 27: Onwards, to Ebenlowe

Aperio wasn't sure if she should be annoyed that more questions had popped up, or happy that she had gotten some answers and seemingly done the right thing. At least she did not seem to be angry. Just confused.

The woman in question was still sitting in front of her, looking at her briefly from time to time. Should've probably changed into something that has not been torn to shreds. She would do that once they got closer to the city, but for now she was fine as is. While a part of her was very unhappy about being anything but proper, a bigger part enjoyed the ability to do as she pleased.

Laelia had mentioned something she had called the Rage. What that was, she did not know. Apparently her blessing was supposed to help with it, but Aperio had been unable to find anything else wrong with the Human. Even if she did not know how a Human was supposed to work, she had grown more confident in her instincts, and they told her that the woman in front of her was fine. Physically at least. Using her mana to probe someone's mind was not something she would try to do. Aperio assumed that it was possible, for how else could something like the collar work? Or that crystal.

Not wanting to ask more questions, she tried to grasp the blessing of Arden with just her mind. She knew now that it was possible, for it had worked with Laelia, but probably only because she had used a much greater amount of mana. That was not something she wanted to repeat, not until she knew her blessings would not try to bend the will of their bearers.

Arden's blessing was more akin to a wet bar of soap during a bath than anything else. No matter how hard she tried to grasp it; it would simply slip from her again. Reaching out to touch the man caused him to jerk to the side, a motion she easily prevented by holding onto his shoulder. With the added ease from physical contact, the information at last entered her mind. She knew what her blessing had done since the last time she checked in, like a diligent worker reporting to their boss. Or a slave to their master. But she knew the mana was a part of her; not something she took and commanded, but an actual extension of her being.

The knowledge was comforting, but the behaviour of her mana itself was unsettling. It was not something Aperio particularly wanted to inflict upon others, but then she remembered Vigil's twisted thing – she could not call it a blessing – and what had happened when she stripped it away from Laelia. Removing her mana from the two Humans, it seemed, was not an option either.

That thought only brought more questions with it. What should she do if one of them decided to abuse their new strength? What would her blessing even do to them? Aperio knew Arden would be slightly stronger and be able to heal from most wounds. She got the same feeling from Laelia, but the woman had received a good deal more and Aperio had seen how her mana improved the Human. If it is anywhere close to what it does to me…

Blessing people was something she would put on hold for now. Not that I wanted to do it.

Letting go of Arden, and ignoring the fact that he shuffled as far away from her as he could, Aperio returned her attention to her aura. Furthering her control over it could only be beneficial, especially once they reached Ebenlowe.

The blank spot in her aura around Thaddeus was still there. It had stayed intact, unaffected by anything she had done. A closer inspection revealed that her mana was still there, just spread so thinly that she barely noticed. She supposed that calling the area a blank spot, or bubble of nothing, was not entirely correct, but neither could she think of a better term at the moment. Nonetheless, it seemed like removing her aura completely was not possible, but at least she knew she could designate an area where it would not harm people. But can I cover an entire city?

Aperio doubted that she could.

Her attempt to widen the bubble around Thaddeus was met with failure. It was seemingly as big as it would ever be. Maybe I will have to bless everyone, after all? The thought was both pleasant and revolting. First I will have to know if it tries to control them.

A quick check of Laelia's blessing showed a small change. Her mana was still doing its best to improve the Human, but a tiny part of it wandered aimlessly around her body. Aperio tilted her head at the tiny drops of her mana that seemed to have forgotten their purpose. She knew it was still hers, but she could not tell why it moved the way it did.

The droplets immediately followed her will as she directed them back to join the rest in their effort to strengthen Laelia. A startled yelp caused Aperio look at the ex-paladin. Laelia was staring at her with wide eyes. For a moment Aperio thought she could see the fear in her expression, but that was quickly dismissed as she felt a few drops of her mana start to move aimlessly inside the Human's body again.

She is doing that deliberately? Can I move hers as well? Though Aperio wanted to try, and felt that she could accomplish such a feat, she quickly decided against it. Trying to control the mana of Laelia would be exactly what the blessing of Vigil had tried to do. Definitely not what she wanted. Having Laelia control the mana that made up her blessing was a good sign in Aperio's book. If the person herself could control it, the likelihood of the blessing trying to overcome its bearer wasn't high. At least, I hope so.

Leaving the ex-paladin to what she would now describe as training, Aperio returned to her own. Her aura would undoubtedly be a problem and she would like to minimise that as much as she could. Shifting her mana around in an attempt to find a way to make it less oppressive for those around her had still not gotten any easier. The only reliable method was the one she used on Thaddeus; not something that could be applied to an entire city.

Once she had tried all the options she could possibly think of – all of which were failures – Aperio grew frustrated with her lack of progress and shelved her training for later. Looking around she saw Laelia sitting with her back straight and eyes closed, likely still trying to figure out how to better control the mana of her blessing. Thaddeus and Arden were silently eating something Aperio could not identify. Where they had gotten food, she did not know, but she doubted they had stopped to hunt while she was trying to figure her aura out again. But then, it didn’t feel like days last time either.

A glance outside showed that it was still dark, something she hoped meant that she had not spent days doing nothing but trying to figure out how to exist near others without making any progress. Pushing the thoughts of her own perceived inadequacy down, she shifted her gaze onto the thing the Humans were eating.

Aperio did not know what it was, and as a byproduct of her previous service to the 'nobles' she had seen a lot of food variety. Though, this was certainly not something they would have wanted. It looked like a mixture of bread and meat, pressed into a block. Smells good, though. "What is that?"

Arden looked momentarily confused while Thaddeus winced at her words. Soon the newly-blessed Human made the connection between the food in his hand and the fact that the Goddess had probably not had seen something so mundane. "I actually don't know what it's called. It's just something adventurers take with them on the road. Doesn't go bad that quickly and tastes decent," he said.

"May I?" Her question seemingly caught him off guard, the man not expecting the Goddess to ask for what amounted to glorified field rations. Despite this, he offered her a piece he had broken off of the other side. Aperio very carefully took it from his hand, turning it every which way before putting in her mouth.

It tasted like nothing.

Her face twisted into a frown. She had expected something from it, but it was actually devoid of any taste. Didn’t he say it tastes decent? Aperio knew she could still eat things, and the weird fruit and bread she had tried in the village had taste. Or is it because I hadn't truly accepted what I was before? But…how would that even work? Miffed by the persistent lack of answers, Aperio took to training her aura again. That Arden had laughed at her reaction had been pointedly ignored. It was a lot better than him being frightened of her, at least for now.

Another attempt at trying to lessen the impact of her aura was met with failure and Aperio decided to shelve the idea yet again. Once they had reached the city she could find a library, or someone who knew more about auras. There was only a small bit of doubt in her mind, a tiny voice that said that a Goddess would likely not be able to employ mortal techniques. Still going to try.

Instead of trying to restrain her aura, Aperio tried her hand at aiding the constant enhancement of her body again. While ripping out someone else's blessing was not a very pleasant experience, it did show her how to weave mana into a living person. Whether the same technique worked on herself was still in question, but at the moment she had nothing else to occupy her time.

Guiding a sliver of mana to her legs, she let it seep into her muscles and bones before she willed it to fuse itself with her flesh. Instead of the brute force method she had tried last time, Aperio moved her mana along pathways she had deemed irrelevant before. They certainly were not irrelevant, for as her mana filled them a sharp but subdued pain spread in her legs in response to her actions. Further inspection revealed that her mana was indeed doing what she wanted, just that it was doing it a lot faster than she had thought it would. Does it slow down after a while? It has to, right?

A knock on the door caught her attention and she opened it. She was greeted by the Elven mage who bowed slightly upon seeing her. "We will be reaching Ebenlowe tomorrow. We thought it best to allow you some time to fix your attire."

Hearing his words, Aperio thought that he had been replaced for a moment. Is that how people usually talk to a Goddess? If she was honest with herself, she was pretty tired of the formal speak, even if she herself tended towards such language. Shaking her head, she stepped out of the carriage and moved towards the chest of garments in the back.

Picking a black back-free dress with silver and blue accents, she disappeared into the trees. A bit of wiggling and unreasonable stretching later, she reemerged in proper and unbroken attire. Aperio also finally understood why the nobles of the Empire had such expensive clothes. The silky smooth fabric brushing against her skin simply felt nice; divine even if she compared it to the rags she had worn for most of her remembered life.

Stepping back inside the carriage, Aperio chose to spend the rest of the journey speeding along the strengthening of her body. Can't hurt to be stronger. Probably. There was also the fact that it felt like the right thing to do, that her current self was not as good as it could be. Guiding her mana to further strengthen herself, Aperio fell into a trance. She did not know how much time had passed, but her body ached from her magical exercise. Why does this hurt more than being punched by an armoured fist?

A chance to further question the nature of her being was taken from her as she noticed an ever increasing number of people inside her aura. Most of them did not seem to notice or mind its presence but a few of them did something that caused her aura to momentarily recede. But it was just that, a momentary reprieve. Her mana was too plentiful to be kept at bay. The few that had tried to remain outside her influence soon gave up their attempts, instead seemingly just accepting that they wouldn’t be able to push against her.

Shortly after she had been able to sense them with her aura, Aperio could hear them. Countless conversations, creating a cacophony of noise that only grew louder as they approached. Nobody needed to tell her; she knew that they had reached Ebenlowe.

Sacrifice - Chapter 28: Into The City

Stepping out of the carriage, Aperio was assaulted by the noise of hundreds of people talking to each other and the guards at the gate. Ira immediately went to talk to a guard himself while the rest of their group stretched their limbs from the long journey. Switching into a new and intact dress had been the correct choice; the amount of people around was not really what she had expected. The capital of the Empire had been fairly exclusive and it never had such a flood of people trying to enter. She wanted to ask why so many were attempting to basically storm the city, but a big, ornate banner hanging over the gate answered that question for her.

Festival of Life? ...A harvest fest, maybe?

The only festivities the Empire had had were centred around the royal family or their various conquests, nothing as trivial as a harvest. Her concentration was shattered by a burst of noise coming from somewhere nearby. Gritting her teeth, she tried repeatedly to resume her trip down memory lane, but each time she almost began to make headway the noise seemed to grow bigger. It felt like it was taunting her, staying one step ahead and remaining larger than what she was capable of handling at the moment. Finding the reason for the commotion, though, was as easy as looking at the world through her aura. Two people were circling each other, obviously intending to fight. Aperio could not care less about what they did as long as they did it silently, but that did not seem to be possible.

The noise levels of the crowd, despite her mental pleas, continued to rise and now their sounds were so vast that they were physically hurting her, buffeting her brain and body with each cheer, each taunt, each cry. When what felt like the entirety of the nearby crowd began to roaringly chant in unison in response to the two people beginning to clash, Aperio's frayed patience snapped. She could no longer bear the sound's grating of her very soul.

"Silence!"

Aperio's aura flared with her voice as it echoed across the gathered masses and sound ceased in its wake. An eerie quiet settled and those who remained standing slowly turned their attention to the angry-looking Elf. The two that had been fighting shrunk under her gaze, unwilling to further anger the woman. The group she had travelled with fared better than most, probably having anticipated her reaction or already accustomed to her liberal use of mana. Laelia and Arden had shown almost no reaction to her outburst, the former just giving her a weary look.

"What are you doing?" Aperio toned down the force of her voice, as she hadn't really thought about her initial outburst. She had simply wanted – needed – the noise to stop. Her wish had been granted, and despite the amount of power her words had carried no-one had been harmed. None seriously, at least. A good number of people were forced to take a seat on the ground. Maybe it had been the wrong choice to act, but she simply could not have borne the noise any longer. So much for not attracting attention.

The two did not answer, either unwilling to or simply too scared to do so. But neither did they have to; a group of guards was already making their way through the silent masses. The one that was still talking to Ira – who looked like he would keel over any minute now – seemed to be amused more than anything. Aperio simply eyed the approaching guards and did nothing else. Her past experiences with their likes had never ended well and at least appearing to respect them probably was for the best. Not that they could force me to comply. But they probably know that already.

Not having to be scared felt nice, certainly something she could get used to. Probably shouldn't, though. With a bona-fide God out to kill her, assuming she was some invincible force was probably not smart. Just because her encounters thus far had been laughably easy did not mean it would stay that way. But then, she had this itch to fight someone who could challenge her; where she could let loose.

As the guards approached the still-frozen rabble-rousers, one split from his colleagues and came her way, cutting her reverie short. His steps were unsure and he looked like he would prefer to be anywhere but here. Aperio couldn't fault him, as if she were in his shoes she would not be comfortable either. So why not let the guard Ira is talking to handle this? He seems to be fine.

The guard came to a stop in front of her and bowed rather stiffly before speaking. "While we appreciate your intervention, we have to ask you refrain from doing so again and let us do our job."

While he might have appeared to be scared, or at least uncomfortable, he spoke with confidence. Aperio just squinted at the man. "Then keep them quiet."

The man looked confused but nodded nonetheless before joining his colleagues again. Aperio soon noticed the source of his confusion; the guard that had been talking to Ira was coming over after all. His boss, maybe? To her the guard did not look different from the others. He wore the same armour, the same sword, and looked just as unremarkable as the rest. No, not quite. A closer look revealed that he had slightly pointed ears, hinting at some Elven heritage further down his line.

Once he was closer, she turned to face him more fully which caused him to slightly bow as well. Is this a thing now? What did Ira tell him? "Yes?"

"Captain Lerendil," he said while straightening himself again. "We did not expect someone of your stature to arrive today, Lady Aperio."

Would be weird if you did. More interesting than his statement was the fact that he showed no reaction to her voice or presence. Not that he should. Only Thaddeus had problems with the aura. And those stupid wards. The thought of the runic defences caused her to glance at the wall, but she was unable to spot anything that would hint at wards being employed in them. Hidden maybe?

"I am here to see the [Grandmaster]. I did not know it was required to announce my arrival."

"It is by no means required, just a courtesy we appreciate to prevent incidents "– he gestured towards the two men being led away by his subordinates. –" like this. Will you be participating in the festivities once you have concluded your business?"

Aperio raised an eyebrow at his question. "Does that matter?"

"Dignitaries are entitled to a personal guard provided by the city."

What did Ira tell him I was? "I can take care of myself."

He looked at her for a second before sighing. "Undoubtedly. But I would like there to be a city left at the end of the week."

"And what will you do should I refuse?" Aperio asked. She did not like the idea of being watched by guards all day, as she already had a lifetime of that behind her. Neither did she have any desire to participate in the festival's goings-on. She had no idea what it was about, and – perhaps more importantly – she had no coin with which to buy anything on offer.

"Nothing." He sounded exhausted, probably having to deal with a lot of people that did not want to be stalked by guards.

"Then I will decline your offer. I think there are enough people following me around already." Ira, Laelia and the adventurers were more than enough for her.

At her words the guard captain looked at her entourage and shook his head. His behaviour was not like that of the guards she remembered, but those had been vastly different circumstances. Offending a noble or even a guest would often end with an execution, after all. Aperio hoped that was not the case anymore.

Rubbing his temples he motioned for her to follow him. "I have been given to understand that this is your first time visiting Ebenlowe and that you lack proper identification?"

"Yes." Aperio had nothing that could prove who she was. Or who Ira claimed I am.

Passing the old man, and trying her best to ignore the noise that was rising again, Aperio followed Captain Lerendil into a small house that had been built next to the gate. Once inside the man pulled an [Appraiser's Stone] from the lone shelf, only to put it back after looking at her again.

"I assume those won't work on you?"

All he got in response was a curt nod. The last time she had used one, all it had produced was a garbled mess. Nothing useful. It felt nice to be strong enough to break one of the stones, but she still wanted to know what titles she had received. The exact values of her other stats were not something she desperately wanted to know – a curiosity at best – but she had a feeling that she wouldn't see those anytime soon. If ever.

The man mumbled something about hating paperwork before he seated himself behind a desk and prepared a sheet of paper. Aperio found that she liked his attitude the most, as he didn't seem to be intimidated by her or try to treat her like some high and mighty noble. To him she was just a nuisance that created more paperwork. A small part of her was screaming and kicking for his head again, but she continued to ignore that. Does every Divine feel like they have to kill mortals for any perceived disrespect?

Aperio saw him scribble her name onto the first line before he faced her to ask a question. "Surname and age?"

She tilted her head at the question; she did not have a surname nor did she know how old she was. "None and I do not know."

He just rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Can you at least take a guess?"

"Over a thousand." Probably. That's what Ira and that imposter said at least.

The captain dropped his pencil when he heard her reply. Leaning back he stared at the ceiling whispering a quiet, "Why me?"

Aperio wanted to reply, but she was very sure she was not meant to hear his whisper. She would at least attempt to not make his day any worse. Not through more of my actions, at least.

After writing down her age he paused at the next blank space on the paper. He then skipped over it, as well as another few lines. They were all likely things he assumed she wouldn't know, or wasn't willing to answer, or they simply weren't all that important to begin with. For all the time Aperio had spent catering to nobles, she had had little experience with bureaucracy. It was simply not required in the Empire. At least not for the lowest of the low like she had been.

"One last thing," he said, turning the paper around so she could read it and pointing at a dotted line. "Sign here."

Taking the offered pen, Aperio signed her name in the excessively cursive script she had learned. Satisfied with her signature, captain Lerendil held it face down against a stone. There was a brief flash of blue light, and a tiny card replaced the piece of paper in his hand.

"This"– he pointed to the small card –"will serve as your identification until the [Grandmaster] or other official makes a permanent one, but given that you are here to visit her I would assume she has made one already."

Does he think I am friend of the [Grandmaster]? It certainly seemed that way. Instead of correcting the false assumption, she very carefully took the card off of the stone and safely stored it in her Void. For a moment she considered asking him about Natio and the fanatic that had attacked her, but she quickly dismissed that idea. Better ask the [Grandmaster], unless… she is also part of it?

Following him outside again, she saw that the crowd was lively once more but a lot quieter than before. They had been quiet enough that she had not heard them inside the house, a fact she was pretty sure had something to do with the building itself. But it did not have any wards, those would've broken for sure.

A few people in the crowd looked in her direction, their expressions ranging from what she assumed to be awe to undisguised disgust. She knew how to deal with the latter, the former was something quite foreign but still pleasant.

It was only a short walk back to her group, and as soon as they arrived the captain informed Ira that they were free to enter the city. He also told him to make sure to keep Aperio out of trouble, a statement that caused both the woman in question and Laelia to stifle a laugh.

Once the guard had departed Ira approached, obviously very uncomfortable with the entire situation. "I hope he did not bother you too much, but it is the only way to get you into the city without attracting even more attention."

She had almost expected him to be mad at her for her earlier outburst, but it seemed he was still quite intimidated by her. "It was quite refreshing. I wish everyone was a bit more relaxed."

"That… is easier said than done," Ira replied. "You don't a–"

"I get it. All I ask is that you try; I am not here to deliver punishment to everyone who mildly upsets me."

She got a small, hesitant nod in response. "Then please, follow me. The [Grandmaster] will be expecting us."

Following Ira's words, the small procession moved through a small gate into the city proper.

Sacrifice - Chapter 29: Meeting of Consequence

Taking her first step through the gate, Aperio was surprised to hear no change in the people surrounding her. No signs of panic, nor signs of confusion. Neither did she notice any indication that the wards in the wall were doing their customary overloading due to her presence. Intrigued, she slowly let the full information her aura provided enter her mind. It became immediately obvious that the walls protecting this city were free of wards. Instead, what she found was a different kind of magic, one that wrapped itself around the entirety of the city like a protective cover.

There was no beginning or end to it, just a dome of magic that blanketed the whole of the city. Who made this? As if to answer her question, a small sliver of mana fell from the construct. It drew a silvery-blue line through the sky as it raced towards a building that stood alone on a small island in the middle of the city. Following the drop brought with it another realisation; the city was built on numerous islands that dotted the surface of a giant lake. Each of them interconnected with a network of bridges and floating foot-paths that defied the waves that crashed against them.

Every island sported its own small city, each filled with people living their lives, unconcerned with her mana bearing down on them. Are they just used to that? She could not find anything that would resemble an aura, one like hers at least. She did not have much experience with auras, but it still struck her as somewhat odd. She was using hers without bothering to slip by unnoticed, but despite that there were only a scant few people who stopped what they were doing and looked around when her aura brushed past them. And for those particular people, Aperio wasn't even sure if they were actually looking for her.

Aperio would have gladly spent hours marvelling at the city and its people, but the symbol engraved upon the highest tower on the central isle caught her attention. It was the same rune Ira had on his card, the one he said identified him as a [Guide], and even as she pondered this the falling drop of mana finally reached its destination, entering straight into the selfsame rune. Is that where the [Grandmaster] lives? Does she sustain the shield? What does it even do? Her mana was able to pass through it just fine, and it did not seem to be influenced by it or react to anything else either. An idea sprang up only a moment after the question had passed her mind. Is it masking my aura? She dismissed the notion; if it did that, it would have certainly reacted to her presence in some other way.

Further thoughts had to be shelved when the group emerged on the other side of the wall and Aperio saw her first true glimpse of the city. Observation through her aura was a nice tool, but it could not compare to what she saw when simply looking at the world with her own eyes. A few people glanced in their direction as they emerged, but most quickly turned back to their previous tasks once their eyes landed on Aperio. Are they scared? ...Or is it the wings?

She had not yet seen another person that had a pair of their own, but she still did not want to hide them. Feeling anything less than whole was not something she desired. In fact, she wanted to do the opposite, stretch her new limbs and take flight; explore the city. But, the prospect of getting answers far outweighed the joy she would gain from flying around the city. And I can always do that later.

They had now entered something akin to a market place, with various stalls dotted around the stone-pathed square. She could hear the calls of merchants advertising their wares, most everything a special for the festival. The noise their shouts made and the constant chatter of the crowd was loud. Too loud for Aperio's liking, but leagues quieter than the chanting for the fight had been outside. Being able to hear every conversation on the square in perfect clarity was something she would have thought to be amazing, but having to listen to them all at the same time proved to be more of a burden than anything else.

At least she got fewer looks the further into the crowd they went, the people seemingly more used to Elves. She did notice a few people trying to figure out the originator of the magic they felt, but it was far less than she would have supposed.

A rustling of clothes and subdued shouting caught her attention. Looking in the direction of the commotion, Aperio saw a woman dressed like a maid chasing after a girl no older than twelve. Why is she running away? She couldn't understand what they were saying as they spoke in the Human tongue, something she really needed to fix.

Aperio stopped, quite interested in how the chase would play out. Nobody in her group said anything about their unscheduled stop, either also interested in what would happen or still too scared to ask why she wanted to observe.

It wasn't long before the maid-looking woman had caught the girl. She was scolding her, that much was clear without Aperio having to understand the words. The girl protested, struggling against the maid’s grip. She was looking around frantically, as if she had lost something that she just had to find again. Her eyes landed on Aperio and she froze for a moment before renewing her struggles with newfound vigour.

The girl said something to the maid which caused her to look at Aperio as well. The Elf just tilted her head at their attention. Did they mistake me for someone else? Her thought seemed to be correct as the maid set the girl down, firmly holding onto her hand as the two of them started to walk in Aperio's direction.

They worked their way through the masses; most of the crowd did not even spare them a glance, not having noticed or cared about the commotion they had caused. It only took a few moments before the two had reached their group and the little girl was looking at Aperio with sparkling eyes.

"Yes?" The sound of her voice caused the maid to try and shift her charge behind her, but the girl stayed where she was.

"I apologize for the inconvenience, but the young miss is adamant that she knows you." The fluency with which the maid spoke surprised Aperio; not something she had expected from a simple servant.

"Oh? But this is my first time in Ebenlowe." She did not know how that would be possible, she had only left her Void recently after all.

The maid said something to the girl that Aperio interpreted to be along the lines of 'I told you you were wrong.' The young miss would have none of that. She violently shook her head and pulled a folded piece of paper from a pocket on her dress. With still-sparkling eyes she extended it towards the Elven woman.

Very gently, Aperio bent down and took the paper from her hand. As she carefully unfolded it, it was to her surprise that she saw painted upon it a scene she knew. Countless tiny orbs flowed by in a river shape, coupled with a perfectly white rift, and above it all was a very accurate drawing of herself. While the body was cloaked in shadows, the face and wings were unmistakably hers. It was all viewed from above, as though the person who saw this was flying through the air. Aperio just blinked and looked at the girl.

"Where did you see this?"

"In a dream!" the girl exclaimed.

Aperio knelt down and motioned for the girl to come closer. She happily obliged, and practically bounced towards her. Once she was close, she went to hug the Elf, but the sound of the maid clearing her throat put an end to the motion. Instead the girl excitedly whispered, "That's you, isn't it?"

"Yes," Aperio replied as gently as she could. Her voice now sounded more like an ethereal whisper of a ghost than that of a person. The longer she simply existed, the more pronounced the effect seemed to become.

"What is your name, little one?" The time she had spent as a plaything for the children of nobles at least had an upside, she knew how the mothers talked to their children and those of others. She did not know if it was proper, but it was better than nothing.

"Maria!"

"Maria. Since when did you dream of that place?" Aperio could only think of one possible answer, one that made her question the nature of her existence.

"Always!" Maria did not seem to find it weird that she dreamed of a woman with wings flying above a sea of what Aperio was very sure were souls. Why does Goddess of Souls feel wrong then?

"Is that the only scene you dream of?"

"Yes," the girl said, nodding. She fidgeted, her hands pressing together in ways that made little sense as she shifted her weight from one leg to the other. "Are you a Goddess, miss?"

Aperio leaned in closer before she replied. "Yes, but that is a secret. Understood?"

For some reason she knew the girl would not tell anyone, just as she knew how her blessing was changing Laelia. Maria nodded with great enthusiasm and Aperio extended her hand. The girl took it for a handshake, but frowned, unable to shift it until Aperio herself moved her arm as carefully as she could.

Aperio could not feel any of her mana inside the girl, but there was still a connection that supplied her with information at her request. The only explanation she had for that was that she had somehow marked the soul when she had picked it up and awoken it in the Void. At the time she thought them to be little more than tiny lights and had used it as a key for her escape. Apparently the one she had thrown away in order to keep the rift open found its way to the girl in front of her and would be forever bound to her.

"I'm sorry."

Maria looked confused. "Sorry?"

Aperio shook her head. "Nothing." She considered standing up, but the crinkle of paper in her hand gave her pause. "I have to go now, Maria, but may I keep the drawing?"

The girl looked a bit sad at the prospect of having to leave, but was delighted at her request. "Yes!"

Aperio let the paper vanish into her Void for safekeeping, half-smiling at the sense of wonder that sparkled, renewed, in Maria's eyes at the sight. It was only then that she finally stood up, turning to the maid. "I would like to pay you and Maria a visit later. Where can I find the two of you?"

"The Terenyk estate," the woman replied hesitantly. "It is on the Feranir isle, you can ask the guards there for further directions."

"Thank you." Aperio smiled at the woman. The gesture seemingly appeared more intimidating than friendly as she hurried to get Maria and herself away from the group.

"What was that about?" Laelia asked as Aperio stepped back to rejoin the others.

"I do not know yet," Aperio replied. "Can we continue?"

The group obliged, setting off again on their way to meet the [Grandmaster]. Aperio spared little thought to talk of the people around her or the city itself. The encounter with the girl had brought some answers while bringing forth more questions.

By now she was certain that her Void was filled with souls waiting their turn for rebirth. She knew the Void was hers alone, and that no other God or Goddess would be able to enter it. She also now had first hand evidence that she could manipulate a soul by simply touching it. The mere fact that she could do such a thing disgusted her, and a shiver went down her spine as the realization truly sank in.

One of the questions she could not answer was why the Domain of Souls felt wrong and inadequate when she so obviously called what most would describe as the afterlife her home. It doesn't get more dead than being nothing but a soul, does it?

And yet, it still didn’t feel right. Maybe it is only a part of it? But what is the rest? Something with fighting, maybe. She mulled over the idea again and again, but could not find anything that felt right. Any single title, or combination thereof, that she tried just felt wrong or constricting; unfit for her grandeur.

What am I?

As Ira came to a halt in front of a giant door that bore the emblem of the [Guides], she knew that further thoughts about the nature of her existence would have to wait. The man took out his card, holding it high above his head so that it was as close to the emblem as possible. A brief moment passed, and then the giant doors silently slid open to reveal a hall filled with seats and tables that were stacked high with scrolls and books.

Following Ira inside, their footsteps echoed through the collosal hall. It felt weird to be the only source of noise in the otherwise quiet building and Aperio could not help but notice that every single person they passed stopped their work and respectfully bowed in their direction. If this would have happened just a few days – or weeks – earlier, she would have assumed that Ira had a pretty high standing within the organization, one that demanded respect. But now she was pretty sure those bows and and looks of admiration were directed at her.

They stopped in front of a door at the other side of the hall, Ira turning around to address them. "The [Grandmaster] is expecting you, Lady Aperio." With those words he opened the door and gestured for her to step inside.

Stepping through, she was greeted to the sight of a clean and organized office. She could hear the click as the passage behind her closed, but her attention was caught by the other person in the room. A tall, Human woman with leafy-green hair stood up from her chair and walked around the table, causing the big white and green robe she wore to drag behind her on the floor.

Having reached Aperio's side, she bowed deeply and took her time before speaking. "It is an honour to meet you, Lady Aperio. I am O'lymni Videns, [Grandmaster] of the [Guides]; at your service."

Aperio narrowed her eyes and looked at the woman in front of her. "I was told you can answer my questions."

O'lymni was unphased by her voice, instead she simply nodded. "I will try my best to answer any questions you have, but I believe a meeting with Roots-Beneath-All and its guest will offer more insight."

Its guest? Aperio knew from her extended senses that there was a large room behind the [Grandmaster's] office, and that there was a person pacing in front of a giant pillar. Further inspection was interrupted by the voice of O’lymni.

"I also have this for you. Roots indicated that it might help you understand, though I am doubtful of that." With those words she held out a small metal card, not unlike the one Ira had. On it was a rune even more complex than the one the [Guides] used, and a name.

It read 'Aperio, Sacræ Numen Ea'. What got Aperio's attention was not the fact that it was her name on it – that she expected – but that the rune and the scribbles after her name felt so right. She had no idea what it meant, but whatever it was, she knew it to be the indisputable truth.

She took the card from O'lymni's hand. "What does it mean?"

"I do not know. It was made by Roots in an effort to help you."

Aperio tilted her head at the statement. "Why are you so eager to help me?"

"Because doing anything else would spread more lies. The [Grandmaster] cannot spread lies."

Aperio took a deep breath. It wasn't that she trusted this woman fully, but her statement about not spreading lies rang effortlessly true. With this in mind, she brought up one of her most important questions, once again brushing aside the revulsion of appearing less than powerful. "Do you know what I am?"

The woman contemplated her words for a moment before answering. “I know you are a Goddess that even Roots itself reveres, but that only tells me that you are something beyond my ability to comprehend.”

Aperio tilted her head at the statement. Beyond her ability to comprehend? That was a lot less helpful of an answer than she had expected. Why would another God revere me? I spent most of the time since I became a Goddess in the Void, and I know it was only me… and countless souls. It had to have something to do with her in general, and not the fact that she was a Goddess. Of that she was sure.

Aperio had never dwelt much on the fact that throughout her entire life, despite being a slave, she had never broken or become numb to the world. She had assumed that it was a twisted element to the collar's magic – a cruel trick to make sure its wearers could truly suffer – but it was becoming more and more obvious that her enduring sanity had had something to do with her, and not the collar. If the [Grandmaster] did not know what she was, maybe she knew something about the cause for her current situation.

“What do you know about the Inaru Empire and the ritual that ended them?”

“Ah yes, the Night of the Second Sun.” O’lymni replied. “Sadly we do not know much, just that it was not Ferio who burned Vetus clean – she was very adamant about that. Still, many people attribute it to her.

“All we know for certain is that the ritual itself caused the events of that night. The [Guides] are currently trying to decipher the formation they used, but whatever really happened then removed most of the markings. Should you wish to read the reports yourself, I can have them prepared for you. Or you could ask Roots, as it did ask to meet you once you have no more questions for me.”

Maybe I should. “And where would I find this Roots?”

In response, O’lymni pointed to the door on the other side of the room. “Roots-Beneath-All and its guest are waiting there.”

Aperio could still only see one person, and that one was still pacing back and forth. Stepping past the [Grandmaster], she walked through the doorway behind her. She had known the room to be bigger than one would assume from the constant trickling information stream of her aura, and she had also assumed that the pacing person was in front of a pillar of some kind. It was not a pillar – or any kind of decoration for that matter – but a giant tree that covered the entirety of the back wall and stretched all the way up to the way-too-high ceiling. What made her sure that it was not a mere piece of decoration was the fact that its branches had started to move as soon as she entered the room. They were shaking in what Aperio would call anticipation, but she could not be sure as she did not speak tree.

The person that had never stopped pacing back and forth in front of the tree during her talk with the [Grandmaster] had finally come to a halt, simply staring at Aperio. The Elf could only stare back at disbelief at the person in front of her. She lacked the definition and wings Aperio had gained after her stay in the Void, and she did not have the pointed ears of an Elf. The other's hair shimmered in shades of red and yellow that almost made Aperio think that it was afire.

But in all other respects, the two of them looked eerily similar.

Before Aperio could think of a question, the woman began to move in her direction with a speed that could not be compared to any of the previous opponents she had faced. The thought of dodging did not even enter her mind, still unable to process the situation. How could it be that there existed someone that looked like a Human version of herself?

The woman crashed into Aperio, moving the unprepared Elf a step back, before hugging her with enough strength to crush any mortal's bones. Extracting her face from Aperio's chest, the woman whispered words that only caused Aperio's confusion to grow.

"You're back!"

Sacrifice - Chapter 30: Epiphany

Returning to her senses, Aperio pried the other woman off of herself and kept her an arm's length away. There was a brief struggle, but the other woman was either significantly weaker than Aperio had assumed or unwilling to fight. Probably the latter. She had a suspicion that there was a lot more to the person in front of her than her initial action implied.

Before either of the women could speak, a deep voice that reverberated through the hall. Somehow, it reminded Aperio of a knife scraping over the bark of a tree. “Her return was never in question; only a matter of time before she blooms again. Her highness is beyond the whims of wither and rot.”

"Her highness?" Aperio tilted her head at the words, mumbling them herself. The fact that a tree had just spoken was quickly brushed aside by what it had said. The [Grandmaster] did say Roots revered me, but...why? The thought ran through her head, quickly followed by That is Roots, right? Shaking her head, she focused on the woman that looked so eerily similar to herself.

"Who are you?"

The woman seemed lost for words at her question, her expression shifting from disbelief to something Aperio would describe as crestfallen. Should I know her? She did look a lot like herself, but Aperio was very sure she had no siblings, especially not ones of another species. Or are Gods and Goddesses their own race? But, if this woman was a sister or someone else related to her, where had she been when Aperio had to live the life of a slave? Had this woman joined her masters in their lavish banquets and nights of pleasure while she had to scrub the distasteful leftovers of failed experiments from the walls?

With a shake of her head, Aperio banished those thoughts. The woman in front of her was something more, not just a mere mortal. But that just brought her back to her first question. Who is she? It was obvious that she thought Aperio should recognise her, and that they had to be at least somewhat close, otherwise Aperio could not explain why she would go for a hug that would have probably killed a normal person.

"You… don't remember?" Her voice was shaky and quiet, nothing more than a faint whisper. "You don't remember your own daughter?"

"Daughter?" The words came unbidden from her mouth, unable to keep the last of her calm. Aperio knew she had never had a child, as those who had taken her for their pleasure had made sure that would not happen. "How? When?"

"Does her highness truly not remember?" The rumbling bark-scraping voice of Roots echoed through the halls, not quite managing to mask the shaky breathing of Aperio's supposed daughter. "The joy you felt after her creation? Watching her blossom into her Domain?"

Upon hearing his words, the other woman sagged, and Apero let go of her. She sank to her knees, staring at the floor and mumbling something Aperio did not hear as her mind was occupied with trying to parse what the tree had just said. There was not a single memory in her possession that was able to shed light on what the woman or Roots had said. Every word they uttered just caused more confusion. How could she have a daughter, and how could the woman be a Goddess?

What am I?

It was obvious that what Aperio thought she knew was wrong. Lacking. She had assumed to be a Goddess, new to the world and trying to find her place in it. Her reason to be. But there had always been a tiny speck of doubt that existed, endlessly brushed aside but now coming to the forefront with the irrefutable knowledge that what she knew was wrong. The moments when she had lost control, and the things she should not know that came readily to her mind; they were not merely the byproducts of her Divine being trying to keep her on the right track.

No. There had to be more.

Why else would it hurt when she tried to recall that same knowledge on her own? Something had to be there that she was missing, and the only thing Aperio could think of, unsettling as it was, was that her sacrifice was not the first time she had died.

"Who am I?"

Her mumbling caused the tree to lower its branches, almost as if her words had caused sadness. Aperio did not know how a tree could appear to be sad, but neither did she know how it talked. A fact that carried with it a familiar feeling that told her that she should know, but did not tell her why that would be the case.

"You are Aperio, the Sacred Goddess, Arbiter of the Beginning and the End; creator of Ferio and myself."

The words were true, Aperio knew them to be. A simple fact. "But why can't I remember?"

"They couldn't bear the thought of someone being above, able to interfere in their petty games." It was not the tree, but the person that claimed to be her daughter – Creation? – that spoke. "We don't know how, but they”– she paused, looking for the right words –”sealed parts of you. Used your essence to bring monsters to the realms."

"The Dungeons, as the mortals call them, sprout new and unseen beasts. Stronger, more durable than what should exist on a world of this level," Roots helpfully supplied.

Aperio could only stare at them, unable to make sense of what they had just said. "They? How?"

"Vigil and Inanis," Ferio spat. "They could not be content with what they had."

While now she had knowledge of who had done it, she still did not know why. Nor did this new revelation explain why a follower of Natio had tried to kill her. Or even why the two had not come to end her themselves. Something did spring to mind, however.

"Is that why a paladin of Vigil attacked me, once she had confirmation that I was a Goddess?"

A vine extended towards Aperio from the tree. Once it was almost within arm's reach a familiar blue-tinted window came into existence above it.

Laelia Whytegaard has been ordered to attack ʌ̸̸̧͟ņ͞ˈ͞͏̴͟é͢ɪ͘͏̴͠b͝ĺ͠ ̢͢͜͠t̷̡̀͢͝ų̷͝ː͘͠ ҉̀͝ˈ̛͟͝͠͝k̡̀ļ̧æ̴͜͝͡ś̡͡ɪ̶̢͝͡f̷̶a̷͜ɪ̛͟͡͡ ̵̸͢͡͠ˈ̷͘͞ɛ͘͢҉̨n̴͟͞t̸̶ɪ̷͢͠t̴̢̀͠i̸̛̕ by Vigil, the Righteous

Laelia Whytegaard has lost the Blessing of Vigil

Laelia Whytegaard has gained the Blessing of A̛̕̕͟p̨͟e҉̴̀̀͝r̶͜͝í͠͝o̴̢͏̸,̛͞ ̷̡͏ ҉̀̕s̷̷̴͢͞ˈ̧̡̧́̕a͏k̶̡̢̨͟ɹ̛í̷͞ː̵̷̡̢͝ ҉̢̕͟n͘͢͠j̷̸̸̧͘ˈ̧̨u̴͏̨ː̛͜͠m̀̕҉̷ɛ̶̴̢̛n̸̷҉̡ ͏͘͜d̛͟ˈ͜i̧̕ː̢̡͘͢ ̵̧͟ ̧͡͝

Aperio tilted her head upon reading the System notification; she had never seen one outside of the ones the [Appraiser's Stone] made. "Why is that also broken?"

The vine that seemingly held the projection lowered a bit at her words. "I am truly sorry, but I am still unable to process the full extent of your power. The artefacts will remain until you sprout a new system; one that does not depend on yourself."

...Sprout a System? "Did I… make this one? And it needs me to function?"

"Yes."

"Is that why it doesn't work for me?"

"Yes."

"Why do the others Gods and Goddesses use it then?" It did not make a whole lot of sense to her. Why would they use something that they could not control? Or can they?

"Because they can't make one themselves," Ferio replied. "Which is why I don't understand how they managed to win against you."

Aperio cocked her head at the words, for though they made sense they brought with them a question. If she really, truly was what the two believed her to be, how could she have lost against the two Gods? "Maybe I did not fight?"

It was the only logical conclusion she could draw at the moment. But why? Why would I do that? Am I even who they think I am? She possessed the same name as the Goddess they believed her to be, and Ferio could easily pass as her daughter. She knew, though, that the words Roots had used implied certain things, among them the fact that Ferio seemingly did not come into existence by traditional means. I can’t make a person, can I?

Her mind jumped back to the encounter with Maria, the little girl who, despite having been touched by Aperio but once, could easily recognize her from what she saw in her dreams. Maybe I can. The thought was not one she appreciated. The ability to decide someone’s fate with a simple whim was something she felt nobody should have the power of doing.

She was taken from her thoughts by red and silver eyes that stared into her own. Aperio had not noticed Ferio getting up, lost in her own thoughts yet again.

“You? Not fight?” A sad smile accompanied her words. “You never said no to a fight; always trying to find someone who could actually keep up.”

Is that why I want to fight? Because it’s fun? She had certainly enjoyed even the smaller skirmishes she had had with the fanatic and Laelia, but that could not be the only reason, could it? “What did I do, then? How can you even be sure that I am the one you think I am?”

Her words seemed to hurt the other Goddess, as she directed her gaze to the floor and mumbled her words. “I just do.”

Roots had more conclusive evidence for their claim, simply producing a new screen that showed more garbled mess Aperio assumed to be information about herself. “I do not know anyone else who would break the System like this.”

Aperio needed no more proof to convince her of the validity of their claims. Even if she did not have the innate knowledge of the truth of their words, the tinge of sadness and guilt whenever she looked at Ferio's face was proof enough. She wasn’t completely sure, but it felt like what she thought a mother should feel when their child was sad.

“If they wanted me dead, why did they not try to kill me again?” Aperio asked, tilting her head. “Seriously, at least. I know I am not as strong as I could be.” It was a simple fact. If she could still get stronger by simply existing, she could not be at the peak of her strength. Unless there is no limit? Her previous belief that the other Gods and Goddesses or the world itself would somehow limit her did not seem quite as plausible now.

“They can't descend. They know I would kill them as soon as they do,” Ferio replied. “Not that it means much; they could just try again after a while. But they have deemed the mana expense too high. They are also afraid of you.”

Aperio scrunched her face in confusion at the statement. She could see how they would be afraid, the more she learned about herself the more frightening her very existence became. The other part made less sense to her. Up until this point, nothing magic-related that she had tried had used more than tiny infinitesimal fractions of her vast supply of mana. “Descend? How much mana does that use?”

Her question caused Ferio – and Roots, if she read it right – to look confused. “How did you leave your Dominion if you did not descend?”

“Oh.” With a simple thought Aperio opened a portal to the Void, big enough for her to walk through. “Do you mean this?”

Her daughter carefully approached the rift in space, inspecting it from all sides. Just before she stuck her head inside, Ferio paused, looking at her mother instead. “May I?”

Aperio just raised an eyebrow at her question. Do the others not let people visit their Dominion? “Sure.”

As soon as the other Goddess had crossed the threshold of the rift, Aperio felt something change. It did not feel wrong or disgusting, but there was a distinct feeling that something was off. Maybe that is why?

A motion from Ferio caused Aperio to flare her wings and lower herself, ready to charge at the woman. The reaction was instinctual; the other Goddess had used magic to manipulate something inside her Dominion and before she could even think about the action a more primal part of her had reacted.

“What are you doing?”

Her voice carried with it enough power to startle the other Goddess for a brief moment before she turned around. She looked sorry, but Aperio was never quite sure she read other people right.

“I found a body in there, I just wanted to take a closer look. I am sorry, mother.” She looked at her feet. “I forgot how much you hate that.”

Being addressed in such a manner was not what Aperio had expected, but was probably something she would have to get used to. Just because she forgot who she had been did not mean Ferio had, and it was clear she did not want to treat Aperio as someone else. Even if she was no longer the same person.

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Aperio straightened herself. “Do not do that again.”

A wave of her hand caused the body of the fanatic to appear before herself and the rift to close. “This one also tried to kill me. She said that Natio has decreed it.” With those words Aperio directed her gaze onto the tree. “Who is Natio?”

Roots’ branches shook at the mention of the God. “A sapling, unaware of what it means to be a God. He lays claim to the Domain of Birth and the Souls of the Dead.”

“But the Void is mine?” Aperio asked.

“Yes, but he does not know who or what you are. The roots of every God and Goddess reach back to you, sharing in a bit of your Domain. Most of them do nothing against your perceived intrusion into their Domains,” Roots replied. “Some as a thanks for providing the System, others believing that you would smite them if they did.”

“What is my Domain, then?”

“You never blessed me with that knowledge, your highness.” Its voice was subdued, almost sad. “I have always guessed Creation, but you yourself have said that that is only a part.”

“I remember the day I figured out mine, you were so happy, “ Ferio chimed in, the talk about Domains bringing out a fondness in her voice Aperio could not quite place. “Life and Light were fitting for my sunny disposition, you said.

“But I also remember that despite the happiness you felt for my achievement, you were still sad. I never asked because I knew you did not like to share what burdened you, but now I think I know what it was.”

Aperio focused on the woman. If she truly was her daughter, she might know. The question that had plagued her ever since she had accepted what she was might finally be answered.

“I think you never had one.”

“Never had one?” Aperio could not quite believe her ears. Every God or Goddess had a Domain, otherwise they would not be any different from a mortal. “But the Void is part of my Domain. I know it.”

“Your daughter might be right, your highness,” Roots said. “If you do not truly know everything your Domain encompasses, you technically do not have one.”

“Then how am I a Goddess?”

“The term was invented by mortals to describe beings like Ferio and yourself. Whatever rules and stipulations they attached to it are things they have come up with,” Roots explained with a rustling of its leaves. “Nobody, not even those mortals like Natio and Mayeia who ascended to Godhood themselves, deemed it necessary to correct their assumptions.”

“How do I figure out what my Domain is then? I know parts of it already, but any one of them feels so restrictive.”

"A good place to start would be to find out why – and how – Vigil and Inanis managed to seal parts of you away." Ferio's voice held barely restrained hatred at the mention of the two Gods who had dared to do the unthinkable. "One of the crystals that houses a part of what used to be you lies below this city. Why not start there?"

Interlude - Maria 1: A Dream Come True

Maria lounged on her bed, unable and unwilling to wipe the persistent grin off of her face. She had finally managed to meet the person that she had seen in her dreams for her entire life. Admittedly, to be able to do that she had to sneak out, running away from her estate and evading her ever-present maid, and there might be repercussions later. But it was worth it!

Maria knew full well that Amelia only wanted to protect her, but she couldn't just sit around when a Goddess – her Goddess! – walked into the city. She couldn't properly explain how she knew what she knew, and had never been able to convince anyone of the truth of it.

Speaking of truth, it had to be said that when she had run off she had not been one hundred percent certain of the Goddess status of the woman, but what other being could pick up a soul and throw it, literally, into the mortal realms? And she had been proven right all along.

The winged Elf had stood out in the milling crowd like a sore thumb. That the people seemed to naturally part and flow around her, some without even looking her way, just proved the point in Maria's mind. Who else but a Goddess would prompt someone to step aside without them even thinking about it?

The smile on her face grew wider as she relished her memory of being able to actually talk with the woman. After convincing Amelia, of course. The maid was her personal guard for a reason and, despite having run away to meet the dream-woman, Maria knew that Amelia had a good eye for assessing potential danger.

When the Goddess had spoken, Amelia had seemed startled, and wanted nothing more than to shield her and leave. Maria could not figure out why she should be shielded from a voice that filled her with a pleasant warmth, one that felt soft and embracing, almost like...like the few times her father would hug her. She had wanted to stay forever, but, sadly, the world had had other plans. Now she was back at the mansion. Stuck in my room for the rest of the day.

All day, every day. Hiding away in my room. Ever since her [Status] had first been revealed, her family had thought her to be cursed. At the tender age of six, how else could someone possibly acquire a title? The sheer illegibility of it did not help matters, and telling her father of the dream that kept coming back only resulted in her being trotted around to what felt like every doctor possible, and an assortment of priests just for good measure.

The doctors had found nothing wrong, but the priest of Vigil had said that it was indeed a curse. When a priest of Inanis had come up with the same result, it was confirmed in stone for her father.

Maria knew that both priests had asked to speak with her father in private. She did not know what was discussed, but afterwards he had been less than pleased, banishing them from the estate. Since then, no follower of either of those Gods had been allowed back on the property.

Small hope came from the visiting priest of Ediscio, who had told them that despite serving the God of Knowledge, he had no knowledge of what her [Status] was. He had advised them to seek an audience with Roots-Beneath-All, saying that the tree was more familiar with the ins and outs of the System.

Maria didn't want to talk to a tree. She wanted to pray. Pray to her Goddess, in fact, but as she began she came up woefully short. In her excitement in finally meeting the woman, she had not even asked for her name. Maybe...maybe she doesn't like to listen to prayers? Maria considered, trying to soothe herself into a calmer state. She did not even know why the woman had come to the mortal world in the first place, but if a Goddess of what she assumed to be death had come to the city, something important was clearly going on.

But… a thought crossed her mind. Doesn’t Natio claim to be the God of the Underworld? Climbing out of bed, Maria shuffled over to the wide set of shelves on the wall. Since she wasn't allowed outside her room that often, she had asked her father for books with which to pass the time, and over the years she had accumulated quite a number of them.

Picking one of the many scriptures about religion, she leafed through the pages until she came upon the section about the new Gods. She snorted. If the two Gods had arrived a thousand years ago, could they really still be considered new? How long until the newness of a God wore off and they were merely a regular God? Still, they were the most recent addition to the pantheon. The official one, that is. Maybe they're just the newest Gods?

Maria was certain that the Goddess she had just met was not part of the pantheon in any official manner; otherwise, with all these priests that had come and gone to check on her [Status], she would have heard of her outside of her dreams. Seen a drawing, at least, or read the vaguest description that matched. Maybe even learned her name.

But there was something, some ungraspable part of her, that told Maria her Goddess was more than a simple guardian of the dead. Something about her felt ancient in a way completely separate from the older pantheon. It was a thing to be puzzled over later, perhaps. Right now the question in Maria's head was why. Why did she come here? In no world would Maria assume that her Goddess had come here for her specifically; she knew she wasn't important enough for that.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock and the subsequent opening of the door. The intruder turned out to be her personal maid Amelia who held a tray with her dinner on it. She silently placed her meal on the sole table in the room before addressing her charge.

"Your dinner, Maria."

After placing the book back in its spot on the shelf, Maria made her way towards the table. She could tell Amelia was still mad at her, justifiably so. But she simply had had to go; her need to see her Goddess had been so vast as to fill her completely, unable to be ignored.

"Thank you," mumbled the girl as she sat down.

Dinner itself was the usual silent affair, punctuated only by the noise of cutlery scraping against the porcelain plate. Only after Maria had finished did Amelia speak again.

"Your father wants to see you."

Wordlessly, Maria stood up. She had known that this would happen. Sneaking out usually only resulted in a reprimand from her maid, but this time she had done so during the Festival of Life. It was still unknown to her why exactly her father did not want her to leave the estate. Neither did she know why he had specifically told her not to leave during the Festival. Ebenlowe was a city with a good guard, they would protect her. It was their job after all. But now she had invited an unknown woman into their home, something she knew her father would not like. He vetted every person that came to their part of the small isle. Maria had seen – and read some of – the large pile of notes he had compiled on everyone that passed through.

Following Amelia out of her room they made their way through the sparsely decorated halls, their footsteps muffled by the thick carpet. Maria was anxious, and did not know what her father would do now, but she did not regret her actions. When her Goddess came to visit, she would be able to prove that she was not cursed. Maybe then I won't have to sneak outside anymore?

They passed a few of the other servants during the long walk to the office of Maria's father, and most of them bowed slightly before going back to their tasks. Some looked uncomfortable at their passing, but a sharp look from Amelia caused them to quickly turn back to what they had been doing before. Maria herself knew none of the servants they had passed personally. The only people that spent any significant amount of time with her were her father, Amelia, and her brother Jace.

When will he come back? Her brother had left to study at an academy in Kejeran a few months ago as part of his education. He needed every advantage he could get, as he would take over the house one day. She missed the little lessons he had given her, teaching her about the world and helping her when she got stuck with her language studies.

"Don't fall behind."

Upon hearing Amelia's words, Maria sped up again. She had not noticed that she had slowed down, preoccupied with her thoughts. The rest of the way to her father's office she spent looking at her feet. It wasn't long before before she heard the sound of knuckles rapping on wood and the voice of her father calling them inside.

His office was – as always – filled with notes and papers, the man himself looking tired. Ragged even. Stepping past Amelia to face her punishment, as was proper, Maria did her best not to break form and run to give her poor father a hug. She knew he did not like it, always saying that it was improper, but that did little to stop her from wanting to do it.

"Stay, Amelia." Her father's words cause the maid to halt her movement and close the door instead.

"Of course, Lord Terenyk," she replied with a slight bow.

Looking down to properly face his daughter, lord Terenyk gestured to a rather plush-looking chair in front of his desk. "Please sit, Maria."

Once the girl had done as she was told, her father spoke again. "I have been informed that you ran away. Again."

"I did," Maria replied, fidgeting in her seat. "But I had to meet her!"

"Meet who?" her father asked. "Some woman you see in a dream?"

"She is real! I found her!" Maria protested. "Amelia saw her too!"

Her father just rubbed his temples at her reply. "Yes, she told me that you found someone that matches her description. Even the wings. But, she also said that she is likely strong enough to influence how people see her. What you saw might have just been an illusion fuelled by your own imagination."

Maria wanted to tell him that she was a Goddess, not some random mage that made a habit of abducting or manipulating children. But the woman had said it was a secret and Maria was not about to interfere in a divine plan she had no hope of understanding. "She wants to visit us! Then you can find out on your own. If she's just an imposter, daddy, you'll find out!"

Lord Terenyk just gave a dry laugh at his daughter's attempt to diffuse the situation. He had to admit, however, that she was right. If the being was an impostor, he would find out. But in reality, he just wanted this day to be a dream. Whenever the woman of his daughter's dreams came to visit, he would either have to subdue someone beyond his level or have what he feared to be some kind of Goddess come into his house.

"Why can't you just stay here until daddy figures out what's wrong with your [Status]?"

"But nothing is wrong with me!"

"Nothing we found so far, yes," her father replied. "But maybe we can't detect what it does, or whatever messed with your [Status] only manifests later on. I am just worried about you and want to know you are safe."

Maria perked up at his words. "I have Amelia for that!"

"She can't protect you if you just run away without telling anyone!"

The girl sunk further into her chair at his outburst. "But if I told anyone, I wouldn't be able to go," she mumbled.

"You aren't supposed to go," Lord Terenyk said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Here you are safe, but as soon as you leave, I cannot guarantee that." He looked at her, and she could see the weight of years in his eyes. "I've already lost your mother. Don't make me lose you too."

Maria hung her head in shame. Her father did not bring up her mother much, but whenever he did, it was because she had done something potentially dangerous. And yet, she felt that she had made the right choice. Something told her that she shouldn't be holed up in her room all day, but be free instead.

It had to be connected to the woman she had finally been able to meet. Maria knew she would have more answers for her. The why and how of where that knowledge came from was easily dismissed from her mind, as the prospect of knowing what was supposedly wrong with her simply outweighed such silly things as reason and logic. But right now, she had made her father sad. Something she did not like doing.

Looking back up at her father, Maria asked a question to which the answer held more importance than either her father or Amelia could fathom. “Can I still meet her when she comes?”

“If”– her father stressed the word –“she comes here, I will meet her first and then decide. That you invited her here is bad enough. We know nothing about who or what she might actually be.

“Go back to your room. Until I say otherwise, Amelia will stay with you to make sure you don’t run away again.” His words were final, the conversation over.

Getting out of the chair, Maria made her way out of the room. She knew that her father just wanted her to be safe, but she could not understand why that required her to stay in her room most of the time. She wasn’t some fragile flower. She could run away from Amelia, and the maid was pretty fast. Quicker than any of the other servants at least.

The walk back to her room was quiet, and seemed to feel much shorter than the plodding journey to see her father had been. Once back in the room that was her own, Maria did not bother to change her clothes, instead heading straight to bed. The day had been exciting, revealing, terrible and sad all at once. It was exhausting, she realized with a yawn, and as she was drifting off to sleep she heard a quiet "Sleep well, Maria," from the maid that had assumed her position at the door.

Maria dreamed, and the scene that presented itself to her was much the same. An infinite abyss of black nothing filled with rivers that held countless souls. Maria herself was, yet again, nothing more than a tiny glowing orb that drifted on the currents of the afterlife. That was, until a slender hand plucked her out of the stream and the face of her Goddess appeared in her vision.

The woman turned her spherical self every which way before gently tapping against her. A pleasant warmth spread from the point she touched, causing Maria to stir in an effort to more fully embrace what she thought of as a ghostly hug.

As always, it was not to be. She was tossed away, the scene she had painted a dozen times by now unfolding in front of her. Then, all the lights in the black abyss melted together, forming a tunnel of colours she could never hope to describe. Soon she would awake, fully rested even though she had gone to bed only an hour ago.

The cold sensation that usually heralded the end of her dream came and went, but instead of opening her eyes and staring at the ceiling of her room, Maria was looking a different scene.

She saw her Goddess flying in the air, holding another woman clad in the armour of Vigil’s paladins. Neither of the two seemed to even know she was there, but neither could Maria call out to her Goddess. A moment later the thought of interrupting her was flushed from her mind as she saw a golden-white version of the paladin slowly come out of her real body.

The process seemed to be painful as the woman screamed in silent agony, but Maria knew that her Goddess was doing her best to save the poor woman from something much worse. Just as Maria was about to question how she knew things she had never been told, there was an ear-splitting noise – something shattering – and Maria's real eyes shot open.

Before the dream could start to fade from her mind, Maria scrambled out of bed and began to paint the scene.

Advent - Chapter 31: Foretold

Ira slowly stepped through the open doorway and into the [Grandmaster's] office. The woman distractedly gestured for him to take a seat, still staring at the door in the back of her office. So she is meeting Roots? Ira thought to himself. That's good. I hope. The Goddess he had encountered fit the description of a prophecy the [Grandmaster] had given him to a tee. Even the name was the same.

"She is not what I expected," O'lymni said, turning to face the now-seated Ira. "Roots had always presented her as beyond anything one could imagine. Unfathomable. She seemed pretty normal to me, friendly even. For a Goddess, that is."

"But is she the one you sought? The one from the prophecy?" Ira asked.

"Undoubtedly, everything fits. She just does not behave like I thought someone of that stature would. But then, the prophecy never said she would act in a certain way."

Ira shifted in his seat. Just over a week ago, he had been happy that the prophecy he had been worrying about was not going to come to pass, and now the [Grandmaster] was telling him that the opposite was true. The idea was not one that he enjoyed. He had started to doubt his initial assumption when what he at the time assumed to be an Elf decided to, rather violently, bless a member of the adventurer party. That she was attacked by a follower of Natio and one of Vigil only furthered his doubt.

The end of the world he knew was definitely not what he had hoped for.

"Lady Videns–"

Before Ira could continue, O'lymni waved him off and sat down behind her desk. "I told you before, just O'lymni is fine."

"O'lymni." Addressing the [Grandmaster] without any titles was not something Ira would ever get used to, but one did not easily refuse such a simple request. "How can you remain so calm? If she is the one… doesn't that mean–"

"That the world will end?" O'lymni asked, interrupting Ira yet again. "The prophecy never said that it would, just that persons of importance will perish. Everyone, me included, just assumes that it means the Gods. And if we take into account what Natio and Vigil had their followers do, I think that is a safe assumption."

Ira was not surprised by the fact that the [Grandmaster] already knew what had transpired on their way to Ebenlowe; she always did. How she got the information was not something he knew, but he assumed Roots had something to do with it. Roots had been here long before the [Guides] came into existence – most [Guides] still thought of it as a normal tree – and nobody apart from O'lymni knew why it helped them in their quest to document the truth. Personally, he had a few ideas – a few more, now that there was a Goddess that Roots itself apparently revered.

Letting out a sigh, Ira shifted his thoughts away from things he would likely never know. Instead, he spoke up. "I assume that you already know what has happened to the Vinmaier child and his mentor?"

"Yes. Killed by Aperio. That will also be your next assignment," she replied, taking out a sealed envelope from one of the drawers on her desk. "This letter will inform Lord Vinmaier that his son offended a Goddess and paid with his life. The city guard forbids him from acting against any resident or visitor to the city, and will not pursue the matter themselves."

Ira took the surprisingly heavy letter, staring for a moment at the intricate runic seal that held it shut before safely storing it inside his [Personal Storage]. The tiny black rift reminded him of the star-filled one the Goddess had used to store the corpse, an action that made him question the origin of the skill. Not many people openly questioned the origins of the System, they just accepted it as part of the world. Not that asking gets you answers.

On the rare occasions that the question was actually openly posed, the Gods either directed the one who asked to Roots, or said that they made it themselves for the benefit of the mortals. All he knew was that no variant of the [Personal Storage] skill allowed one to deposit a body inside; not a fresh one at least. The length of time required varied, of course, but eventually you'd be able to store a body. Even one of a person.

He was taken from his thoughts and any potential questions as the [Grandmaster] abruptly stood up, smoothed over her robe and faced the door at the back of her office. It only took a moment for Ira to guess what would happen next and follow suit, moving a couple of steps to the side as to not obstruct the path from the door to the seat or the other exit.

It wasn't long before the door opened and Aperio walked into the room, her brows scrunched together in thought. What got Ira's attention however was not the winged Goddess, but the woman that walked in behind her. He had seen Ferio before, but he had not made the connection between the two. Now that they both stood in the same room, he could not help but think that they had to be related somehow. Do Gods have families?

Aperio's head was still spinning from the new information she had gotten as she stepped back inside the office of the [Grandmaster]. Her daughter was following close behind her, still looking a bit saddened at the fact that she did not remember her. At least, Aperio assumed that to be the cause of her downcast expression. It still pained her to see Ferio like that, but she had no idea what she should do. She could not just suddenly remember; she wasn't even sure if she actually wanted to.

That, however, was a question that could be put off in answering until after she had visited Maria. She had made a promise, after all, and she intended to keep said promise. In the process of learning of the little girl's life, Aperio also hoped to learn more about herself and her abilities. There was the distinct possibility that knowing more about Maria's life might be less than enjoyable, bringing about disgust and hate at what she as a Goddess could accomplish. In the end, though, it was all still her choice. Just because she could do something with her abilities did not mean that she had to.

But, what can the System do? Apparently, she had made the thing. Did that mean that she was responsible, indirectly at least, for everything that had been done with it? And, if it really needed her in some way, shouldn't she be able to control it? Aperio had asked Roots how it used the system, but for it, it was just like using any other magic. The simple action of willing the blue-tinted window with information on it to appear, unsurprisingly, did nothing.

Further testing would have to wait as both Humans – at least, she assumed O'lymni to be one – seemed to be stuck in a bow. Aperio furrowed her brow. She understood why they would pay respects to a Goddess, but to her it was more annoying than anything else. It was far removed from the normality she sought in her new life. Not that I will get much of that.

The time she spent around others only showed her that she was anything but normal. Even among the Gods. With a sigh, she motioned for them to rise. "Could you not bow every time you see me? It is annoying."

"I will try my best," the [Grandmaster] said, straightening herself and brushing away any potential imperfections in her robe. "May I know what you intend to do now that you have returned?"

The question caused Ferio to stiffen, either because she herself anticipated Aperio's answer or, maybe, because she took affront to a mortal being so direct. The woman to whom the question was directed just tilted her head a tiny bit to the side, as she still had not decided what she wanted to do after visiting Maria. Maybe show Natio that he should not annoy me any further? The idea of fighting another God was exciting, but it was something she should probably only do once she knew if she could beat him. Maybe have a bout with Ferio?

"You wouldn't happen to have an arena or something like it that I could use?"

Aperio's words caused O'lymni to lose composure for the first time since she had encountered the woman. It only took a moment for her to regain her calm demeanour, but she still looked a bit puzzled at her request. "I doubt we have any that could withstand even a fraction of your power. But, may I know why you would need one?"

She had a point Aperio realised; she broke stone walls with a simple punch. Why would an arena fare any better? "I was just curious."

Any friendly fight between herself and her daughter would have to take place somewhere else. The Void? No, that would be unfair, wouldn't it? She would have to ask Ferio about potential places that were suitable for a godly bout, but that would wait until after she had visited Maria. "I am going to visit someone."

"A follower of yours?" O'lymni said, surprise evident in her voice. "I am sure they will be delighted to meet their Goddess. Do you require a [Guide] for the city?"

Before Aperio could reply, the voice of Ferio sounded from behind her. "I will guide mother."

There was no room for questions, a notion easily understood by the [Grandmaster] and the lone [Guide]. Ferio calling their newest guest 'mother' did cause the two of them to briefly adopt a visage of confusion. Aperio chose to not speak on the matter, as she only had the word of Ferio, a tree, and the ethereal knowledge of it being true to go on. If they wanted to know more they could always ask, and she would reply to the best of her ability. Learning to trust her instinct was something that would take time, but she would have enough of that now.

"She is your... mother, lady Ferio?" The [Grandmaster's] voice sounded uncertain, clearly not quite believing her ears but also unwilling to potentially offend a Goddess.

"In a way, yes," the Goddess of Life replied. "It is the closest analogy you would understand. The relationship is much the same."

"I apologise, I did not know this was the case," O'lymni said with a slight bow. "May I add it to the Record?"

"The Record?" The question loosened itself from Aperio's lips on its own, not that she regretted it. She would like to know what this 'Record' was.

With a now familiar motion, O'lymni took a big, heavy-looking tome from a black rift that had appeared before her. Presenting the book to Aperio, the [Grandmaster] explained. "The Book of Legends; also known as the Record or the Book of Truths. It is the duty of the [Guides] to go out and record history."

Aperio just shrugged and gestured towards Ferio. "I do not care, it is her decision."

Her daughter simply gave a brief nod at which the [Grandmaster] started to write on a blank page. Once she had finished, golden lines snaked across the page, framing the words she had written. Once her record had been completely encased, O’lymni’s name and title appeared below it, together with what Aperio assumed to be the current year. 1742 A.R.? What does that stand for? It was obvious that this was the current year and whatever they called the current era, but 'A.R.' meant nothing to her.

Pushing past the feeling of disgust, Aperio faced O'lymni and asked her question. "A.R.?"

"After Return," the woman replied without missing a beat. "It was decided to start a new calendar when the Gods returned."

Makes sense. Kind of. She could see why people would see the return of the pantheon as the start of a new era, but she had assumed the masses to be outraged that they had been abandoned. She herself certainly had been. Though, now that she thought about it a little, should she be mad at herself? Was she a Goddess still, while she had been a slave? Was it her death that returned her powers to her, or was it the ritual?

The questions crowded around her mind, and none of them seemed readily answerable. Pushing them down, Aperio turned to leave. She had to stay focused. One thing at a time. Talk to Maria first. "Thank you for your hospitality."

The [Grandmaster] was starting to bow again before she caught herself and, instead, simply nodded towards the two Goddesses. Ferio actually smiled as Aperio started to walk towards the exit, quickly catching up to her. "Where do you want to go?"

"The Terenyk estate."

"A noble house? Why?" Ferio seemed saddened, seemingly having assumed that she would get to spend time with her long-lost mother.

"I promised Maria I would visit her." That she was a soul she had done something with, was not something she would share just now. While Aperio felt like she could trust Ferio, she was not quite ready to rely on her instincts that much. One step at a time. "Afterwards I would like to talk to you in private."

Her daughter seemed content with the arrangement as she held out her hand for Aperio to take. Once she did, Ferio led her outside the building.

Advent - Chapter 32: A Little Bit of Faith

Outside the headquarters of the [Guides], Aperio and her daughter were greeted by the sight of Laelia and the group of adventurers simply standing around in an awkward silence. The ex-paladin’s eyes went wide as soon as she spotted Ferio leading the winged Goddess outside, holding her hand. She was, however, the only one with that reaction. The rest of the group certainly looked surprised when they saw Aperio being lead outside, but they lacked that twinkle of recognition in their eyes.

"Ferio?" Laelia asked, her voice barely a whisper.

The fiery-haired Goddess narrowed her eyes at the mention of her name. "Is that the one that tried to kill you?"

"Yes," Aperio replied. She had a feeling that Ferio would not take kindly to meeting someone who had attempted to murder her mother, however unlikely their chance at success might have been. She held her daughter's hand a little tighter, and her assumption proved to be correct as Ferio abruptly tried to move in the ex-paladin's direction. The stone cracked under her feet as she tried to take a step forward but found herself unable to advance.

Aperio stood unmoved by her daughter's attempt. She had not used much effort to hold the arm, but then, Aperio had almost no grasp on how much strength she used at any given time. Her grip did not seem to hurt Ferio, but neither of them had used anything close to their full capabilities. At least I think so. Her friendly bout with Ferio would hopefully give her a better idea of how strong she had become. If she accepts the offer.

As her struggle brought her nowhere, Ferio turned to face her mother. She looked at the hand holding her before shrinking a little. "I am sorry mother, but the thought of someone trying to harm you is… maddening. I don't want to lose you again" Her last words were barely a whisper, quiet enough that even Aperio had almost missed it.

Ferio's words brought with them a warm feeling that she could not quite place but liked nonetheless. Brushing a few errant strands of hair out of her daughter’s face, Aperio spoke. "It is all right. Her actions were not her own, she did not mean to. I will not leave again."

It felt right to say the words, to soothe the only person she had felt close to since Moria had died. Even if she could not remember her daughter, Aperio wanted to trust the feeling she had. She wanted to believe that Ferio was her daughter. Was… family. If the universe saw it fit to bless her with one after she had spent a lifetime without, she would take it. Now, she just needed time to–

Her thoughts were interrupted by the shaky voice of Laelia, who seemed to be in dire need of a chair. "Ferio – the Goddess of the Sun – is your daughter?"

Aperio tilted her head at the question. Isn't that obvious from the talk we just had? "Yes."

Laelia gave in to gravity and sunk to her knees while the rest of the group processed the implications of what had just been said. The first to react was Arden, who threw his head back and laughed. Is he going insane? Letting go of Ferio's hand, as she felt certain that her daughter would no longer try to strike out against Laelia, Aperio moved behind the laughing Human. That the stones had broken under her step were pointedly ignored, as was the way Arden went stock still as she touched a hand to his shoulder. First and foremost, Aperio had to check on the blessing. Much to her relief, it was still diligently improving the Human's body. No sign of it trying to take over. A quick mental check on Laelia's blessing revealed the same.

"Why are you laughing?" Her irritation was clear as her voice carried a touch more power than it usually did, enough to make Arden flinch slightly. Or is that because he thinks I will punish him?

"I just thought it was hilarious that we stumbled across the mother of one of the stronger Goddesses. I meant no offence." While he did not stutter or sound like he feared for his life, it was clear that he regretted his actions. Aperio simply lifted her hand off of his shoulder and looked towards her daughter. She was smiling at her, seemingly happy to be known for her strength. The potential duel with Ferio looked to be more and more informative.

"I assume everyone has heard of my daughter?" Aperio's query was directed at the rest of the adventurers. She got a round of slow nods and questioning gazes as reply. "No reason to act so surprised then. Just treat us as you would anyone else."

While Aperio knew they had enough reasons to be surprised, she wanted them to stop their annoyingly fearful behaviour. She wanted to at least have a somewhat normal life. Even if the chance of it actually happening was astronomically low, it was still a chance, and therefore she would still make the effort to try. After she got a few more nods from the party, she took a few steps towards Laelia who was still on the ground holding her head. Offering her hand she asked, "Are you okay?"

Aperio's words caused her to look up with an expression on her face that the winged Goddess could only interpret as fear. Being looked at like that hurt more than Aperio had ever imagined. Disgust, hatred – she knew from experience how to deal with those. The affection her daughter sought, though unfamiliar to her, was at the very least something she understood on a base level. What she did not know how to handle was the way the colour drained from Laelia's face. The way the Human ever so slowly tried to distance herself from her. The way she looked up at her offered hand – not disgust; not hatred; but pure, true fear.

"Why is everyone so scared?" Aperio whispered to her herself as she lowered her hand again. She knew that her voice and aura carried with it a weight that the mortals seemed to struggle with, but Laelia had never seemed particularly bothered by it. Even less so after Aperio had replaced her blessing. But now, she was looking at her as if she was death incarnate; here to reap her soul for good. The few times Aperio had lost her temper had been mostly ignored by everyone, so why was the person who had acted the least intimidated so scared now? She wanted to be respected, yes, but not feared.

A hand brushing past and under her wings caused Aperio to twitch slightly. She relaxed when she realized it was Ferio trying to comfort her. It could be no other, for everyone else was unwilling to even get close to the winged Elf. A casual, reassuring touch from them was simply unfathomable. Aperio turned and looked into Ferio's face, finding there the same expression she had seen when her lack of memory of her own daughter was revealed. At least I am getting better at reading people. It was a small consolation, one she would gladly trade back.

"It's okay. They don't know you, whatever they think is true is something made up." Her voice was soothing, but the full meaning of the words did not manage to reach Aperio. Her mind felt overburdened as she tried to figure out why, even after she had become a Goddess, life was still unwilling to let her find even the smallest crumb of happiness. Her thoughts went around in circles, trying to find a solution, an exit, a path away from her current state, but ultimately went nowhere. The air around her grew cold and heavy, seeming to hold her just as captive as her mind.

Was she wrong to free Laelia? Should she just do nothing? Let the world run its course? Was the joy she felt whenever she used her newfound strength just a loan for future grief and sadness?

Aperio noted a shimmer of magic not her own at the edge of her consciousness. A warm, golden glow that gingerly tried to surround and soothe her swirling mind. It felt similar to the way her magic had appeared in the Void, just warmer. A gentle embrace. She felt she knew who it belonged to, and a small inspection revealed that it was, indeed, the magic of her daughter.

With a thought, Aperio twisted reality apart and brought herself and Ferio into her Void.

Whatever form of magic filled her dominion, it did more to stop her mind's rampaging circles than anything else. Aperio took a deep breath, and it calmed her despite the airlessness of the Void. Her daughter's arms wrapped around her, and for a moment she wasn't sure what to do. She still could not remember anything! Not reliably, at least.

Ferio's arms gave her a squeeze, and a small flash of understanding came over Aperio. Even if she could not recall anything now, and even if she might never remember at all, she knew that Ferio was her family. She hugged her daughter tightly, mind blazing against the indignity of the universe. How dare it wish to have her wallow in sadness for the rest of her eternal life! She rejected that concept, there and then. She would not be subject to such emotional indignity. She would find a way, a way to live the way she wanted to.

If she couldn't do it now, she would strive to improve. To get better.

Something fell into place.

A part of what she had so long wanted to figure out revealed itself to her, ready to be grasped. Strive? It felt right, but not the whole. The unending desire to improve, to be the best possible version of herself. The feeling of disgust when she asked a question, her desire to fight and even the restless search for her own Domain. All because that is a part of my domain?

Aperio took another breath of the nothingness that filled her Void. The swirling mass of grief and self doubt cleared away, the gentle touch of her daughter’s magic nudging the last wisps of it aside. Opening her eyes, Aperio gently stroked the back of Ferio's head. "Thank you," she whispered.

That her voice carried more presence, more power in a whisper than it had when she had shouted before was ignored. The Void was her dominion, even the tiniest whisper would carry a weight unbearable by mortals. Unless, of course, she did not want them to shoulder the burden. Her Void, her rules.

Separating herself from her daughter, Aperio took a moment to take in her dominion. Figuring out a part of her Domain – Or one of multiple? – had changed the Void. The river of souls shone with more. More colours, Aperio knew, and she suspected that the soul orbs themselves were more numerous than before as well. Where they came from, she could not tell. Were they stuck somewhere else?

Focusing on the Void in the same manner as she did with the blessings flooded her mind with information. It took her a moment to start sorting it out, but her task was made simple by the fact that the greater part of the messages received were incomprehensible tugs of some sort. They felt as if they wanted her to decide, pulling her back and forth on something she could not quite grasp. The rest of the information was more of a list, eerily similar in style to the System. It came not in the form of a window, but simply as information that she inherently knew.

"What happened?" Ferio asked, pulling Aperio out of her thoughts.

The Elf blinked at the question. She did not truly know why her thoughts had roamed where they did. "I do not know. I was… just sad."

"I understood that when it happened." Ferio smiled, and her magic brushed the outskirts of Aperio's. "I meant your aura. It's...calmer? But also stronger."

"Because we are in my Void?"

Ferio shook her head. "No, it’s not that."

Aperio looked within herself, wanting to know what, if anything, had changed. A small thought, and a ball of her own mana formed in her hand. It felt good, she knew at once. Even easier to control. Closer to what it should be. Its colour had also changed, as the sphere in her hand now looked more silvery. Before, her mana had been more blue, with only tiny streaks of silver in it, but now silver was far and away the most dominant colour. Is that why it feels easier to use? Will this happen every time I get closer to my true Domain?

"I figured out a Domain. Or part of it at least?"

In shock, Ferio pulled away from the hug, looking over her mother from head to toe as though trying to spot some sort of physical change. "You did what?"

"I thought about how I would strive to become better, to be able to achieve my goals," Aperio said, tilting her head to the side. "Then something fell into place and it felt right. Strive also feels right. Not whole, but right."

Ferio looked thoughtful at her words. "You did always strive to improve yourself but, as you said yourself, there has to be more to it. Do you remember anything now?"

"No," Aperio replied quietly, glancing away so she wouldn't have to see her daughter's face fall in disappointment. "I do not."

"It’s okay,” Ferio said, gently tilting her mother's head back towards her. “We will just start with the Crystals. They seem to be the only way."

Finding herself at a lack of anything more to say, Aperio held out her hand. Her intention was clear; return to the mortal realm. Her daughter's hand slid into hers, and with another flex of her mental muscles the two Goddesses reappeared exactly where they had been.

Advent - Chapter 33: Of Lies and Prophecies

The warmth of the sun on Aperio's skin, while nice, could not come close to the comfort the Void provided. That Laelia was looking even more terrified now certainly did not help. Neither did it help that she did not know why she was suddenly terrified. Aperio didn't think she had done anything differently. Is it because of Ferio? Her daughter had, admittedly, wanted to punish the woman for the arguably futile attempt on her life, but upon brief reflection the conclusion was obvious: Ferio was not the source of Laelia's fear.

Taking a careful step towards the sitting Human, she tried to push the sadness she felt whenever she saw Laelia's fearful expression as far down as she could. With a small and hopefully reassuring smile, Aperio crouched down in front Laelia. Her wings spread slightly to better accommodate her movement, a motion that also obscured the two from the prying eyes of the group behind her. She could feel her daughter's magic move with her, still trying its best to bring calm to all those it touched, but now there was a certain edge to it.

A small twitch of her mental muscles brought her own mana to bear. Aperio tried her best to imagine the feeling of calm and belonging she felt in the Void and convey it with her magic. As carefully as she could, Aperio tilted Laelia’s head to face her, just as Ferio had done with her shortly before.

The ex-paladin went stiff upon her touch, her eyes clenching shut in an apparent effort to not see the source of her fears. Aperio could feel the woman's terror through the magic she was using in an attempt to calm her. It was a bizarre experience, feeling what another person felt. The emotions never quite reached her, always remaining a distant echo that brushed along the edge of her perception.

"I have no desire to hurt you. There is no reason for fear." Her words were slow and deliberate, as gentle as she could make them. More like what one would use when talking to a child than a grown woman. In doing so, she became aware of an inner struggle she had been having all along. The sheer effort she put in to avoid having her inner sadness seep into her voice and magic was more costly to her than most other things she had tried. Whether the struggle was new to her since her return to Godhood, or whether it had merely been repressed by the collar, was something she likely would never know.

"P-Please d-don't kill me," the Human stammered in reply, trying to move further away from the winged Goddess.

Aperio tilted her head at the words. Did I not just say I wouldn't harm her? "Why would I do such a thing? You were not yourself when you attacked me. You were unable to make your own will known. Used as a tool. Relegated to being a passenger in your own body." Her words lost the gentle tone she had tried to keep, instead filling with disgust at her own memories of the collar that had imprisoned her. She tried her best to dismiss the thoughts and pulled back her hand that had, unbeknown to her, started to trace Laelia's neck where a collar would sit.

Aperio herself knew that the gesture likely looked threatening without context, and the shivering of the Human in front of her only underlined that fact. She was at a loss for what to do. She did not know how to comfort someone, even less so if she herself was the reason for their distress. Lowering her wing slightly, she turned towards her daughter, the uncertainty easily visible on her face. Trying to find out what had turned the once feisty paladin into the scared child she was now felt important to Aperio – Laelia was one of the first people she had met after her return and, thus far, she had treated her like anyone else. A bit fixated on a fight early on, but Aperio could not fault her for that; she had that itch to fight too, after all.

Ferio just sighed and shook her head. A moment later the soothing magic of her daughter joined her thus far fruitless attempt to calm Laelia. Aperio wasn't sure if she should even try her hand further at this kind of magic; influencing people that way did not sit right with her. But, there was no disgust when her daughter used it, no need to cleanse away vileness.

Instead it felt more like a magical version of a hug, a metaphor that made the Elf smile a little. There was an underlying element that somehow conveyed the intent of the one who used it, something that words alone would never be able to replicate. She simply knew that her daughter was trying to calm the Human.

It wasn't long before Laelia did relax a little. She still looked fearful, and was somewhat tense, but at least she stopped trying to scoot away. Again, speaking as gently as she could, Aperio asked the woman in front of her, "Why are you so scared?"

"Mother of the sun, the tyrant of old will return to bring ruin to the land."

Her words lacked the usual choppiness her lack of vocabulary brought with it. Instead, they sounded more like something she had learned to recite by heart. Almost like a prophecy. She gave her daughter another questioning look, but received only a slight shrug – Ferio didn't know what the ex-paladin had meant, either.

"I am often referred to as the Goddess of the Sun, they probably mean me," Ferio said.

"But why tyrant?" Aperio asked, turning her attention back to Laelia. She had a suspicion who might have an interest in vilifying her. "Is this something Vigil and Inanis fabricated?"

"The Scripture," was the mumbled reply.

The winged Goddess could not help but frown at the Human’s reply. "Your God forced you into a fight you could not possibly win. I have no intention to bring 'ruin to the land', as you put it. Perhaps you should not believe everything that they say."

A coughing sound behind her caused Aperio to rise and turn around. The needle-poking Human looked like he had almost choked on the water he just drank. Once he had his breathing back under control, he looked at the winged Goddess with a complicated expression on his face. He took a few more breaths before he finally asked a question.

"May I speak?"

Aperio just gave him an annoyed look and motioned for him to continue. She hoped the undue respect – Or fear? – would soon go away. Just because she was a Goddess did not mean she deserved their respect or admiration, even if a part of her revelled in it. Neither did she wish to be feared because of what she was, but it looked like she only had that effect on Laelia.

"I do not mean to be rude but, did you just say that Vigil and Inanis prophesied that you would return and...destroy the world?" He frowned, and his fingers shifted as he thought about what that meant. "How is that supposed to work? You do not strike me as the deliberately destroying type." His knee twitched, as though he were repressing the urge to pace about while his thoughts raced around. "But, if you aren't, then that would label anything written in the holy books as a potential lie..." His voice trailed off as he lost himself entirely to his thoughts, his final spoken question directed more to himself than to Aperio.

There was only a slight shaking to his voice, which was refreshing; he had not been that intimidated by her annoyance.

"Or she is lying," Arden supplied. A glare from Ferio sent him scrambling a step back, before Aperio gave both of them a disapproving look. Am I surrounded by children? ...better this than have them grovel every time though.

The sound of footsteps and the unmistakable noise of a door opening caught Aperio's attention. Turning around she spotted the [Grandmaster] walking out of the building. In one hand she held a strange-looking scroll. A closer look revealed it to be surrounded in a haze; a fog almost like Aperio's own aura, albeit less refined and far less powerful.

"Maybe I can help," the [Grandmaster] said. "One of Vigil's prophecies is indeed the one she speaks of. When it was first spoken, Inanis swiftly endorsed his words, and some more minor Gods followed suit. As for the truth of the statement...we don't know. What we know for certain, however, is that both Vigil and Inanis do not like Aperio."

Unfurling the scroll she held, O'lymni handed it to Ferio who, after a moment of confusion, read through it. Aperio caught a glimpse of the words written on the parchment, but to her they were just meaningless squiggles.

The more her daughter read of the scroll the angrier she seemed to become. Aperio felt her magic shift away from calming touch to something forceful that seemed to weigh on the people surrounding her. It did not affect the winged Goddess, but she could easily tell that the situation could turn dire should Ferio continue to react in this manner.

Just as Aperio wanted to intervene, the force that had pressed against the mortals vanished and instead, Ferio faced the [Grandmaster]. "When did you get this?"

"Just now," O'lymni replied. "I brought it to you as soon as I could."

"What is going on?" Aperio asked. She did not like being left in the dark, especially if whatever was happening made her daughter that angry.

"They excommunicated your ex-paladin friend for failing her divine mission. They also declared Ebenlowe a 'dangerous territory'," Ferio replied.

"They?"

Ferio gave the needle-poking Human a long, hard glare before she replied. "The church of that ungrateful fuck who has the gall to call himself righteous."

Silence reigned after her outburst. Seeing a Goddess call another God an 'ungrateful fuck' was not an everday occurence. But, that mattered little to Aperio right now. What did matter was that, despite being used as a tool, Laelia was looking as if she was ready to break down.

Aperio did the only thing she could think of and sat down next to the shaking Human. She wrapped her arm and wing around her quivering form as gently as she could before she started to slowly stroke the woman's arm in what she hoped was a soothing motion.

This was her fault.

She had forced her will on someone. Even if she only had had the best intentions in mind, it had led to Laelia losing something that seemed to be of great importance to her. Aperio might not have been able to truly understand why the Human would still want to be part of an institution that had tried to send her to a sure death, but she respected the will of the other. What was the obvious choice for the winged Goddess might not be for the ex-paladin.

It wasn't long before she felt Laelia leaning against her, no longer shaking but now sobbing with every other breath. Her previous fear of the Elf had seemingly been forgotten, the shock of the arguably inevitable news still too great.

Aperio wanted to say something but couldn't find words besides the "I am sorry," she mumbled. She cared for the Human in a way she did not quite understand. It was not as strong a feeling as her affections for her daughter, but it was certainly more than was immediately reasonable for someone she had met not that long ago.

Is it because I gave her a blessing? ...No, I don't care about Arden that much. Maybe it's because he just has a tiny blessing and she has a proper one? ...What even is a proper blessing?

The thoughts were interrupted by incoherent mumbles from the ex-paladin that was now fully leaning on the Goddess for support. In response, Aperio wrapped her wing a bit tighter around the woman. The others did not need to see her like this. Or should I not do anything? She dismissed the thought as quickly as it came. She was responsible for Laelia's current state and, even if she could not understand her reaction, she would at least try to make it more bearable for her.

The others had begun to ask questions, ones that Aperio ignored as she yet again inspected the blessing she had given. She had not expected it to change but was relieved to find that it was still doing its best to improve the Human, not that it was of much use at the moment. For now, all Aperio could – and wanted to – do was to wait until Laelia calmed down again. At least enough for her to tell why this had shaken her that much.

It only took a couple of minutes before Aperio could feel Laelia tense up again, seemingly having noticed who exactly she was leaning on for support. She did not struggle or try to escape, but it was obvious she did not want to be where she was right now. The Elf complied with her unspoken wish and retracted her arm, the wing she left loosely draped over the Human to at least preserve some privacy.

"I am sorry," repeated Aperio in a whisper. The act of apologising still felt wrong, even now when she was clearly the cause for Laelia's suffering. "It is my fault this happened, but I could not let that twisted thing try to control you. If you want to leave you are free to do so. Just know that I will help should you want it."

On the edge of her consciousness, Aperio felt the touch of her daughter's magic. It felt like a query, likely a wordless attempt to ask if she had meant what she had just spoken aloud. The reply was done with a thought of confirmation, and more force than necessary if the reaction of Ferio was any indication. The rest of the group did not seem to have heard Aperio's apology, or knew not to comment on it.

Laelia looked unsure at her words but, after a moment of hesitation, reached into a pocket and produced a picture which she handed to the Goddess. Depicted on it were a group of Humans, all smiling and happy. The ex-paladin tapped her finger on two identical looking boys who could be no older than Maria.

With newfound determination, Laelia looked into the Goddess's eyes. "Heal them," she said. "Please."

"Heal?" They looked perfectly fine to her. "What is wrong with them?"

"The Rage. No mortal can heal. Vigil cured me. I work, he saves them. Now…" Her words trailed off with a quaver, but it was clear what she meant.

Aperio could not quite believe what she heard. "Why not simply ask another one?" she asked, glancing at Ferio. "I am sure my daughter would have helped if asked."

"Her Domain is Life. The Rage is much life. Too much." Laelia just shook her head. "But you healed wounds Vigil could not."

"Too much… life?" It did not make sense to her, but there was a certainty to Laelia's voice that made her not question the notion. The fear the woman had felt seemed to be mostly gone; Aperio could only feel a sliver of it. What had replaced it was what she would describe as a desire to protect. It was similar to what she had felt herself when she had seen the grieving Laelia, yet not quite the same. "Where are they?"

The Human tried to stand, only to find herself unable to as the wing covering her did not yield at her push. Standing up herself, Aperio folded her feathered appendages behind her and watched. Laelia rose, trying to hide the slightly red eyes from tears the Elf had not seen her shed. With an unsteady gait, the woman began to walk towards the bridge leading into the city.

Advent - Chapter 34: Dreadful Affliction

Laelia had stopped on her way to the bridge, waiting for Aperio to follow. The winged Goddess instead turned towards the [Grandmaster] and motioned for her to approach. The woman complied immediately, and only as she was already walking towards Aperio did the Elf realise what she had done. In her old life, she would have always been the one to be waved over, but now she had not even thought about her switch in hierarchy. Moreover, O'lymni did not seem to mind that she had been summoned despite her arguably high status. Do they just assume they would be killed if they don't comply with the wishes of a Goddess?

"Could you send someone to the Terenyk estate and tell them that I will not be able to visit Maria today?" The sun had already begun to set and Aperio doubted she would be able to visit Maria at a reasonable time.

"Of course," the woman replied with a bow that she stopped as soon as she caught sight of Aperio's narrowed eyes. "Do you wish us to prepare a room for your entourage?"

The Elf inspected the group of adventurers, both with her eyes and her aura. Most of them seemed to be unsure about what they should do and Aperio could not answer that question for them.

"They are free to do as they please. I do not know who hired them, but they should probably inform them of their mission's outcome." Aperio paused for a moment, considering her next words. "Just remember that I am just a normal Elf here to visit the city." That she also wanted to see Arden again to check on his blessing she kept to herself.

Her words seemed to sound more threatening than she had intended, but the meaning had been conveyed well enough. All but the needle-poking Human looked to be relieved at the idea of not having to accompany two Goddesses and a disgraced paladin on a quest that would likely attract the wrong sort of attention from yet another God. It would seem that most mortals did not want to be part of any perceived divine machinations.

Having said all that she felt was needed, Aperio used her magic to give her daughter a small mental nudge to follow. This time she paid more attention to the amount of mana used and had managed to not startle Ferio as much as before. Still need to work on that. ...Also need to stop commanding people around.

She never really stopped to think about what she did, as most of it just felt like the right thing to do in the moment. But the longer she dwelled on her own actions, the more Aperio felt a rising disgust at herself. She did not want to be like her former masters; always commanding, and assuming that the orders would be obeyed without question. But why does it feel right? Just because I am a Goddess?

Figuring out why nobody objected was easy. They could not resist her should she wish to force them. Maybe Ferio could, but I doubt she wants to. Her daughter, it seemed, was more likely to forcibly make someone do as she wished than to object to Aperio doing the same. I am really not the person she remembered, am I?

Offering a tiny wave, Aperio turned to follow Laelia. None of the adventurers seemed to have any parting words to say, and O'lymni was already scribbling something on a piece of parchment, presumably the message Aperio had asked her to convey.

The winged Goddess trailed behind Laelia, her daughter in tow. The ex-paladin's gait was still unsteady and, for a brief moment, Aperio considered helping her. There was nothing wrong with her body – if anything, it should work better than it ever did – and Aperio found herself unsure about whether physical support was what the woman truly needed.

Instead, she tried to work her magic to soothe Laelia, trying to remember the gentle form of her daughter's magic in order to guide her actions. Her efforts didn't amount to much. Either she was still unable to properly wield this form of her magic, or there was only so much ethereal reassurance could do to calm a troubled mind.

After they had crossed half of the bridge, the sounds of the city slowly rose again, quickly reaching a volume that was uncomfortable for the Goddess. The other two women did not seem to mind the noise, either already used to it or not affected by it. Aperio tried her best to suppress the noises assaulting her ears. Her attempts were largely unsuccessful and it wasn't long before her daughter noticed her rising distress.

The soothing touch of Ferio's magic did make things more bearable, but it was unable to combat the source of the issue.

"Are you okay, mother?" her daughter asked, quickening her pace a little to walk alongside Aperio.

Laelia also slowed down and turned around, either because of Ferio's words or because she felt the change in Aperio's magic. Whatever it was, it caused what Aperio would classify as concern to briefly flicker across her eyes.

"Is it always this noisy here?" Aperio asked, still trying to ignore the sounds around her. They had not reached the deafening levels the crowd outside the city gates had managed, but she did not doubt for a moment that they were unable to.

"Noisy? This is just a little louder than usual, once the Festival of Life fully starts it's really going to be quite the ruckus." Ferio looked confused for a moment, then abruptly her eyes widened a little. "I forgot. This must be almost unbearable for you."

"It is not as bad as the people outside the gate were. Not yet, at least."

Ferio directed her eyes downwards as she replied. "I was so happy you are back I forgot that you dislike large cities." Her words were accompanied by a mental nudge of apology, making it clear that she knew of no way to fix the issue. With a sigh and a very faint touch of her magic to show her thanks, Aperio motioned for Laelia to continue. She would have to find a way to deal with the noise on her own.

In an attempt to distract herself from the chaotic interweaving of countless conversations, Aperio chose to inspect the city around her. If it was not for the levels of noise it was generating, she would have found the city itself quite nice. Most of the buildings were in good repair, made from sturdy looking stone and featuring wood-framed glass windows. The people too looked healthy, even if they gave her a few sidelong glances. It was also clean, and lacked any sort of scent of death or decay. With so many people in one area, the surrounding odours may not have been all that pleasant, but it was a far cry from the olfactory terrors Aperio knew were possible.

The occasional whiff of baked goods, or other tantalizing smells, would come in their direction. As their frequency increased, she became intrigued, and let the information provided by her aura more fully enter her mind. The dribble soon turned into a stream that fed her all the information on her surroundings, the most prominent of which was her daughter.

Ferio was like a fountain of mana in an otherwise calm sea; the largest presence of anyone Aperio had encountered thus far. What surprised her though was the fact that it still did not feel as strong as she would have expected from a Goddess. Maybe she knows how to hide it? ...Or am I that far beyond what is normal? Roots certainly seemed to think she was a cut above the rest. Aperio would ask her daughter as soon as she was done healing whatever this 'Rage' was. If I can even do that.

Shaking off the train of thought that would, for the moment, lead nowhere, she turned her attention back to the world around her. More specifically, Aperio was wholeheartedly seeking the source of the enticing smells that made their way to her nose. It was not long before she realized that they came from the very same square that she and the group of adventurers had passed through on their way into the city. How had she not noticed the smells before? Aperio didn't know for certain, but there was a good likelihood that she had been preoccupied with Maria, and the many resulting questions – some of which still remained unanswered – that had swirled through her mind. Now, though, she filed the food vendors away in her mind as a potential future option for something to do. After she had taken care of the more important things, of course.

The people milling about the stone-paved pathways paid little mind to her magical inspection, just like the first time she had come. Once people caught sight of her, however, they did pay attention. It seemed that a woman in a gambeson with a sword at her hip followed by others in expensive-looking dresses was not a sight people were used to. The wings probably don't help either. Still, she did not hide her feathered appendages – their stares were nothing more than curiosity after all. The ones she caught openly ogling with more primal thoughts got a glare in response that turned the air around them cold and heavy. Most of them averted their eyes after that, recognising that the group was not something they wanted to mess with.

Aperio heard a few insults being directed at both her and her daughter. Some of them she did not understand as they were spoken in the Human tongue, but the intention of the words was still painfully clear. Others were ones she had heard plenty of times before: 'Bastard', 'Half-Cast', and the one she had the most knowledge of caused her to lose her temper.

'Slave-born' was something Aperio had heard a great many times. If it had been directed at her personally, she might have been able to bear it through sheer rote and memory, but instead it was directed at her daughter. Both Laelia and Ferio did not seem to mind – or hear in the case of the ex-paladin – the insults. What they did notice was Aperio balling her fists, the stone cracking under her feet as she stepped harder on the road, and the almost boiling rage that had replaced the soothing touch in her magic.

The Human who had muttered the words to her friends noticed the winged Elf staring in her direction. Her friends quickly stepped aside as the Goddess lifted her arm to aim it at the woman, and as arcs of silver trailed in the wake of the movement, the colour drained from the unfortunate target's face. With a deafening crack that silenced the surroundings one of the arcs lashed out, disintegrating a tree that had stood just behind the Human.

"Never say that again."

It had taken Aperio more than her fair share of mental effort to not kill the woman where she stood. If she did, she would be no better than the people who had used that insult in the past. Her warning was clear as the now extremely pale-faced Human nodded profusely, muttering something the winged Goddess did not understand but sounded a lot like an apology punctuated by sobs.

A hand gently taking hers caused Aperio to relax a little, the arcs dancing around her disappearing. A quick inspection revealed Laelia and her daughter to be unharmed despite having stood right next to her. Aperio knew the arcs of mana tended to be wild, and contained more than enough power to kill the ex-paladin. The blessing? Or does it only hurt what I want it to? She settled on the latter; her mana had thus far always done exactly what she wanted. Even if she herself could not articulate the thought.

"Let us continue," Ferio whispered.

After giving the Human one more glare, Aperio gave her daughter's hand a squeeze and nodded towards Laelia who continued onwards. She hoped that the display hadn't made Laelia more fearful of her, but an inquisitive brush of her magic revealed no trace of any feelings of that sort. If anything, there was an element of admiration from the woman which, given Aperio's out-of-proportion reaction, seemed a little off.

She wanted to question why Ferio did not respond to the comments, but she shelved that for the talk she would have with her daughter later. Having a discussion in the open when she did not know most anything about her own daughter seemed like a bad idea. Besides the knowledge that Ferio was actually her daughter and a vague sense of truth to most of her words, she really had little to go on. For now she would accept her daughter's indifference. Perhaps that was the right choice.

As they walked through the streets that grew progressively tighter and more winding, and crossed the occasional bridge, Aperio could not help but notice the glances in their direction. Mothers quickly turned to shield their children and more than a few of the people present reflexively moved their hands to the grip of their weapon. It took a moment for the Goddess to realise that they were reacting to her aura, scared by the oppressive mana bearing down on them.

Once aware she did her best to wrap those she perceived to be the weakest in a small bubble of nothing. The amount of tiny holes in her aura sky rocketed quickly and keeping track of them all was turning into an impossible task faster and faster. Looking at her free hand, she balled it into a fist; the muscles shifting under her skin only the smallest indication of the strength she had. Strength that was causing her more and more trouble, was making it harder to achieve what she wanted. Some people in her place might have wished to trade, sacrificing ultimate power to be able to live the life they wanted.

Aperio was not one of them.

She would not trade the thing that could guarantee her freedom for what could never be more than a mere chance at the life she wanted. A chance she already had, as she only needed to figure out how to transcend the bounds she currently knew. A challenge she would gladly accept. Nobody would force her to do something she did not want to. Not anymore.

Aperio thoughts were interrupted as something started to… fight against her aura. It was the best analogue she could come up with. Someone was trying to stop her mana from seeping into a building, one the winged Goddess quickly realised they were heading towards. A closer inspection revealed it to be not someone, but a group of people trying their best to keep her mana at bay.

They were sitting around an intricate-looking rune, holding their hands. She could feel – see – their mana flowing in the rune, and pushing against her own. Despite the eight of them trying their best, it was a futile attempt. Their efforts had barely slowed the passive spread of her aura, not to mention her more active inspection. An action she stopped when she noticed the sweat dripping from each member of the group.

Her curiosity had potentially hurt someone again, but it had also given her an idea. One she should have had much earlier. All it required was a small thought and the ever-present mana that formed her aura obeyed. Instead of simply existing without a purpose beyond giving her information, Aperio directed it to help the group. Not in the way she had done with Arden; blessing everyone present was not her intention. She willed her mana to bring calm, help them regain their strength, and, if possible, carry the intent of her action to them.

If her plan would work the way she hoped it would, Aperio did not know. But, through realizing – truly accepting – that her magic was a part of her, and that it would obey her every whim, her initial fears of wielding the powers of her mana had steadily faded. Using it and actually seeing it do what she wished was even better. Her biggest fear now was that she would accidentally use too much strength. She had done so when first replying to Ferio, and if it had gotten a reaction from a Goddess it would probably mean death to mortals.

Aperio directed her mana as carefully as she could, making sure to closely observe for anything that would indicate any one of the group was in danger. She furrowed her brow as one of them tried to take a bit of her mana into himself. The action he took felt almost as wrong as Ferio using magic in her Void and, in response, Aperio cut the man out of her aura. She could not see his reaction anymore, but if the others were any indication he was very surprised.

It did not take long for the group to stop their attempt to keep her out, either having realised it was futile or being able to figure out the intent behind her actions. Either way, Aperio was able to focus more on the people again, this time without fear of hurting them. Having a clearer picture of those that had tried to keep her out was quite the shocking revelation, as most of them looked to be young. Younger than Thaddeus at least. Aperio was not good at guessing the age of people, but almost none of them could be older than Laelia. The only exception might be the man that had tried to take in her mana, but she would not let her aura near him again until she could see him with her own eyes. As she continued her approach, she could tell that they were indeed all wearing similar clothing: a blue robe with silver embroidery, and a small patch on their shoulder. She was unable to see what the badge depicted as it was radiating its own magic that obscured her sight.

There was little doubt that she could force the foreign magic away to look at what laid underneath, but she was certain that it would destroy whatever enchantment the tiny badge held. Probably not a good idea. Instead of futilely inspecting the group through her aura, Aperio took that notion of helpful intent and calm and tried to apply it to the rest of her aura.

Both Ferio and Laelia noticed the change in her aura as the former sent her a questioning mental nudge while the latter briefly stopped to glance at the winged Goddess before continuing on. Aperio gave Ferio a smile, a genuine one. Even if her aura was still weighing on the people around her, she could at least make it more bearable. Especially those close to her. That it had taken her so long to figure out how to do it was sad, but it did little to dampen her happiness.

It did not take long for them to reach their destination, and it was indeed the one that Aperio had expected. The people inside seemed to know who the source of the aura they had felt was, as the eight that had tried to stop her all came rushing out of the building. They froze once they spotted Laelia leading the two Goddesses, asking her something that – quite annoyingly – Aperio still did not understand.

The man that had tried to take some of her mana seemed to know Laelia quite well, embracing her in a long hug after they had exchanged a few more words. How old he was, Aperio could not begin to guess, but she assumed it to be around Laelia's age. Whatever that is. How old someone or something was had really lost its meaning after she had spent millennia in the Void. Her sense of time was nonexistent as of now, the entire journey from her return up until now was nothing but the blink of an eye even though she knew it had to be months – maybe even a year now.

Laelia gestured towards her and Ferio, but only mentioning her name. Not introducing us as Goddesses. Good. She gave the group of Humans a small smile as they looked her way, an action that caused some of them to look at her in shock. Is smiling forbidden here?

"Is smiling at people a taboo now?" Aperio asked in a whisper, turning her head slightly to face her daughter.

"She introduced you as an Elder of the Moons, in service to yourself no less. While they might not directly know who you are, being named as my mother remedies that to a great extent. They don't expect someone of that stature to treat them as anything more than vermin. Especially here in the Human part of town," Ferio replied with a raised brow. She paused for a moment as she studied her mother's face. "Do you not speak their language? I assumed you just used this one because it has always been a favourite of yours."

Aperio shook her head in reply. "I can only speak Common and Dryadalis." Admitting that still felt wrong, but less than it had when she spoke to anyone else.

An expression that Aperio could not quite place flashed over her daughter's features before she brushed her hand over one her wings and spoke. "Then I will just have to teach you as you taught me."

The winged Goddess could only give a nod in reply as Laelia was approaching them with the attempted mana-thief in tow. He tried to bow as soon as they had come to a halt in front of her, only to be stopped by the ex-paladin with a light tap to his head and quiet string of words. Whatever she had said did not seem to make a whole lot of sense as he was visibly confused.

"Bowing is not necessary. I am here because Laelia requested it," Aperio said. Her voice still caused the man to wince slightly, but less than she had feared. The trick she had used to make her aura more bearable did not work with her voice. She put no effort into it, felt no mana being used when she spoke. The ethereal echo came on its own and brought with it a level of strength that would probably make most people she would meet uncomfortable.

"We thank you for your time. My name is Kario Penbrooks, the administrator of this refuge," the man replied. "But I fear your undoubtedly valuable time will be wasted here. Vigil is the only one that can cure the Rage."

"He is not." Her words left no room for argument, something that Kario did not look like he wanted to do anyway.

"Then please, this way." He turned around and started to walk back to the house. Laelia looked like she wanted to say something, but kept whatever it was to herself.

Walking past the other Humans that had tried to fend her off resulted in a few bows and some looks of what she guessed was admiration. Inside she was greeted by the familiar groaning of wood under her feet and a narrow hallway that was lined with doors. Aperio knew instinctively what was in the rooms behind – privacy was not something easily provided within the reach of her aura. Most of the rooms had a few people in them, obviously sick, but none of them felt close to death. How do I even know that?

The thought was not continued any further as she spotted two… anomalies. They were undoubtedly the two boys Laelia had asked her to cure. Focusing on one of them revealed a rolling mess of something rampaging inside the boy.

As Aperio stepped through the door at the end of the hallway, she got her first true look at the patients. Both were covered in bruises, undoubtedly from the restraints that held them firmly to the bed as they thrashed around. Whatever it was that had taken refuge in their bodies was obviously the cause – every time the mass inside shifted, their bodies would automatically lash out, unable to prevent the damage to their person.

Aperio needed no prompt to approach the beds they had been confined to. Laying a hand as lightly as she could on the head of one of the boys caused him to try and bite her. It was, of course, a useless endeavour. For Aperio it was harder to not accidentally injure the child than to restrain him.

Now that she was here though, she had no real idea what she should do. She knew with certainty that what was going on inside the Humans was wrong, and her instincts screamed at her to remove the squirming thing. To remove it, but not to kill it. To free it. ...Too much life. Laelia's words echoed through her head and with them came a wild idea. Uncaring for her cover, Aperio transferred herself and the two boys to her Void.

The only thing that had come to mind when she remembered the words 'too much life' were souls. As they were not a part of Ferio's Domain, Laelia was right that she would not have been able to help. Aperio knew her daughter could not influence souls. But how does Vigil do it then? A question she would ask the God personally one day. Directing her attention back to the two boys, Aperio went to work.

She followed her instinct, slowly easing her mana into their bodies then slightly more forcefully snaking it inside the tangled, angry mass of what she assumed to be souls. What she was discovering within these two boys felt so wrong and disgusting that she physically recoiled, though her magic held firm and fast. Whoever was responsible for this atrocity would pay with more than their life. Of that she would make sure.

Using her mana, she carefully pried and coerced, teasing the interwoven mass back into the all-too-familiar orbs of light. As soon as each individual orb managed to break free from the tangle, it slowly drifted out of the body and towards the river filled with their kin. Aperio did not spare the wandering orbs any thought as she focused every last bit of her attention on the act of splitting apart the rest. The unweaving of the soul bundle was by far the hardest thing she had ever done. How so many souls had wound up in a single body she did not know, but what they tried to do once there was more than clear.

They fought. They strove for dominance, all trying to inhabit the body they found themselves in. In the end, only one belonged. She knew that only one could truly belong.

As she grew closer to the center of the knot of souls, one in each child seemed slightly different than the rest. It was just a little brighter, just a touch more firmly placed, and Aperio knew she had found each body's true orb inhabitant. Working as gently as she could, she removed the remaining surplus from the two boys, then got to the task of mending the wounds they had left behind.

Trusting her instincts had proven to be the right choice again and again, so when she got the feeling that she needed to heal them she would not go against it. Not this time at least. She'd worry about what to trust and what to ignore later. Giving the two children a last check, she returned them and herself to their room, and to a scene she had not expected.

Ferio was crouching down in front of a girl who had her head firmly pressed against the wooden floor. Noticing that Aperio had returned, her daughter said something to the girl and gestured towards Aperio and the two boys that now lay unrestrained on their beds, fast asleep. The girl looked up from her position on the floor, spotted Aperio and took off at a sprint.

Laelia yelled something, probably for her to stop, but the girl did not listen. She continued her approach until she reached the winged Goddess and wrapped her arms around her lower body in the best hug she could muster. Aperio looked at the girl, but the child was unafraid of her. She radiated thankfulness for the treatment of her friends, and even that was quickly overtaken by sheer innocent intrigue about the Elf's big and soft-feathered wings.

Aperio gave a small laugh as she crouched down, spreading her feathered limbs slightly. She plucked a feather from one of them and handed it to the girl who took it with sparkling eyes. "Your friends are safe now."

Advent - Chapter 35: Miracle Worker

After the little girl had taken the feather from Aperio, she turned back towards Laelia. With excitement evident in her voice she asked the woman a question – one that was not answered by the disgraced paladin but instead by Ferio. Whatever her daughter had said caused the girl to whip back around to stare at Aperio before pressing the feather tightly to her chest and bowing quite stiffly.

Aperio couldn't help but stifle a laugh at the actions. Though others might have done the same out of a sense of obligation, propriety, or worry that she might take offense, the little girl was entirely sincere with her gesture of thankfulness. It was not annoying at all, and the fact that her movements were clumsy and clearly not practised brought a fondness to the Goddess’ mind that she did not quite understand.

Her eyes wandered to her daughter on their own accord. A memory, perhaps? It felt like something she should know, but it was another thing she could not recall. Further thoughts in that direction brought with it the signs of the headache she had felt the last time she had tried to remember something that was not there.

Giving the two boys one final look through her aura, Aperio stood up. The rustling of her feathers and dress caused the girl to cease her bow and look at her again, eyes briefly lingering on the blue tips of her lowest set of feathers. She hesitantly looked between the winged Elf and the beds the other children were laying in.

Words were not needed for Aperio to understand what the girl wanted and she stepped aside, giving her enough space to approach her friends. Still clutching the black feather, the girl scurried past Aperio and started to alternately tap the boys. Of course, the two did not react. They were still fast asleep, their minds recovering from the trauma they had gone through while they had been affected by the Rage.

Taking a few steps, Aperio closed the distance between herself and her daughter. Through her aura she saw the girl glance in her direction as the wood groaned under her steps, a puzzled look on her face.

"What did you tell her?" Aperio asked. Even though she had lowered her voice as much as she could, it still had its ethereal quality and carried with it more power than she intended. Will I ever be able to speak normally to people?

"Just that your wings are of divine origin," Ferio replied with a small smile on her face.

Aperio just raised a brow at the statement. It was certainly true that she was a Goddess, and that in turn made her wings something of divine origin, but the implicated conclusions that the statement lead to were false. Not that it matters. Everything they know about me is wrong. She did not necessarily like the idea of hiding what she was, but if the people already reacted to what they thought was a high-ranking noblewoman in the service of a Goddess… Announcing her as an actual Goddess would certainly make things even harder. I guess it is not normal for a Goddess to walk among the masses.

The other people in the room then caught her attention. More had clearly joined while she was treating the children in her Void, and the use of it seemed to have caused a bit of a stir. Though, upon reflection, it was less than she might have supposed.

"Did you tell them where I went?" she asked her daughter, still as quietly as she could.

Ferio did not respond with words; instead Aperio felt the by-now familiar touch of her daughter’s magic brush against the edges of her mind. With the touch came knowledge. It was similar to what she received from her aura, but this time the mana that provided the information belonged to her daughter.

She wanted to say they were memories, but that would be wrong. What she got was a vague sense of what Ferio had said, nothing as detailed as an actual memory. That Aperio had pleaded with herself for entry into her own Dominion to heal the children. It was again true, if not totally correct, but still probably the best possible solution for the current situation.

While Aperio might have been fine with not disclosing her status as a Goddess, Laelia seemed highly uncomfortable with the entire situation. Or does she simply not like the amount of people? Whatever the woman felt, Aperio knew it was time to leave. She had done what she came for and while she did find the little girl's behaviour to be oddly endearing, there was nothing left for her to accomplish here.

"If there is nothing more, we will take our leave." Aperio's voice cut through the last bits of chatter that flew between the members of the group.

Kario opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, seemingly unable or unwilling to voice his thoughts.

"You have something to say, mister Penbrooks?"

The Goddess’ question seemed to convince the man to finally speak. "Would you be willing to heal others? There are people here who we cannot cure. They might not die, but they cannot live their life either."

Ferio was about to speak, but Aperio sent her a mental nudge to keep silent. Her daughter followed the request, albeit begrudgingly. Her response made it clear that she did not believe Aperio should heal the mortals present, a notion the winged Goddess did not quite support. Healing them was not a great effort, not when she now knew how to do it. At least without blessing them.

Closing her eyes, Aperio focused on her aura, trying to feel out every person in the building. While the people present might think of her as a benevolent healer, she also took this as an opportunity to further her control over her own mana. If the truth were known, the others might view such an action as selfish, but in the end it would still help the injured ones. A satisfying result for all.

Her perceptions widened. She could feel the presence of every person. Every injury. Every single tiny imperfection. Many people within her aura's scope started looking around their rooms, trying to spot who was working their magic. The group right in front of her was no exception, also noticing what she was doing. Some seemed to stiffen in shock, eyes wide with the amount of power on casual display. Others smiled, eyes glistening with delight, clearly reveling in the rare, rather magical moment.

One by one Aperio eased her mana into the bedridden Humans. She commanded her magic to mend any and all wounds it found, but not to linger. There would be no accidental blessings today. Just a little help for their own bodies to correct the wrongs they had.

In some people, the injuries were more concerning. It took the form of strange knots of mana, ones that seemed to disrupt the natural flow of it around their bodies. Breaking these knots apart felt distressingly similar to untangling the messy wrongness caused by the Rage, but she knew that it was not the same issue.

There was a brief moment in which she considered bringing all the difficult cases into her Void for easier treatment, but having everyone conscious and looking around was not something she wanted. It might have potentially made the process quicker, but all in all, time was not something she lacked at the moment. One by one, the strange mana-disrupting knots were untied, and when she was done Aperio opened her eyes to a rather flabbergasted-looking group of Humans.

"I have done all I can," Aperio said. "Unless you have anything else you wish to ask of me, we will take our leave."

"I-I.." Kario’s voice trailed off as he looked to the rest of his group for help. Laelia took the chance to make her way to the two Goddesses, and the little girl that had been busy poking at the boys used the opportunity to 'sneak up’ on Aperio and try to get under her wings. The Elf had seen her slow approach and gently lifted one of her feathered appendages so the girl could take refuge from Laelia under the soft feathers.

The ex-paladin, however, was not coming to scold the girl for her actions. Instead, she stopped in front of Aperio and took a knee despite knowing the Goddess was not fond of formalities. Ferio seemed to know what she was doing and covered the smile that had sneaked its way onto her face with her hand.

Aperio could only tilt her head at Laelia's action. She only knew of a couple of things that would cause someone to assume the position the Human had taken. One was a marriage proposal, something she ruled out as it did just not make much sense. The others were all related to receiving a title of nobility or offering their fealty to someone. Does she want to become a priestess or something?

"Yes?"

"I offer my thanks," Laelia said before looking her in the eyes. "And my fealty. I not know reasons why you do what you did; why chose to return now. But, despite things that happened to me, I believe you represent my beliefs best. So I–" She looked helpless as she struggled to find the right word, looking to Ferio for help.

"Beseech," her daughter said, answering the wordless plea.

"–beseech you to accept me as follower. Paladin in service of you, Lady Aperio."

That she was not supposed to reveal her as a Goddess seemed to be forgotten by whatever had moved Laelia to do what she did. I just healed a few people, that should not be a big deal. ...Or is it? The rustling of her own dress caused her to look downwards and spot a small head poking out from under her wings. Lifting the feathered limb a little to let the girl out she noted with some amusement that she seemingly could not care less for any form of noble behaviour. A welcome interruption from the arguably very formal display happening in front of her.

The words of Laelia also caused the gathered people to cease their own conversation. Some even went as far as to also lower themselves to their knees, assuming what Aperio guessed was a position for prayer. To whom they were praying she had no idea; it was not her, at least. Or is it, and I just don't know how to listen to prayers? Another topic for her talk with Ferio.

"If that is what you want," Aperio replied, turning her attention back to Laelia. "However, the next time that I ask you not to openly reveal who I am, I hope you will remember to do so."

The freshly redeemed paladin's eyes went wide and she was about to bow hard enough to smash her head into the floor when Aperio waved her off.

"I am not mad. I do not mind people knowing what I am, I just find it vexing if everyone always bows and apologises for the tiniest perceived slight towards me." Having said her part to Laelia, she directed her gaze back towards the girl peeking out from behind her. "Do you know her?"

Laelia nodded at her question. "Adopted her and the two you healed."

Giving the girl the lightest nudge Aperio could, she pushed her towards the still-kneeling paladin. "I think your daughter wants to know what you just did."

There was a moment of silence broken only by the tiny voice of the little girl speaking to her foster mother. She was also rubbing her ears, a motion that would not mean much to most but only served as a stark reminder for Aperio. Causing pain with her voice was not something she liked, but never speaking again was out of the question. There has to be another way.

As Laelia talked to her adoptive daughter, Aperio turned to her own. Ferio's face sported a slight pout, almost as if she had expected her mother to be embarrassed by the actions of the paladin. Or maybe she thought Laelia was actually going to propose? "Do I need a temple now? So she has somewhere to live?"

Aperio did not want to keep Laelia in her Void like some pet. She did not want most people to get into her Dominion for that matter; it felt off to take people there. The two boys were an exception, not a rule.

"If you want to, but I would say the [Guides] building is already a temple to you," Ferio replied.

"Oh?"

"It houses Roots, that should be enough. But I don't think that is a discussion for now."

A look over to the group of Humans revealed her words to be true. They looked lost, seemingly unable to process the fact that a Goddess was walking around in their home as if that was the most normal thing to do. Aperio did not know of anything she could say to prove that she truly meant what she said; all she had was her word. That would have to be enough.

"Mister Penbrooks, is there anything else you need of me?"

The man just slowly shook his head, unable to find proper words for a reply. Like the others he seemed to struggle to comprehend what was happening, an action that elicited a sigh from the winged Goddess.

"Will this always happen?" With those words she took a step towards the door before turning back to face Laelia, her first real follower. "I assume you wish to stay with your family for a while longer?"

"If I may," the paladin replied.

Aperio gave her a nod, smiling at the girl hugging her foster mother. Once she noticed the winged Goddess was moving to leave, she lifted her hand with the feather still in it and happily waved in her direction. With a small wave of her own, Aperio made her way out of the room with Ferio in tow. Walking as lightly as she could over the still-groaning wood floor, she opened the door and stepped into the surprisingly quiet night.

Advent - Chapter 36: Pieces of Truth

Aperio took a deep breath of the cold, calming air. Being with the Humans had been more stressful than she had realised, and only now that she was alone with her daughter did the events truly sink in.

What she had done had probably not been compatible with continued anonymity, but at the heart of the matter Aperio could not care less if people knew what she was. The only thing she wanted from them was to be treated like any other person, something that was proving to be rather difficult to do for most of them.

"How long do you think it will take before the entire city knows who I am?" Aperio would not believe for a second that the people in the hospital – Orphanage? – would keep quiet about what they saw. In fact, she could already spot two people, ones that had earlier tried to keep her out, leaving the building through a back door. Where they were going, she knew not.

"Before the night is over," her daughter replied. "And soon they will realise that the pretenders are not as almighty as they portray themselves to be."

"How strong are those two anyway? You said they are scared to descend because you would kill them, but you feel…" Aperio's voice trailed off uncertainly. She did not want to call her daughter weak, not after she had taken such pride in being called strong.

"Weak?" Ferio asked with a small laugh. "Compared to you, everyone is weak."

The words caused Aperio to absentmindedly touch her arm, feeling the soft skin and hard muscles underneath. Did the girl think she hugged a piece of armour? "Is that why they did not come to kill me as soon as I returned?"

Ferio gave her a hesitant nod, seemingly not quite as comfortable talking about her mother's potential death as the woman herself was.

"Why would they not do what they had done before? It obviously worked."

"We also don't know what they did in the first place. Maybe it only worked once."

The line of conversation was obviously making Ferio uncomfortable, understandably so. Now that she had her mother back, Aperio knew that talk about the possible ways that she could lose her again would land all the more heavily on her daughter's heart. "Are the nights always this quiet?"

Her daughter pounced on the change of topic like a cat on unsuspecting prey. "On the outer isles, yes. Once you get to the richer ones, the night life will be in full swing. Still not as loud as during the day, though."

Looking at the night sky, Aperio could not help but notice the twin moons lazily floating above. She squinted at them, trying to spot any clue about the Gods whose name they shared. Despite her improved eyesight she was unable to spot anything that would bring enlightenment, and so she directed her gaze back towards her daughter.

"Do you know where the Feranir isle is?" She could probably find Maria using her aura, but asking her daughter for help seemed like the right thing to do. She would have to learn to trust others at some point, and the knowledge at the back of her mind that told her Ferio was someone she could depend on certainly made the decision easier. Maybe Laelia too?

"No," Ferio replied with a shake of her head. "But one of my followers should."

After she had spoken, Aperio could feel a tiny sliver of mana splitting off of her daughter and racing towards one of the neighbouring isles. The winged Goddess tilted her head at the tiny droplet, keeping it in focus with her aura. It darted through the sky before descending into what she could only describe as a cathedral.

"What did you do?" Aperio asked.

"I asked a priestess where the isle is. Now, I can guide you there."

It had been what she had expected, and Aperio filed the information under the growing category of things to try later. When Laelia is not busy with her family. She glanced at the two bright spheres in the dark sky again, trying to decide what to do next. It was not the moons that prompted her next decision, however, but the state of the sky itself. "They are likely all asleep at the moment, and in the meanwhile I would like to explore the city."

Ferio lifted a brow at her statement before she smiled. "I would be delighted to show you around."

"Can we start with your cathedral? I would like to know what my daughter uses as residence." The building, seen through her aura, seemed too smooth to be forged by mortal hands. Had her daughter made it by herself? Or a very good mage, maybe?

"Of course!" The smile on Ferio's face grew even wider, seemingly very happy with showing her mother what she had accomplished. Her words were accompanied by another sliver of mana racing towards her temple. With a graceful motion she leaped far off of the ground. Once in the air, wings made of burning feathers sprouted from her back. Though they seemed to be lacking in corporeal distinctiveness, they still reminded Aperio a lot of her own.

Joining her daughter in the star-filled sky, Aperio revelled in the feeling of joy she felt whenever she flew. Being physically removed from the ground was freeing in ways she never thought possible before gaining her wings.

The two darted across the sky, Aperio twirling playfully around her daughter. She had to remind herself to slow down more than once; going too fast would disturb the mortals below. She did not know exactly what she would call it, but once she went fast enough there was a kind of boom that would most certainly shatter windows and wake those below. They need their sleep. I know I did. Restraining herself was hard. The wind brushing against her skin, the small giggles from her daughter; it all brought joy to the winged Goddess. Joy that spurred her on, made her want to do more. Aperio abandoned herself to the acrobatic delights that only wings could bring. Her woes of not knowing herself and worries of fitting in despite her strength were cast aside for the moment, swept away in the wind that caressed past her skin.

A mental nudge from Ferio caused Aperio to cease her airborne acrobatics and focus on her daughter. She was pointing below them and Aperio knew without looking that they had reached their destination. With a slight sigh, she folded her wings behind her back and let gravity assist her downwards. Just before she hit the stone below, she spread her feathered limbs once more and, with a strong beat, slowed enough to not damage the pavement too much. A few of the stones still cracked slightly, and it brought an idea to her mind.

Extending her senses to the cracks she had made, Aperio willed her mana to fill them and then to repair. The broken parts were soon mended, leaving behind stones that actually looked newer than the ones surrounding them. A smile crept onto Aperio's face; using her magic always felt good. Even for menial tasks.

"Some things never change, it seems," Ferio said as she lightly set down next to her mother. Her fiery wings vanished as soon as she touched the ground.

"Hmm?" Aperio only gave an absentminded reply, busy repairing hairline fractures in the stone surrounding them.

"Your love for flying. Your itch to fight. Getting lost in your magic, even when it's nothing but a tiny issue that could be solved in an instant by other means."

The winged Goddess stopped her magic and looked at her daughter. "I am sorry, it is just very enjoyable."

"No need to apologise, mother. If it brings you joy, that is good. We can even have a little fight if you want." She was quiet for a short moment before she continued in a mumble. "Few other things make you happy, after all."

Closing the short distance that separated the two of them in a few steps, Aperio wrapped her arms around the rather dejected-looking Ferio. She embraced her tightly, using her wings as extra arms to hold her daughter. It felt like the right thing to do, that it would make her daughter be a bit happier.

"There is no need for you to do anything you do not want to," Aperio said as she gently stroked the back of Ferio's head. That her daughter's hair felt warm to the touch was noted just as quickly as the notion was set aside for more important things. "It is true that I would like to have a bout with you, but I will not force it."

"Thank you," whispered Ferio in reply. "I just want to spend time with you, now that you are finally back."

She would have lingered longer, but the sound of approaching footsteps caused Aperio to end the embrace and turn to face the intruder. It was a bronze-skinned Elven woman in a tight, heavily decorated red dress. It looked like a more formal version of what Ferio herself was wearing, and the sun-shaped medallion that hung around the woman's neck left little doubt that she was a priestess of Aperio's daughter. Or maybe people really like that style?

She came to a stop a few steps in front of the two Goddesses, lightly bowing her head before she started to speak to Ferio. "My Goddess, we are delighted to have you visit our home." After her initial words, she turned to face Aperio, looking her over before she became a little stiff and began to speak again. "You have truly brought your mother, Lady Ferio? I must apologise, but we have not yet prepared her room."

"That is fine," Ferio said, waving the presumed priestess off. "She just wanted to see where I stay."

The woman bowed again at the words of her Goddess, gesturing towards the cathedral. "Lady Diana has prepared the information you requested, if you would please follow."

"Are all your followers prone to bowing?" Aperio asked with a slight frown on her face.

"No," her daughter replied. "I do not dictate how to behave around me. Most are rather formal for the first few years before they realise that a Goddess is also just a person. Candrial here is a bit of an exception though – she believes it is required to be polite to someone who is stronger than yourself."

"I assume telling her I dislike it will not change much?"

Ferio gave a small laugh at that. "It wouldn't. For someone who says she respects the will of those above her, she sure doesn't budge on this issue."

That her daughter did not force those that followed her to do as she pleased brought more joy to Aperio than she would have thought. It should have been expected, as she was her daughter after all. But then, I don't know how similar I am to what she remembers.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sudden noise that came from within the cathedral. Intrigued, Aperio lets her senses wander inside. What she spotted, though surprising, was something she felt she should have expected nonetheless. There were hundreds of people in the building, standing with their faces towards the entrance. All of them, without exception, wore decorated red clothing, and somewhere on their person they sported an emblem of a sun. Most had the same style necklace Candrial wore, though some of the other options included earrings, finger rings, or in the case of the woman standing in front of the big marble altar at the end of the hall, a tiara.

Is this normal? Unwilling to voice her question, Aperio gave her daughter a questioning magical nudge. What she got back could only be described as a good-natured laugh which was followed shortly by the rather definite answer that this was a small procession.

The few bits of chatter that had been thrown around inside the cathedral died down as soon as they entered. It was replaced by the regal-sounding voice of the woman next to the altar. "We welcome Lady Ferio and the All-Mother Aperio. May their blessings guide our future paths."

Aperio remained silent on their way to what she presumed was the local head priestess of Ferio. The stone floor of the cathedral did not groan under her every step, giving her floating gait the dignity it should have always had. As her old self from before the sacrifice, she never would have been able to move as she did now. Even despite the slave's training she had experienced, she could never have dreamed of matching such grace of movement. Aperio could not help but smile.

Some people might view it as vain behaviour, but she could not care less. She would enjoy herself.

Once they reached the dais that held the altar, Aperio watched with interest as Ferio weaved some of her magic into the marble. Strands of mana dove into the stone, spreading throughout the entire building. Soon a pleasant warmth filled the hall and the people began to disperse after clasping their hands together and uttering a small prayer.

Once the majority of the people had left, presumably going back to bed, the woman next to the altar produced a folded paper that she offered Ferio. "The map you requested, my Lady."

"Thank you Diana," Ferio said as she took the map. "You may leave, I have no more tasks for you."

Diana nodded but did not leave. "I would like to accompany you when you show your mother around."

Ferio glanced at her mother, obviously looking for approval. Aperio just shrugged, a motion that more and more turned into a slight twitch of her wings. "I do not mind."

The words caused Diana to narrow her eyes slightly, either merely mistrusting of strangers or unhappy that Aperio answered the wordless question of her daughter. Aperio just tilted her head questioningly at the woman. "Does she have a problem with me?"

"Diana is a bit distrusting of strangers, yes," Ferio replied. "Even if she is wrong in this case, she has every right to. It is her job to ensure the safety of my followers here after all."

"I will accept any punishment you deem fit, my Lady." Diana had still not taken her eyes off Aperio, an action that made the winged Goddess quite irritated. She did not know why the sceptical look of the woman garnered such a response from her, but she definitely did not like it.

"Can we start?" Aperio asked, shifting her gaze towards her daughter.

Ferio gave her a smile and a nod, starting to walk towards a door that led deeper into the cathedral. Aperio gave the distrusting priestess one last look before turning to follow her daughter. She had felt a tiny pinprick of mana leak from her, something Aperio had almost wanted to classify as an attack, but the amount was so minuscule it could never do much. Neither had it felt particularly threatening.

Stepping out of the main prayer hall and into the corridor, Aperio was greeted with colourful depictions of her daughter adorning the walls. Some showed a radiantly-glowing Ferio giving things to the people below her. Others depicted her burning demons, or battling other monsters.

The longer Aperio looked at the mosaic, the more certain she became that that it moved and, sure enough, a more focused look revealed tiny strands of mana running through it all. What surprised her was that it looked – and felt – very much like the mana of her daughter. "Do you animate the decorations on purpose?"

"No, it just reacts to my aura. A small indicator that I am currently here."

There was another thing on Aperio's mind, one she did not quite know how to ask. Every other God or Goddess besides her had a decent amount of followers, but what for? Unless strength was directly related to the amount of followers one had, Aperio could not see why she should bother with it. Having to care for people she would probably never see or meet properly was not very appealing and if what Ferio said was right — which she was becoming increasingly certain about — she would have no need for a power boost.

"Why do you even do all of this?" Aperio asked, gesturing at their surroundings. "I have a single follower and, according to you, am stronger than the other Gods. Why bother with people who only want to use you for their own gain?"

The balled fists of her daughter and the subtle movement of Diana behind her made it obvious that the question was not liked, but after taking a breath Ferio appeared to relax again. "I might not depend on them like Natio or the other newer Gods, but their belief in me still brings benefits. However, any potential plus that followers might give is probably dwarfed by your natural progression, something I have still not understood."

"Natural progression? You mean the way I become stronger by simply existing?"

"Yes," Ferio replied with a nod. "I can feel the change in your aura and body. But despite all my years of curiosity, I have never been able to tell where you take all that mana from. It took me centuries, both through training and the help of every one of my followers, to get where I am now.

"Granted, you are older than this world, but the amount of mana that I have observed you use to strengthen your body since we met again has been, frankly, ridiculous. Come to think of it, that's likely another reason neither Vigil nor Inanis have come personally to try to fight you. Your strengthening technique is not something you did before they..."

"I am not doing anything," Aperio said, choosing to ignore any talk about her death and her apparent age. "It happens on its own; the amount of mana used is almost too small to notice or, if it is not, it is replaced too fast."

Ferio almost fell when she heard the reply, only saved by Aperio quickly placing a stabilizing hand under her daughter's elbow. The action was far swifter than that of Diana, who had only gotten as far as beginning to reach out. The mortal glared angrily at Aperio, and the Goddess ignored it in favour of giving attention to her daughter. "Are you okay?"

Straightening herself, Ferio gave her mother a hesitant nod. Her face had adopted an expression Aperio could not quite place, but still saddened her. There was a tiny bit of what she would name fear, or apprehension, shining back at her through her daughter's gaze, and Aperio found she wanted to let go as soon as the other had regained her balance.

"Is there something wrong with what I do?"

"No, it's just… a bit much, even for you," Ferio replied.

Aperio could only give her daughter a helpless look. "But I do not actually do anything. It is simply happening. A part of me."

"May I try something with you, mother?"

Aperio gave her daughter a slightly confused nod, after which Ferio took her by the hand and led her further into the building. She barely took notice of the increasing complexity of the paintings on the walls and the mortals hastily stepping aside as Ferio sped along to wherever it was she was going. Diana, too, seemed to be surprised by the sun Goddess’ rather sudden eagerness. She hesitated, subtly holding her breath as if she wanted to speak before breathing out again and following the two Goddesses silently.

It wasn't long before they had reached their destination; Ferio's private room, if Aperio had to guess. It featured a large bed that looked like it had never been used and a multitude of closets that Aperio knew were filled with dresses and other apparel. Too red for me, though. With an almost imperceptible shake of her head, Aperio took her attention off of the clothing that waited inside their wooden prisons. Not what I am here for. Probably.

Ferio motioned for her mother to wait and for Diana to leave before she walked into an adjacent room, coming back shortly after with a chest full of crystal shards that looked all too familiar to Aperio. It had undoubtedly once been part of what she now knew to be a dungeon core. "Why do you have that?"

"We studied them, once. Tried to figure out how they can summon monsters, or how they are able to restore themselves after their seeming destruction."

"Did you succeed?"

"No," Ferio replied with a shake of her head. "But you gave me an idea." She extended a piece of crystal towards her mother, who grabbed hold of it. "These things came into existence after you… vanished. They obviously played a part in what happened, and now I have an idea as to what they did. Or are still doing."

That the tinge of fear Aperio thought to have spotted in her daughter's eyes had vanished was nice, but the fervor with which she was now piling various crystal pieces onto a table in front of Aperio was making her worry again. "And what do you want to try?"

"I want to see if they were used to trap your mana! If I am right, it would explain where it is coming from and why there is so much more of it now. Think about it. They sat around, collecting mana for thousands of years, but in the end they had to be made with your mana’s template. So whatever they have gathered and not used over the millennia goes back to its original source. You."

Aperio tilted her head at her daughter's words. "And how do you want to test that with these broken pieces?"

"Just try to put some of your mana into the shard I gave you. I will do the rest."

Creating the tiniest sliver of her mana she could manage, Aperio guided it into the jagged crystal she held in her hands. There was a slight resistance but, once she had passed that, her mana flowed freely into it. A moment later, she could feel Ferio's magic taking hold of the tiny sliver and guiding it in ways she did not quite understand. Whatever her daughter was doing seemed to work as Aperio could feel something oddly similar to her well of mana being linked to the bit of mana she had inserted into the crystal.

Once the connection between the shard and whatever actually was at the other side had been fully formed, Aperio could control the mana that lay there as though it were her own. With it came a sense of calm she had felt once before, after destroying the crystal she had found upon her return. Willing the mass of mana to join the rest of her reservoir caused the shard she held to break.

"Did you try to pull the mana back?" Ferio asked.

"Yes," Aperio replied. "But you were right. The mana that I felt was mine; at least I think so."

The next hours were spent in confusion as they tried to find a way for Aperio to successfully pull her mana away from the crystals. No matter how little she pulled, or how gently and slowly she tried to guide her magic, the representative shard they had before them would always shatter. It soon became apparent that the only way for Aperio to get full control of her mana would be for her to do what Ferio had suggested back when they had first met. She would have to go to each main crystal personally, and destroy them in much the same manner as the first she had encountered.

A few errant rays of sunlight crept into the room, and upon noticing them Aperio put an end to their experiments. She wanted to keep the promise she had made to Maria and that, for her, meant that they needed to begin their journey towards the Terenyk estate.

It was difficult to leave the cathedral, Aperio noticed, as she seemed to need to briefly be greeted by everyone they passed on their way out. Just before they left through the main doors, Diana reappeared, looking slightly put out that she had not been called for, and silently joined their group.

As the morning was only just dawning, Aperio took her time, stopping to admire a particularly interesting building or view if it should strike her fancy to do so. The more she observed, the more it seemed that many of the islands were like their own tiny fiefdoms; almost as if Ebenlowe had been built to be a country the size of a city.

As they crossed over yet another bridge, Aperio saw a decorated sign that read 'Feranir' and knew that it was the last crossing that needed to be made. It was the name Maria's companion had mentioned housed the Terenyk estate. Now that she was looking for it, she could see a few servants out on the streets, preparing for the undoubtedly busy day to come. A select few of them seemed to notice their presence, though when Aperio looked back in their direction they all hurriedly averted their gazes. Others tried to shield themselves from her aura, which was now more prominently displayed than ever before. Undoubtedly the more sensitive of them had noticed it as soon as she had entered the city, but the strength of her mana seemed to be proximity based. The closer someone was to her, the stronger the perception of her aura would be. Aperio made note of those who looked to be in pain like Thaddeus had been, and wrapped them in the protective cover of exclusion bubbles, a task that had become almost second nature during the short time in which she had known it to be possible.

"We are almost there," Ferio said, looking over her shoulder. "Are you sure you want to visit them in their home?"

Aperio tilted her head at the question. "Yes? Where else would I meet them?"

The words caused Ferio to pause briefly, falling back into step beside her mother. "I don't know," she said, her voice a whisper filled with frustration Aperio herself had not noticed before. "But it just doesn't feel right. Your appearance at someone's home merely because they asked it of you is wrong."

"I may have invited myself," Aperio said. "But even if they asked me to come there, I do not see why that would be wrong. I have nothing to prove."

"I guess you don't," Ferio replied with a sigh. "It's just… you used to only meet someone after they formally requested an audience, and even then most of them got denied." She fell silent for a moment, looking first at her mother's face and then at her feet. "I just keep forgetting that you are not the same as I remember."

There was uncertainty in her daughter's words; uncertainty that Aperio shared. She would, in all likelihood, never again be the same person Ferio remembered with such fondness. Unable to find words to soothe the troubled mind of her daughter, Aperio reached out to grab her hand, and unfurled one of wings to wrap Ferio in a soft-feathered hug.

A few of the people around them gave them a curious glance at her actions, but neither mother nor daughter cared. Some gazes were not so easily brushed aside, and one of those was coming from Diana. The priestess was staring at her back, seemingly trying to will her to disappear so her Goddess would no longer be troubled by what she perceived as an imposter. Words were never spoken, as both Aperio and Diana knew that that would end badly for the mortal.

Aperio wanted to comfort the only person she felt she could truly trust, and her daughter did not seem to mind the attempt. She did not know the sort of relationship she had had with Ferio before, but she did not think her heart was yet ready to know the truth for certain.

The thought was pushed down as Aperio caught sight of a maid she had seen before. With her hands clasped behind her back, the woman that had previously accompanied Maria was standing in front of a closed gate. Ending her wing-assisted hug, Aperio gave Ferio's hand a last, reassuring squeeze before letting go.

It only took a few more steps for the maid to notice their approach, causing her to stand just a little straighter. Words were not needed for her to open the gate and gesture the two Goddesses inside.

"Please follow me," she said. "Lord Terenyk is expecting you."

Advent - Chapter 37: Proper Introductions

The servant gave Diana a wary look but let her pass regardless, as she was obviously another companion of their guest. Aperio had to hide her surprise – she did not recall telling Terenyks that she would be bringing anyone else along, and yet the three of them were cordially being invited in. Considering the clarity with which she was now able to remember her life, she was very certain she would not have forgotten something like that.

Maybe they are not as strict as the Empire with their visitation rules? Or did the [Grandmaster] tell them when I asked her to inform them about the delay? It was the most likely answer. She had not specified what to tell them and, like almost everyone else she had met, she probably had not hidden the fact that she was a Goddess.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a smell wafting through the air. The Terenyks seemed to enjoy freshly baked goods in the morning. Or is it something they are preparing for us? While she did not have to eat, Aperio would most certainly try whatever they had to offer.

With a few quick steps the maid was in front of them again, leading the way. She did not seem to be too fond of them, particularly Diana, but remained polite. Aperio could feel a similar but more agitated annoyance radiating off of Diana – the priestess was obviously not happy that her Goddess was being treated like any other mortal. She was about to say something when the gentle, reassuring touch of her daughter's magic brushed past her and started to dance around Diana.

The magic calmed the priestess, but she still seemed rather unhappy with the proceedings. Not that you would know that by looking at her. Diana was awfully good at keeping her face expressionless, a talent Aperio would have appreciated if she could not sense the mood the woman was in through her aura. It required a little bit of focus, but just as she was distrusting of the winged Goddess, Aperio did not trust her either. Not that she trusted anyone aside from Ferio at the moment. Roots and Laelia too, perhaps.

After opening the metal-framed double door, the maid stood aside and invited them in with a wave of her hand and a slight bow. Aperio chose not to ask the woman to refrain from formalities as she did not know what kind of person Lord Terenyk was. If he turned out to be anything like the nobles she remembered, there would be a rather messy changeover of the Terenyk head of house by the end of the day.

The thick carpet that covered the floor felt nice under Aperio's still bare feet. Nobody had asked her to wear shoes yet. Perhaps none had known footwear that would pair well with the dress she wore and still be able to support her mighty corporeal self. Or they did not want to offend me. In the end, it did not matter. She liked going barefoot, letting the sensations of dirt and stone and gravel inform her steps. Knowing that most things would not be able to cut her certainly helped her feel comfortable walking around the city without any shoes.

Unable to hold back her curiosity, Aperio let her senses wander around the mansion. It did not take her long to find Maria. She was in what Aperio assumed to be her room, and she was painting. The scene the girl was drawing was not the one she had shown her when they had first met, but the fight she had had with Laelia. It was not the first time Maria had drawn this scene as all around the room the winged Goddess was able to spot various paintings of the fight, every one of which seeming to have been drawn from some point in mid-air.

Each and every painting featured a ghostly version of Laelia being pulled out, which was most certainly not something Aperio remembered doing. Or is that how it looked for other people? Asking the adventurers how it had appeared – should she even meet most of them again – was not really an option. She had been too high up for them to see. Probably. That everyone had her ridiculous eyesight was not something she believed.

Further inspection of Maria's paintings caused the girl to stop her work and look around the room. It was obvious that she knew something was going on but was not able to pin down what exactly it was. Brushing a small amount of mana past Maria in an attempt to help the girl identify the phenomenon she seemed to be perceiving caused her to freeze.

For a moment Aperio thought she had injured her by being careless, but the connection she shared to Maria's soul told her that the girl was fine. A moment later, Maria waved at nothing in particular and went back to her painting with renewed vigour. The antics of the little girl brought a smile to the Goddess' face, one that was quickly replaced with an expression Aperio hoped conveyed sufficient regality for the upcoming meeting.

The reason for her quick change of expression was a man – A butler? – in a precisely cut suit who opened the door they had been approaching. Beyond lay what Aperio knew to be a dining room, the table filled with various foods and drinks, removing any doubt one could have. The only person she did not classify as a servant was standing at the head of the long table, next to what Aperio assumed to be his chair.

Standing in small alcoves between the windows were maids, valets and other footmen. Maybe they expected more than just three. If etiquette had not changed much in her absence, the Terenyks had enough staff on hand to serve six people and still fulfill the two servants per noble requirement that Aperio herself had never really understood.

The man tensed up a little as he laid eyes on Aperio, likely making the connection between the winged Goddess and the person his daughter painted. The maid that had led them was about to announce her, but Aperio waved her off. "Such formalities are not needed."

Her words caused a few of the servants to falter, sinking to their knees. How am I supposed to hold back even more? I am already barely speaking loud enough for them to hear.

"If they cannot bear to hear me talk, they may leave." She was not the Lady of the house, but it was clear that Lord Terenyk was trying his best to not offend her. Allowing the servants that were simply too weak to be able to properly deal with her liberal use of mana to leave seemed like the right decision to her.

Still, the servants that still stood only started to help their fallen colleagues after Lord Terenyk had given a slight, almost imperceptible nod. There was a slight rage that wanted to make itself known, the fact that the servants had not heeded her call as soon as she had spoken somehow an offence to an unconscious part of her mind. Aperio shoved that feeling down again; even if she could make people do what she wanted it did not give her the right to do so or be upset if they did not. Annoying. Will that ever stop?

While most of his employees were doing their best to remove themselves from the premise with at least a little dignity remaining, Lord Terenyk gestured towards the table.

"Please, take a seat." His voice was ever so slightly unsteady, something that undoubtedly had to do with the fact that he was scared. Aperio could see the sweat form on his brow, feel his distress through her aura, and, if she really focused on him, could hear the frantic beat of his heart.

"Why is everyone always so frightened?" she asked. "I am not here to bring righteous fury down upon any who simply give me strange glances."

"You underestimate the weight of your presence, mother." Unlike Aperio, her daughter seemed to find a bit of enjoyment in watching the mortals squirm a little. A behaviour the winged Goddess would find distressing if it would ever be more than amusement at her own ineptitude to judge her strength.

With a sigh, Aperio took the chair that had been offered to her and turned it slightly before sitting down. Having to sit on her wings and have the rest pressed against the back of the chair was something she could do without. The wood groaned slightly under her, but held firm. Curiosity reared its head yet again, but she filed the question of her current weight away for pondering at a future time.

"I have come to visit Maria, but I assume you want to …vet me." The fact that she was unable to find the proper words annoyed the winged Goddess more than she thought it would, but she continued on nonetheless. "I am willing to answer your questions if you return the favor."

Having to listen to years worth of nobles exchanging pleasantries and actually doing business was paying off, even if she was never really able to recall their conversations in as much detail as she could now. A perk of being a Goddess? She had avoided giving him her name or title, a trait she had once observed in the upper rankings of the social hierarchy. Aperio had not really thought about her words, just choosing what felt right. But, now that she had had taken a moment to think about what she had said, Aperio could not help but mentally reprimand herself.

"Welcome to our humble home, Lady Aperio," Lord Terenyk said after a brief moment of continued hesitation. "I am Geshton Terenyk, head of the house and Lord of this estate. The [Grandmaster] informed me that you would be coming to visit my daughter, but not why."

He sounded a lot surer of himself than Aperio knew him to be. It was undoubtedly a product of countless meetings and other social gatherings in which he had to pretend to be someone else. Her daughter's priestess did not seem to like his straightforward approach, despite Aperio having asked for it. She was glaring at the man as if he had committed one of the greatest sins possible. A rather forceful nudge of Ferio's mana caused Diana to lower her head, seemingly ashamed of her own actions.

"I want to learn more about the life Maria has lived so far," Aperio said. "There are a number of things I need to know."

Geshton gave her a long, hard look before he replied. "Do you know of her… affliction?"

The winged Goddess cocked her head ever so slightly to the side at his question. Maria was in perfect health. She did not know for certain what he meant, but there was something that she thought could be a possibility. "Does her [Status], perchance, have a bit that is unreadable? Just a mess of letters and symbols you cannot understand?"

"...Yes."

Will Laelia and Arden also have a garbled text for their blessings? Or is it only Maria's because I touched her soul? "That is nothing concerning. It merely means that the blessing she has cannot be measured by the tool you used."

"I was told it is a curse from a fallen Goddess."

The sound of something breaking caused Aperio to face her daughter; she had crushed the armrests of her chair at his words. After Ferio took a deep breath to calm herself, Aperio saw the magic of her daughter begin to mend the broken wood. The few servants that had remained tried to ever-so-subtly distance themselves from the angered Goddess.

"Who said that?" There was a slight, angry shake to Ferio's voice.

"Priests of Vigil, Inanis and a few other deities," Lord Terenyk replied. The veneer of surety he had had was gone, replaced with a worried uncertainty that Aperio did not like but could understand.

"Did the [Grandmaster] tell you who I am?" Aperio asked.

The man gulped nervously before giving a shallow nod. "Yes."

She rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Then you know what I am, no?"

Another uneasy nod was the reply to her question.

"Have you thought that, perhaps, they might have lied to you?"

"Yes, but…" His voice grew quieter as he sunk into thought. "They were quite persuasive, and insistent. But they wanted me to kill Maria - kill my own daughter! - and I could not bear to do so. Instead, I banned from our grounds all followers of those deities, and kept Maria here for her own safety." He shivered slightly. "They claimed that the curse would twist her into a Demon, but the longer she lives the more I refuse to believe such claims. All that Maria does are normal things for a child. Except for the painting, perhaps, but even then I cannot see anything demonic in her actions." His brow furrowed in thought as he sat heavily back into his chair. "But, the information came to us from people in service of a God! Why would they lie about such a thing?"

"Why does anyone lie about anything?" Aperio's wings twitched slightly, the motion was easily understood as a shrug even if it garnered a slightly confused look from Diana. "I have my own goals and dreams, just like anyone else would. Why would a God not lie?" I thought this was obvious.

The man let out a defeated sigh. "I just believed your kind would be above such things." As soon as the words had left his mouth, he tensed up again. "I meant no offence."

"I told you before, I do not mind," she replied, waving him off. "As for Maria's blessing; it will not harm her. And neither will any other God or Goddess." Her words carried with it a finality that made it clear that she meant what she had said.

Geshton seemed to stare at nothing for a moment, something Aperio figured was a System notification. What did I do now?

A moment later the ambient mana surrounding the man changed. It rapidly gained the same coloration and feel that Aperio's own had, before it started to weave itself into Geshton. She narrowed her eyes as she followed the tiny strands of magic dancing inside the man's body. Unlike the blessings she had previously given, there was no change within the man. The new mana simply followed the flow of what he already naturally possessed. Once every bit of it had successfully been absorbed, Aperio felt a small tingle in the back of her mind.

While it was a new sensation, it also felt familiar and a thought was all she needed to grab hold of this timeless feeling. Aperio had expected an ethereal flow of information akin to that she received from her aura and the blessings. Instead, there was a feeling of wholeness that only came second to the Void in the comfort it gave the winged Goddess. Closing her eyes, Aperio revelled in the feeling before another change occurred.

She had thought her aura provided her with too much information, but what had returned to her now dwarfed what it could provide. Chaotic aggregations of names, strange clusters of symbols, and weaves of mana that made no sense despite knowing that it had to be hers nonetheless. Aperio knew of only one thing that she could have connected with that was hers and would drown her in information. Is that how the System looks?

Once she opened her eyes again, Aperio was greeted by a blue-tinted window she had thought only an [Appraiser's Stone] could produce.

Revoked access from Custodian entities.

Custodian entity 'Roots-Beneath-All' retains access by the will of the Creator.

Custodian access granted to entity 'Ferio' by the will of the Creator.

Creator reinstated.

System functionality restored.

Advent - Chapter 38: Framework

Aperio stared at the window that hovered in front of her eyes. Why now? As if to answer her unspoken question the window shifted, displaying a new bit of text.

Upon reinstitution of the Creator, Custodians with the designations 'Vigil', 'Inanis', 'Lor'kem', 'Natio', 'Heshtar', and 'Epemirial' attempted to access higher privileged functions.

The action was found to be outside of Custodian privileges as designated by the Creator.

Access has been revoked for all Custodians who have not been directly assigned by the Creator.

The winged Goddess tilted her head at the new information. It did not answer the question she had. Why can I only use this now, and not after Roots explained its method of access? Taking her eyes off the window, she looked at the people surrounding her only to find that all of them – even her daughter – were seemingly staring at a System notification. What did I do?!

If she hadn't had to learn how to keep up appearances, the shock she currently felt would have been visible to all. Sadly, looking regal as ever did little to clarify things. Returning her attention to the window, she glared at it, daring it to continue to withhold the answers she sought. And why was Ferio not a Custodian before?

That question was answered immediately in the form of information trickling into her mind. Apparently providing a window she could see was something the System had deemed inefficient for what she had requested. Instead, she now knew that Ferio had been removed from the Custodians – Whatever that is – by popular vote. Though they had attempted to do the same to Roots, the System's information also told her that Roots could not be removed as the tree was supposed to be an impartial overseer of the entire System itself. Clearly favours me, though. It took a moment for her to remember that she supposedly made the thing, so her ability to wield the System as she wished made any favour Roots gave her rather superfluous. But how? Asking it to do anything doesn't seem to work every time. And feels wrong.

Her thoughts on how she should be able to manipulate her apparent creation was interrupted as the blue-tinted window faded from her view. It was replaced by one that looked very similar but had a silver edge. Is everything I make silver? She liked the colour, yes, but that did not explain why her mana turned silver nor why the System window now had a similarly coloured border.

The text that faded into view a moment later answered that question to an extent.

Additional functionality restored.

[Status] view has been enabled for residents of Verenier.

Aperio narrowed her eyes at the words. So I don't need that stupid stone to see my [Status]? ...But how do I view that? Without truly expecting any sort of result, she tried what she had attempted many times before: simply willing the window into existence. Much to her surprise, something did actually happen. Contrary to expectations, there was no new window that showed her strength in neat numbers. Instead, she felt a shift in her own mana.

Furrowing her brow, Aperio's attention turned inwards. Ignoring the fact that the amount of mana flowing around her body had increased in both quantity and purity yet again, she looked at the tiny bit of it that had started to act on its own. She could still feel it just fine, still knew that it would heed her call if she wanted it, but Aperio let it do what it had set out to accomplish.

The tiny strand of mana darted around her body again and again before it turned and rejoined the bottomless well within her, an action that left Aperio slightly confused. A moment later she felt something was amiss. Instead of the overwhelming feeling of disgust of wrong she felt when thinking about the collars, it was a bit of information that let her know that something was not working as it should. Figuring out what was wrong was easy; she had wanted to see her [Status] and the System went to work to fulfil her wish, only to encounter the same problem the [Appraiser's Stones] did.

Nonetheless, a silver-framed window appeared before her.

Titles

Forgotten

Demiurge

Focusing on the words caused more information about the titles to enter her mind. 'Forgotten' was one she could have figured out on her own. She had been gone for a long time and others had actively removed any mention of her over the millennia. The 'Demiurge' title on the other hand gave her pause. It implied something she was not sure she was comfortable with. Do I have that because I made the System, or did I actually make an entire universe?

No ethereal knowledge entered her mind when she asked herself the question, not even a hint if she could or not. How would I make a universe anyway? It has to be the System. She knew she was strong, but what that would imply seemed simply too much. With a slight shake of her head, she willed the window out of existence and shelved the fact that she might be able to create an entire universe probably forever.

Much to her surprise a new window formed before her eyes, one that held more information she was not quite sure how to process.

Race

Primordial (Elf)

Primordial? Are all deities that, or just me? She had never before heard of a race with that name. Was it 'Primordial Elf'? Or was it that she was a Primordial who happened to look like an Elf?

Focusing on the name of her apparent race brought with it information, much like what had previously happened with her title. Sadly, it was a lot less than she had hoped for, and only furthered the implication of her Demiurge title. Aperio certainly didn't feel like she was a being that had existed since time began, and wasn't about to readily believe the claims of the System's windows quite yet.

Before she could further explore the nature of the System, she heard distant shouting that steadily grew louder. A smile tugged at her lips as she recognised the voice as Maria's. Directing her attention to the little girl, Aperio saw her running towards the dining hall followed by exhausted-looking maids that could not keep up with the child despite their longer strides.

"Maria will be joining us shortly," she stated.

Perhaps it was the fact that she sounded unconcerned with the events that had just transpired, or the fact that she somehow knew the daughter of the Lord would be arriving at any moment, but her words seemed to call the people around her back to the world of the living. There was a questioning magical nudge from her daughter that she answered with one of her own, promising explanations later. At least she hoped she had managed to convey that, as her daughter still looked quite confused.

The first to speak actual words was the Lord of the house, and the confusion was evident in his voice. "What?"

It brought a question to Aperio's mind that she had not asked herself yet. What did they see? As an answer to her question, a pair of windows formed before her eyes. One just said that the System had been restored and that they were now able to view their [Status]. The other was one Aperio was very sure had appeared before Ferio and the rest of the pantheon. It informed them about the change of status and that she had been reinstated. Why that had not happened when she returned but only now was sadly still not answered.

Not wanting to appear as confused as the mortals, Aperio just pointed towards the door after mentally dismissing the windows. "Your daughter. She seems very eager to join us."

A moment later the door opened and Maria skidded to a stop only to start running again as soon as she spotted Aperio. The girl did not seem to care for any etiquette the winged Goddess was certain she had had to learn, simply running towards Aperio with the same joyful abandon as one might see in reuniting with family after a long journey.

The maid that had guided them all here managed to shake off whatever seemed to still hold all the mortals in place and moved to stop the girl. Maria stopped her rapid approach once she caught sight of the maid moving her way. She spoke a few words of protest that Aperio did not understand, but the maid continued on.

"I do not mind if she stays," Aperio said, turning her head to face Geshton. "Unless you do not want her to?"

The man looked between her and his child, unsure how to answer the winged Goddess. Aperio wasn't sure if it was because he thought her words were a threat or if he was still confused as to what had just happened. He came to a decision fairly quickly nonetheless, giving Aperio a nod and gesturing for Maria to take a seat beside him. She slowed down as she walked past Aperio, only to be gently pushed forward by the stern-faced maid. The winged Goddess gave her what she hoped was a kind smile as she passed.

Aperio still felt a bit guilty at the happiness Maria was practically radiating. The girl might be happy to see her, but for Aperio it was just a reminder that she had to pay more attention to what she did. A bit of curiosity on her part might have ruined the life of a person. It did not matter if Maria liked the life she had. She had never known a different one. But maybe that is for the best. Aperio had only known the life of a slave for the longest time, and she had hated every bit of it. In the end, it did not matter what she thought was best; she could not change the past.

Once Maria had seated herself, Lord Terenyk cleared his throat and looked back at Aperio. "Lady"– he cleared his throat –"Lady Aperio, do you know what just happened?"

The truth of the matter was that she did not. But that was something she could not bring herself to admit, the thought of it so revolting that her regal facade briefly cracked. Lord Terenyk seemed to interpret the brief flash of disgust on her face to be directed at him and was already starting to bow when Aperio spoke.

"You could call it housekeeping. A few things that I did not know were broken needed to be fixed, so I did."

It was the most blatant lie she had spoken since she had returned, and even if it made her feel disgusted with herself, it was not nearly as bad as admitting that she did not truly know. Annoying. There was a part of her that wanted to rebel against the feeling, to not bow to what was perceived as control. She knew that there were no external forces controlling her, but only her own self. The clashing of different emotions was something new for her, something that had to have been previously suppressed by the collar.

The man slowly sunk back into his seat at her words, seemingly not quite able to comprehend what she had said. Diana, too, seemed to have trouble fully making sense of her words, as she was looking back and forth between her Goddess and Aperio.

Maria was happy. Not as happy as she could be, but fairly close. She had still not dismissed the window that floated at the edge of her vision, as it served as a reminder that her Goddess had truly returned. It was also proof that she was not what Maria had expected. She had thought her a Goddess of death of some form or another, but there had always been this feeling that she was more. Something ancient; beyond the other Gods.

[Status] view enabled by the grace of the Creator.

The System notification proved that much, at least to her.

Looking at her father she gave him a smile and whispered, "See! She is real!"

Her Goddess seemed to have heard her quiet exclamation as she looked at her, tilting her head slightly. There was no time for Maria to question why the winged Goddess was confused with what she had said as her father motioned her to be quiet. The action caused a scowl to briefly flicker over the Elven-looking woman's face which in turn made her father shrink slightly.

Maria was not quite sure what was happening, but she did not like the fact that her Goddess and her father were not getting along. She wanted to speak, but her father had made it clear that she was to observe etiquette and that meant she could not voice her thoughts without breaking the age-old rules. Her internal struggle was solved by the voice of her Goddess.

"If she has something to say, I would love to hear it."

She looked at her father for permission – as was proper – which she received in the form of a nod after a moment of hesitation. Maria sat as straight as she could, trying to remember what she had learned in her etiquette lessons. It took her a moment to find the right words for what she wanted to say, and yet another to find them again in the rather ancient form of Common used among certain races – and, now, by her Goddess. Another reason to get good at it!

While Maria was trying to think of a way to properly convey her thoughts a tense silence settled over the gathered people, something she knew should be avoided when dealing with people of higher status. She started to wring her hands as her mind raced, still unable to properly chain the words she found to make a proper sentence, the attention she had on her simply too much to bear. A tear started to form in her eye as Maria began to look around the gathered people for someone to help her. She had been able to speak to her Goddess before; why could she not do so now?

Her racing mind ceased its fruitless search as she heard something crack and felt a heavy hand rest on her shoulder. Looking up, she could see that her Goddess was now standing behind her, looking very displeased. She managed to stammer out a few incoherent words as the tears started to flow. She had wanted to help them get to know each other, but instead, she had seemingly confirmed what had angered her Goddess before.

She could feel the rage flowing from the woman. The air surrounding her turned colder with every passing breath, gaining a weight that it should never have. She could hear the rustling of feathers as the wings of her Goddess spread ever so slightly, could see cracks form under the hand that rested on the back of her chair.

"What did you do to her?"

The words caused her father to pale and his breathing to quicken. Amelia had drawn the dagger she always carried with her, the action causing the other two women that accompanied her Goddess to rise from their seats. For a second Maria thought she recognised the fiery-haired woman, but the words that came next only confused her.

"Calm, mother," the woman said. "This is just a misunderstanding. She probably got scared when she had everyone's attention."

Maria felt her Goddess shift behind her at the words, probably to better look at the fiery-haired woman, before she squatted down next to her.

"Is that true Maria? If he did anything despicable, you can tell me. Okay?" The tone of voice reminded Maria of what little she remembered of her own mother. Her father had never told her what happened to her, only that her mother was no longer alive. Maybe she can bring mommy back?

"Did he do anything?" her Goddess asked again.

Maria shook her head, still unable to speak; the words simply stuck in her throat. She tried to get out of her chair, an action that was stopped by the hand on her shoulder. Once her Goddess realised what she wanted to do, the weight came off of her shoulder as her hand was instead offered to Maria to hold so she could more easily get out of the chair.

Once she was standing on her own two feet again, Maria approached her father. She took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself, to be able to speak. The silence settled, threatening to drown out her words yet again, but this time Maria prevailed.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled. "I didn't want to make it worse, but...but..." She started to fidget as she struggled to find the words she needed. "I don't want you to fight. I wanted to help, to… to show that my blessing is not a curse."

Geshton unsteadily rose from his chair. He faltered slightly as he approached, but pushed on until he could wrap his daughter in one of the rare displays of affection they shared. "Lady Aperio told me that it is not a curse," he said. "But… she also said that the Gods are free to lie, so how can I trust her word?"

Maria perked up at the mention of the name. Finally she knew what her Goddess was called. Sadly, she could think of no way to prove to her father that her blessing was not a curse in disguise. The System notification at the edge of her vision still told her that the [Status] view had been enabled, but she had no idea how that was supposed to work nor if she could show it to her father.

She was about to ask Aperio for help when the blue-tinted window that had previously changed her life appeared before her.

Status

Name

Maria Terenyk

Race

Human

Level

25

Mana

125 / 125

Strength

25

Dexterity

65

Intelligence

120

Vitality

20

Titles

Touched by the All-Mother

Advent - Chapter 39: Mistakes

Aperio tilted her head as she felt a change in the mana that resided inside her well. It had coincided with an action Maria took, and upon further inspection showed that it was not just her that had done something. She had a theory as to why it was happening, but it didn't explain the influx of mana into her well.

Focusing on a slight condensation of mana that Aperio felt hovering in front of Maria revealed it to be the [Status] of the girl. Touched by the All-Mother? That's what happens when I touch a soul?

You have touched this soul, granting it a fraction of your magic.

The silver-framed System notification that had appeared in her vision as she had asked herself the question answered it. Not perfectly, as she still did not know how touching the orb had granted it a bit of her magic, but at least it told her that that was indeed why Maria had the title.

Dismissing the notification, Aperio turned to face the Lord of the house. He had said something that was very true; he could not trust her. The other Gods lied, why wouldn't she? She could try to explain what Maria's title did, but that was futile as she herself did not truly know.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a happy giggle from Maria that caused her to look down. The girl tugged at her father's arm to get his attention, and once she had acquired it did a grabbing motion with her hand that turned the System window to face Geshton. The man looked confused for a brief moment before his eyes went wide, probably able to see the window himself now.

His eyes flicked between his daughter and Aperio, the connection between the title and the winged Goddess obvious. Probably. He seemed to want to speak but failed to find the right words yet again, something that was happening more and more. Aperio gave him a questioning look, but that only served to further his indecision. What do I need to do to not scare people? It seemed like she only needed to lift her hand to cause people to fear her.

As Geshton did not seem to be able to start the conversation, Aperio chose to take that burden off of him. "Yes?"

The man somehow managed to look even paler at her words and even took a step back, an action that caused Maria to look to Aperio for help. She seemed confused, unable to understand why her father would distance himself. The winged Goddess placed her hand atop the girl’s head as gently as she could. She had seen it done before to soothe troubled children and hoped it would help, even if she did not know why. She was not Maria's mother, or even family – only the fact that she had been careless with her soul bonded them. It was something that she would rather not take advantage of, but unfortunately it seemed necessary now.

"Is there something wrong, Lord Terenyk?" He winced at the mention of his title, the displeasure in her voice apparent. He was not the only one to have a reaction to Aperio's increased irritation, as the few servants that remained had all distanced themselves from the winged Goddess. All but the maid that had initially… accompanied Maria. She seemed determined to protect the girl from any threat that might appear – even if that threat was a Goddess.

The only thing keeping her from rushing to Maria's aid was that Ferio had moved to position herself between the maid and the girl. Diana too seemed ready for a fight, mana swirling around her in a display of power that Aperio was certain only she and Ferio could actually see. Maybe the others can feel it? For Aperio the display was not really noteworthy as her aura alone already dwarfed what the woman commanded to dance around her.

"I…I don't know what to think." His voice was shaking almost as much as his hands as he spoke. "This, this ...blessing has taken Maria's childhood, and my wife. I want to be angry, want to tell you to leave my family alone." The words caused Ferio to ball her hand into a fist, but she did not move as she saw how her mother showed no sign of wanting to stop the man. "But how could I as a mere mortal ever do something against a Goddess? What right do I have?"

Aperio lowered her head at his words. He had every right to be angry. If she had not been so curious, none of this would have happened. If she had just stopped for a second to think about her situation – had not been scared of her new powers – she could have prevented this. She had never intended to be a source of grief and sadness. She did not want to kill innocents. And yet, here she was, back in the world of the living and already responsible for at least three deaths and the ruined life of a child. She shook her head. Maybe, if she had taken the time to think, she might have been able to find a way to avoid killing the two mages in the ruins. Maybe, she thought again, but then the image of the collar they had tried to put on her flashed through her mind. It was quickly followed by a tiny voice, asking if it would even work on her now. I hope I never have to find out.

"You have every right to be angry," Aperio replied, her facing twisting in disgust at her own words. "Being powerful does not mean you have the right to do as you wish." She paused, looking at the man who seemed to not quite believe what he was hearing. For a brief moment she considered the possibility of being able to bring back his wife, but only shook her head at the idea of continued interference. "I did just that and I cannot undo what has been done."

Ferio looked confused at her words, either not used to her mother giving what amounted to an apology or not quite believing that she could not undo what she had done. Aperio herself was not certain if she was truly incapable of altering what she had set in motion, but neither was she willing to try. Her curiosity was the reason she was in this predicament in the first place. Before further testing of her powers, she would not touch the souls in her Void again. I also have to find the first one I inspected. But how?

If Maria was twelve years old, or at least around that age, the other would have to be almost an adult by now. Not that I know how time works in the Void. When I healed the children, time did not seem to have passed any faster.

A quiet sniffle caught at Aperio's attention and caused her to direct her gaze downwards. Maria was looking up at her with tears in her eyes, slowly extending her hand to grab the hem of Aperio's dress. The winged Goddess did nothing to stop the child, instead lowering herself, her wings fanning out behind her to accommodate the change in posture to be on eye level with the girl.

"Yes?" she asked as softly as she could, her voice still carrying its usual note of power despite the quiet tone.

The answering question came, quiet and unsteady, punctuated by the occasional sniffle. "You can't bring mommy back?" Maria grabbed the fabric of Aperio's dress more firmly, seemingly needing to hold onto something, before her teary-eyed gaze lifted once more towards the Goddess.

Aperio did not know if she could, but neither did she want to admit that. The course of action should have been clear: tell Maria the truth. There should be no harm in admitting that she did not know something, but Aperio could not bring herself to. She just looked into the eyes of the little girl, unable to turn away as she watched the last bit of hope the child had visibly diminish into nothing.

"Even if she could still find her soul, your mother would've forgotten her previous life already." The voice of Ferio caused both the child and the winged Goddess to look at her. Maria turned her head back to face Aperio and gripped the fabric of the dress tighter as she started to comprehend the words.

Knowing what Maria felt was an odd experience. The girl did not want to believe what Ferio had said, wanted her Goddess to perform a miracle and make her family whole once more. Tell her that the fiery-haired woman was lying. The bond she shared with Maria was the obvious source, one that just reminded Aperio of her mistake.

For all that she could do now, Aperio felt helpless. She wanted to hide in her Void, be alone with her thoughts; absolved from the consequences of her actions. But that was not an option she would take. Her need to be better than those that had ruled her life outweighed her desire to hide.

Instead, she took part in an action that was certainly unbecoming of a Goddess, and caused feelings of disgust and wrongness to rear their ugly heads once more. Ignoring it as best as she could, Aperio picked Maria up, embracing the girl in a hug with both her arms and her wings, doing her best to comfort the child whose life she had utterly ruined.

She took a deep breath and stroked the back of Maria's head as gently as she could, trying her best to not accidentally harm the girl any more. The action coupled with the soothing touch of her magic would, she hoped, calm the child. Aperio firmly believed that the girl would come to hate her for what she had done. Even if she had not killed Maria's mother herself, she was the cause of her death. If Geshton did not lie.

It was indeed a slim possibility, but given his reaction to the presence of Goddesses she doubted he would manage to do that. Even if he did, Aperio already confessed that the death of the girl's mother was her fault. The least she could do now was to attempt to bring justice to a family that had been wronged. She had an inkling who might have been directly behind the death, for after all there were two deities that hated her more than the others, but in the end the ripple effects that had been set in motion were all stemming from herself.

Aperio gently turned Maria's head so one ear would be pressed against her chest before covering the other with her hand. "Who killed her mother?"

The words snapped Lord Terenyk out of his frozen state. "I don't know," he said, and shook his head woefully. "Despite all my searching, I still don't know. She was poisoned while attending the wedding of her brother in Kejeran." He hesitated for a moment, biding time with which to maintain his composure before speaking again. "I wasn't with her. Maria, the estate – they needed to be looked after. I stayed behind. I should have been there. Should have been at her side. But...I wasn't." There came another pause, during which Lord Terenyk breathed deeply, and despite the way he continued to sit straight and look at her directly, Aperio could see the threat of tears shining in his eyes. "Through my attempts to find who did it, however, I am certain it was someone acting on behalf of one of two big churches. Either Inanis, or Vigil."

Aperio felt the magic of her own daughter flare up at the mention of the two deities. She was not the only one to notice, as nearly everyone present turned to face the Goddess of Life and Light. Even Maria picked up on the shifting of mana in the room, her head attempting to adjust its position beneath Aperio's immovable hand before the Goddess holding her moved it aside. The first to truly react, however, was Diana. She moved to stand between Geshton and her angered Goddess, seemingly wanting to protect the man from her wrath. The chain of events caused Aperio to questioningly cock her head. She had not expected the priestess, who so far had appeared to be absolutely devoted to her Goddess, to stand between her and a potential target.

It only took a moment longer for Ferio to calm herself, the mana surrounding her regaining its calming touch. After she took another deep breath, she spoke. "Those two ...traitors only manage to make me hate them more. Why couldn't they be happy with what they had?"

Her words caused a few confused murmurs to spread around the room and Aperio to tilt her head ever so slightly to the other side. She did not know what the official relations between her and the rest of the pantheon was, but considering her daughter had been voted out of the Custodians it could not be too good. She resolved to have that talk with Ferio sooner rather than later – there was simply too much she needed to know before she could go on.

Turning to face Lord Terenyk more fully, Aperio chose to break the silence that had settled over the room after her daughter’s small outburst. "You do not know the identity of the one who carried out the act?"

It took a few breaths for Geshton to get his bearings and shake his head in reply. Aperio readjusted her hold of Maria as she thought. The girl had calmed down, seemingly not hating her as Aperio had assumed she would. Instead of pulling away in anger, she had wrapped her arms as far as she could around the Goddess, holding on surprisingly tightly for a child. Aperio had been fully prepared to find a way to rescind her blessing, leaving the Terenyk family alone for all eternity, and so did not understand Maria's actions at all. If the child herself wanted to give the opportunity for potential redemption, however, Aperio would gladly take it. The knowledge that that chance might have been offered because of the blessing she had given would still gnaw at her, but it was better than being hated.

After carefully, gently, separating herself from Maria, she crouched down and used a tiny wisp of her mana to remove the tears from the girl's face. The use of magic temporarily distracted the child, her face widening in joyful awe as she watched her tears fly away and slowly dissolve into nothingness.

“I might not be able to bring your mother back, but I can punish those that hurt her.”

As response Aperio received nothing but an uncharacteristically determined nod. Standing up, she approached Geshton and slightly bowed her head. “I am truly sorry for what has happened to your family. I will do my best to fix what has happened in my absence.” Without a single word more, Aperio turned towards the exit and slowly started walking, feeling that she had more than overstayed her welcome with the family whose lives she had so badly mangled.

“Thank you…” He sounded unsure of his words, possibly still not quite able to understand what had just happened. Nonetheless he motioned for a servant to come closer. “If our guests wish to leave, please show them out.”

Aperio nodded her assent, but stayed otherwise silent.

The servant bowed nervously but did his duty nonetheless, walking towards the door. Before Aperio turned to follow, she gave Maria a slight wave.

The trek back was filled with awkward silence, punctuated with the occasional nervous glance from a passing servant. Aperio's agitation grew with each minute until, at last, they passed out of the borders of the Terenyk estate and bid adieu to the servant who had accompanied them.

Finally feeling a little more at ease now that she was further away from the Terenyk family and the reminder of the clumsy manner of her rebirth, Aperio addressed her daughter. “Can Diana find the way back on her own? I would like to talk to you in private.”

Diana clearly wanted to say something, likely a protest at being left behind, but she was silenced by a wave of Ferio's hand. “Of course, mother.”

Without a word, Diana simply bowed once to Ferio, then set off. The fiery-haired Goddess turned to her mother and held out her hand. Aperio did not have to say where the discussion would take place, as it was obvious that there was only one option that she would regard as private.

Taking her daughter’s hand, Aperio twisted the fabric of reality apart and brought them into her Void.

Advent - Chapter 40: Fragile Reality

The feeling of home that surrounded her as she entered the Void was something that Aperio sorely needed after what she had learned. Taking a deep breath of the nothingness to further calm herself, she looked at the distant river of lights – it had gotten more lively yet again – and shuddered. Just touching them ruins their lives.

"Mother?" Ferio asked, her voice hesitant.

Aperio did not immediately answer or react to her daughter’s voice. She was focused on the lights that drifted unperturbed in the invisible river, trying to figure out why they would react to her in the way they did. They were souls, but that was not her Domain. Nothing of the afterlife is. And yet, this was her Void. Here, everything obeyed her very thought. So why are the souls in here?

It made no sense to her.

The more she turned the question over in her mind, the less certain of finding an answer at this current time she became. The thought brought, unbidden, the recent discovery of her title to her mind's surface. Despite her efforts to shove its meaning to the deepest reaches of her psyche, here it was again. Taunting her with its implications. That it was even a possibility was unnerving for her, drawing her attention even as she tried to turn away from its reality.

The souls in the void, present as they were in her field of vision, proved to be sufficient enough fodder for a forcible change of thought. Why were they there? Maybe I just put them here to keep them safe? But why? How?

A hand touching her shoulder brought a stop to Aperio's rampant thoughts and caused her to look at her daughter. Ferio's eyes darted around, trying to find anything that could tell her why her mother was just staring silently into the Void. Aperio let out a soundless sigh as she turned to more fully face her daughter.

Ferio waited briefly, but when the silence showed no sign of breaking, she took the initiative. "Why are you so concerned with the lives of mortals now, mother?" she asked, taking a couple of steps back. "You have never cared for most of them before; even the ones you did bless you then sent on their way to do as they wished. The only mortals you cared about were ones that you thought had potential to become strong." She paused, her uncertainty clear in the hesitation. "But with their dependence on the System… I don't know if they are even still alive. I stayed in my Dominion, waiting, until Roots informed me of your whereabouts. Then I remained near Verenier, biding my time until you returned.”

Ferio's words seemed to echo in Aperio's thoughts. Her pulse quickened, the dull thump throbbing in her ears as she became fixated on a single fact that was now clear. Her eyes narrowed at her daughter's words, and her hands balled into fists that were uncaring of the way her unnaturally strong nails stabbed into the flesh of her palms. "You just waited?"

The words caused the Void surrounding them to grow darker, chasing away the meager bit of light that emanated from the river of souls. Ferio tried to take a step backwards but found herself unable to move, an invisible force holding her in place as Aperio slowly approached.

"You did nothing but wait while I was a slave? While I was torn asunder by their vile tools? Used as a test case for whatever abhorrent shit the Imperials could dream up?"

Aperio took a step forwards, the blackness rippling beneath her feet. "You."

Another step caused a tremor to race through the invisible floor upon which she tread. "Just."

With a last step that sent quakes to the very fabric of the Void, Aperio came to a halt in front of her daughter. "Waited?"

Arcs of silver started to dance around the enraged Goddess as her wings unfurled to their full length and she lifted Ferio by the collar of her dress. "You waited while your own mother was raped again and again because some Human thought it was amusing?!"

The Void around them twisted, shifting in unnatural angles with every word she spoke, turning in on itself in an attempt to obey the anger of its mistress. Ferio winced as Aperio's hand tightened and the arcs of silver mana touched her skin, singeing it. The look of confusion that had slowly but firmly settled onto Ferio's face caused Aperio to release her. The rage was still roiling within her, but there was also the vaguest glimmer of doubt beginning to take root as well. Did she truly know?

Her daughter rubbed her neck as she righted herself, the pained and confused expression still on her face. "We could not see what happened on Verenier. Only Roots knew with any certainty that you were still here but it, too, was unable to fully enter the world. Only a small portion of its abilities was allowed in, enough to manage the most basic of system functions.

"If we had known what was happening to you..." Her voice trailed off for a moment, emotions evident in her posture, her gaze, her clenched fists. "The cleansing you did would have happened a lot sooner." She turned her eyes towards her mother. "But why did you not do it before? Unless..."

"I couldn't," she whispered. The darkness formed by her earlier outburst shifted closer to Aperio, and that which once merely blocked off the light from the river of souls now obscured the Goddess entirely. Aperio felt hesitant as the anger that had fueled her drained rapidly away, replaced by remorse for what she had done. Sadness and disgust at her own failure – that she had acted before thinking yet again, let herself be controlled by emotion.

"But why?" Ferio asked. That her mother had not chosen to partake in what she had described was painfully obvious.

"I was just a normal Elf. A slave of the Empire, collared like most. I had no say in what I had to do."

Ferio said nothing, but her face began twisting with an assortment of emotions Aperio could not place. Her daughter's mana leaked out, manifesting in the blackness of the Void in the form of white-hot flames. While it took but a thought to banish the small fires from her Dominion, it provided no answers for Ferio's actions. It did not feel like an attack. The foreign mana was an irritation, yes, but to Aperio it seemed more like a coping mechanism of sorts – her daughter's way of trying to control her own mana.

"Those insolent fucks! I'll...I'll kill them!"

The words of Ferio were followed by an explosion of flame that briefly brought light back to the shadow-filled section Aperio had created in her Void. Her daughter's hair no longer simply looked like it burned but was truly on fire, radiating a heat that Aperio could actually feel.

"Don't you see what they wanted to do, mother?" Ferio asked through clenched teeth, her voice barely restrained. "They wanted to put you in a mortal body so they could kill you!"

Aperio's brows scrunched together at the words, the shadows surrounding her retreating a little. "I did die," she said. "I was sacrificed so that the Emperor could ascend to godhood. But instead of him becoming a God, I returned to this place, together with countless tiny lights." She still wanted to call them souls, but upon further reflection that didn't quite seem accurate enough. The only thing they had shared with the tiny orbs of life was their shape and the fact that they glowed. None of the souls she had seen were the same blue coloration that those lights had been.

"You did not cleanse the continent on purpose? Or lift whatever blocked the pantheon from coming to the world?"

Aperio lowered her head slightly at the question. "No." The single syllable of a word barely fell from her teeth and tongue as the darkness around her drew tighter again. "I was just happy that I could finally die. Be free."

Her daughter heard her nonetheless and very slowly closed the distance separating them. Despite what Aperio had done just moments before, Ferio unhesitatingly wrapped her arms around her mother, giving an affectionate squeeze. "It's okay, mother," she said softly. "You are free now."

Aperio remained silent at her daughter's words. The longer she simply existed, the harder it would be for her to actually live the life she wanted. And yet, she did not want to trade places with anyone else.

"I am sorry," she finally said, gingerly returning her daughter's embrace. "I do not know what I should do. I just want to live a normal life."

Ferio gave her a squeeze, then separated herself from Aperio's arms, brushing a few strands of errant silver hair out of her mother's face before she spoke again. "Normal? That won't be possible as long as those traitors are alive. I would gladly kill them for you, but I neither know where their Dominions are nor can I permanently kill them."

Aperio blinked, catching on to something left unsaid. "But I can?"

"Yes, Roots said you have done so before. Every God and Goddess draws power from something that is connected to you. For most it is the System, though in the case of Roots and I, it is your mana directly that gives us our power. I do not know what exactly connects you to the rest of the pantheon but I do know that they all somehow get a portion of their power from you.

"It is always a fundamental part upon which they build the rest of their strength, but you never told me what exactly it is." She directed her gaze to her feet, either ashamed that she did not know or sad that Aperio had never shared the information. "I had thought it a part of your Domain, but now that you have said that it seems to include the concept of strive… I am sorry mother, but despite all the time I spent searching for answers while I...waited... I still have nothing that could help you."

The darkness that had surrounded Aperio receded slightly as she tilted her head at her daughter's words. She did not quite understand. She had asked nothing of her Ferio, and yet the other Goddess seemed to regard her lack of knowledge as such a big failure. Or maybe she does that because I would do the same? The lack of understanding about her own nature was again showing, and no ethereal feeling of right or wrong came to point her in the direction of progress.

Focusing on her daughter, Aperio pushed the creeping thoughts of her own inadequacy, and thereby the last bits of unnatural darkness that still surrounded her, away. If she wanted to live her life her way, she would have to stop lamenting about her lack of understanding and actually try to find out what she could do and what that made her.

"You have done more to help me than anyone else." The words were true. Despite her fondness for her long dead friend, Moria had not provided as much help and support as Ferio. Though, she also had little choice in what she did. "Even if I do not remember what was before and can not see what will come – I know you are my daughter. Family.

"There are no words to properly describe how I know. Something like a memory, perhaps, though despite my efforts I cannot remember anything else," she said, steeling herself for the disgust that she was sure would arrive shortly. "Without you I would not know what I have to do. I would have been lost in a world I no longer know, filled with people I cannot trust."

Ferio remained quiet at her words, causing Aperio to shift her weight to her other leg - the nothingness holding steady beneath her feet - and twitch her wings slightly. Her daughter gave no immediate answer, but there was a certain comfort to be found in the fact that the unpleasant feeling that always came around when she admitted a weakness – physical or psychological – seemed to also be staying silent.

Finally, Ferio spoke. Her voice came quietly and unsteadily, though whether from fear of the meaning of her own words or from fear of her mother's reaction, Aperio could not have guessed. "The more time I spend with you, the clearer it becomes that we both no longer know who you are now. I will do my best to help you with whatever you need, but I do not know how much use I can be when you decide to face Vigil and Inanis. I tried to kill them once before, when they emerged to personally influence the world, but as soon as they caught wind of my approach they simply fled back to their Dominions. I do not know how to find them. Even if I could, a fight in their Dominions – on their turf, with their rules at play – would only end with my capture. Or my death."

“I am glad that you did not throw your life away,” Aperio replied. “But, how do we know that I can overcome the rules of their Dominion?”

“...I don't know for certain. If we tried it in my own, though, we would have an answer.”

Aperio was about to answer when a tug at her mind caught her attention. The winged Goddess creased her face into a frown as she grabbed hold of the minuscule strand of mana. If it had not made itself obvious it would have been too tiny for her to notice. Ferio, too, seemed to be aware of the interrupting magic, though she remained quiet, looking at her mother with a twinkle in her eyes that Aperio could not place.

How did this even get here? It was not her own mana, not really at least. It felt distant, ready to obey but only after she had sent it a letter in triplicate. Further inspection revealed a familiar feeling, one she could immediately name. Laelia? The act of recognition caused Aperio to accidentally squash the tiny strand of mana in surprise. As it mixed fully with her own, and joined the ocean in her well, a distant and echoing voice sounded within her mind.

"My Goddess, I must humbly request your aid in a time of need," Laelia's disembodied voice said, the usual choppiness of her speech gone. "Knights of Vigil and Natio march on the house of healing to reap those you have healed. I fear my strength will be found wanting."

Aperio needed no further prompt, simply holding out her hand for her daughter to take. With an angry thought reality screamed as it was torn asunder, powerless against the seething Goddess. Any thought of further talk was cleared from her mind, replaced with a rage that could not compare to what she had felt previously.

Vigil and Natio appeared to be in dire need of a lesson.

Advent - Chapter 41: Burning Anger

Laelia stared at the tip of her spear. The fact that the being that was now her Goddess had shrugged her attempted attack off with nothing but a tiny scratch to show for it, while the spear itself was now slightly bent and chipped from the effort, still gave her pause. She knew that the Gods were far beyond what a normal mortal could achieve but had never quite believed it until she saw it. How can she even move if her skin is harder than my armour?

The idle thought was quickly pushed from her mind, and she adjusted her stance as she squinted in the direction of the approaching knights. The armour of Vigil's followers still managed to gleam despite the relative dark the high-storied buildings surrounding the street created. In contrast, the almost-black of Natio’s knights seemed to let them melt into the shadows, letting their forms slip from her view whenever she did not pay close attention.

The grey-furred Beastkin – Joref – had not told the rest of the staff of their approach, which had started when Aperio had arrived to heal Em and Kaam. When asked why he kept silent, Joref merely smiled, giving a line about the world not tolerating such attempts.

As quiet as Joref was, he was without a doubt one of the best scryers she knew. Why the man was working with no pay for the tiny house of healing she did not know, but neither did she care. He had been there when she was welcomed into their care, and he would likely still be there when she was no more. The grey-furred Beastkin had a strange timeless quality to him that made Laelia believe there was definitely more to him than met the eye.

With a sigh, Laelia closed her eyes and prepared to send another prayer to her Goddess. She was unsure if Aperio would even be able to understand the ones she sent her, as she seemingly did not speak Common. Did thoughts have a language associated with them? There was a tiny thought that told her that maybe, just maybe, her new Goddess liked to annoy people, but she squashed that as soon as it appeared. Such thoughts were most unbecoming of a paladin.

Before she found the correct words for her next prayer, the air in front of her distorted and a heavy but familiar presence settled on the world. A moment later her Goddess, and her daughter, appeared where the distortion had been, looking very displeased. For a moment Laelia thought the anger she saw in Aperio's silvery eyes was directed at her, but that was quickly proven wrong as she turned to face the approaching knights.

Aperio regarded the group for a moment, slightly tilting her head at something only she could see. Laelia felt a wave of mana spread out from her Goddess and wash over the knights, causing them to briefly stagger but still continue their march.

In the next moment she was gone, the ground where she had stood riddled with fissures. A fraction of a second later the world was filled with shards of glass and an ear-splitting noise that caused the knights to stop in their tracks.

"Leave. Now."

A few of them did turn to leave but were stopped by an angry shout – one of Vigil's knights. She did not know the man personally, but she had seen him in the church before. That they had sent the leader of the local detachment of holy-knights had given Laelia pause, but now that she was within the oddly reassuring touch of Aperio's magic she no longer felt that twist in her gut that told her she would not survive.

The leader did not try to argue or even ask Aperio to move aside, he simply motioned for a footman to give him his spear. The action caused a small smile to tug at the paladin's lips; it was the same make of spear she had. An orichalcum core with an adamantite edge that had been enchanted to be armour-piercing, more durable, and possibly also poisoned.

That spear would end up more damaged than hers. Laelia did not know exactly what was happening to Aperio, but every time she saw the Goddess her movements had gotten a tiny bit smoother, the mana surrounding her a bit richer, and the definition of her muscles a bit more pronounced.

With a practiced motion the knight threw the spear, sending it racing through the air towards its intended target. Laelia had assumed that her Goddess would just let the projectile hit her like she had done in her fight but, instead, Aperio simply plucked it out of the air. The motion did not look practiced, but was still executed with an unnatural grace that made Laelia question her own abilities before she remembered that the woman was a Goddess. I should expect things like this.

Aperio twirled the weapon in her hand before ramming the butt of it into the stone. "Leave!" she yelled again.

This time a few of the knights turned and ran, not stopped by the shouts of their superiors. Laelia could not blame them. The air surrounding the knights had grown heavier, and for her own part a familiar heat rose in her chest. Her Goddess was angry, and she felt her own blessing being strengthened by the wild mana streaming off of Aperio. Every bit of it that she took in brought with it a hint of seething rage that almost caused Laelia to pity the other Gods’ followers.

Seeing that the rest would not follow her instructions, Aperio pulled the spear free and, with one swift motion, threw it at the man that had tried to skewer her with it. The spear darted through the air, leaving a trail of silver behind. It slammed into the knight with a jarring crash, with a speed that left him no time with which to react to the projectile. His armour proved useless against the weapon as it simply passed through him, as well as a number of knights who were standing behind the man.

It continued flying, long past the point of finding further targets to skewer, but much to Laelia's surprise the spear stopped before it hit the building at the end of the street. Instead, it briefly hung in the air before it returned to the waiting hand of her Goddess. Aperio did not throw it again; she simply let it vanish from her hand before she dashed into the frozen group. Only after she had punched another knight, leaving a fist-sized hole in their torso, did the others react. They tried to regain a semblance of order by creating a circle around the angry Goddess, but she fully spread her wings. The action caught some of the knights unaware, causing them to be thrown back by the feathered limbs. With a sweep and a rush of air, she leapt skywards.

A few of the knights were toppled over as they did not anticipate the Goddess to fly, let alone displace enough air to move them. The ones that remained standing were not granted a reprieve as a circle of silver-blue flames came to life around them. They tightened around the knights, forcing them to regroup closer together. One of them, in an attempt to part the wall of fire, stabbed at the flames with his sword.

Much to Laelia's surprise and his shock, the flame latched onto the metal and quickly spread over his entire form. What followed was one of the most agonising screams Laelia had ever heard.

The rest of the knights took nervous steps back from the burning man, their actions made all the more difficult to maneuver as the ring of fire tightened once more. In only a few more seconds, the screams finally ceased and the lifeless body of what was once a knight fell onto the ground. For a brief moment Laelia thought she saw a small light hover above his corpse, but a blink later it had disappeared.

Aperio watched the soul vanish shortly after she had burned it out of the man's body. She knew it would return to her Void, to wait its turn at rebirth. The fact that the source of all life resided within her Dominion was still not something she found very pleasing, but it also gave her an idea on how she would be able to actually kill Vigil and Inanis, as well as anyone else who had thought it a great idea to turn mortals into their playthings.

Currently, though, she wanted nothing more than to kill the scum below her. They weren't being controlled like Laelia had been. No – they came here to murder children of their own free will. They all could have refused the orders they had received. None of them were truly forced to be here.

A few of them had run when she told them to, but the rest would die here as, in the end, was their choice. Why did Natio and Vigil tell them to go and kill children in the first place? Just so nobody can claim that the Rage is curable? She looked back at the knights below. Once I am done here, I will remove their Gods from this city.

She did not like imposing her will on others, but this issue forced her hand. And while senseless killing brought her little joy, she would not back away and let those who had attempted to murder her go free to force their twisted view on the world. But then, aren't I also just imposing my will on the world? One I might have made.

An arc of golden light that impacted one of her wings caused Aperio to refocus on the people below. The attack had not hurt or damaged any of her feathers in the slightest. A mild annoyance at best. How were those trees able to damage me, then? Maybe I was not as ...durable? She shelved the thought as for now she had to deal with the followers of a self-righteous fuck, not to mention a new God that seemed to have missed the memo that souls were not to be toyed with. Aperio had no desire to find out what someone could make if they actually did more than simply touch a soul.

A thought later and the fire washed over the remaining knights, forcing their souls back to the river. May they live a better life next time. Fighting them normally, like she had with the first few, might have been more enjoyable, but she had little time. Vigil and Natio needed to be evicted at the earliest opportunity. For a moment she thought about forcing out all the ones that had appeared on the System notification, but decided against it. Merely trying to access something was vastly different to having one's followers kill defenseless people. And only Natio and Vigil tried to have me killed.

With a heavy thud, Aperio set down next to the corpses and let them vanish into her Void. Far away from their souls. She had no idea how large her Dominion actually was, but wanting to deposit the bodies somewhere unreachable for the tiny orbs should be possible. At least, her instincts seemed to indicate that it was feasible, and thus far her feelings on these matters had been pretty spot on.

"What are you going to do now, mother?" Ferio asked, unmoved by what her mother had just done. Aperio thought it slightly strange, but as she considered the people around her more, it seemed that none who had watched the spectacle of burning knights seemed to be giving off any sign of disgust with her actions. Curious. Are they just scared or is this something that happens regularly?

But then, the people who were outside all looked like they had seen their fair share of death. The younger ones that had tried to keep her aura at bay when she had first visited the house of healing might be the exception, but even they seemed to have only minimal pity for the knights.

"Where is Natio's temple?" Aperio did not bother to hide the hostility in her voice. She wanted the two Gods gone and she would no longer postpone the inevitable confrontation. She doubted either of them would show up personally anyway. Ferio had said that both Vigil and Inanis were scared to descend because of her, and Aperio had a feeling that a God that was much younger, would also be a lot weaker.

Much to her surprise it was not Ferio that replied, but a new voice coming from behind the Goddess of Light and Life. "I can guide you, my Lady."

She had seen the grey-furred Beastkin approach through her aura, but had dismissed him as a simple bystander. It would seem that she had been wrong. "Who are you?"

The man did not answer. Instead he took a step back and shrunk under her gaze, obviously not prepared to have the attention of Aperio on him despite having spoken up. She narrowed her eyes as he remained silent, his ears twitching slightly.

For a brief moment the thought of killing the man where he stood flickered across her mind, something within her demanding she smite the insolent mortal that would dare to not answer her question. The thought was quickly squashed.

"Joref," he heaved in reply, his voice strained under the burden of her attention. "Joref Dryggis of the tribes. I was send here on behalf of the chiefs, to help those in need and aid the lost Goddess should she return."

"Lost Goddess?" Aperio tilted her head at his words. "I assume you mean me?"

He gave a small nod in reply. "Your name might have been forgotten by most, but a few still remember. It is not widespread outside of Lerenal, the people having long abandoned the belief in a Goddess that does not answer despite the claims of some that she exists." He gave a long look at Ferio with his last words, seemingly recognising her.

Aperio had an inkling as to why she had been forgotten, and why, when someone of repute gave their word that she was alive, the general response would be disbelief. "What happens to those who still express their belief in me?"

"They disappear," Ferio said. "Most did not believe me when I told them, anyway. Even my own followers. So I stopped."

Aperio was not sure if it was shame or anger she heard in the voice of her daughter. Perhaps both. The knowledge that people did not know of her bothered something deep within her, but also gave her a bit of hope. If nobody truly knew of her, once she had dealt with those that wanted her gone she could make an attempt to live the more normal life she had always wanted.

"While regrettable, there are more pressing concerns. You may enlighten me about what people think of me while you guide me to Natio's house of worship." While she would love to know what exactly people thought she was, dealing with Natio and Vigil took precedence. Afterwards, maybe.

"Ferio, please stay with Laelia and deal with anyone that thinks they can bring harm to those I healed." While Aperio did not expect Natio to actually come to fight her, she did not want to risk her daughter's life. Not when she did not know if she could bring her back.

Only after Aperio had answered the questioning magical nudge of her daughter with a reassuring one of her own did Ferio physically nod and moved towards the building. It was obvious that she did not want to leave her mother after she had only just been reunited with her, but neither did she want to hinder her plans.

The Beastkin seemed to pick up on her intention to leave and gestured towards a small cobblestone road. "This way, my Lady."

Aperio just shook her head and quickly closed the distance between the two. "You will only show me where it is, not walk me there."

He was about to speak when she picked him up and took to the air. Joref went stiff at the rapid acceleration but otherwise remained strangely calm. Once they were high enough to see every island, the Beastkin started to look around, rapidly scanning each small landmass.

"Do you see that big, grey building over there?" he asked, pointing towards a small isle that somehow appeared to be darker than the others.

"That is Natio's temple?"

"Yes, it is," he replied, hesitating briefly before continuing. "It is known that Natio himself sometimes resides there."

He wanted her to be careful, something that she should appreciate, but the words only managed to irritate something within her. Wordlessly, Aperio descended and carefully set the man down.

Once Joref had joined the others inside the house of healing, Aperio took to the skies again. She flew as fast as she could, pushing past the small resistance in the air she felt and ignoring the sound it made. At such speeds, it only took a moment for her to reach her destination. Briefly, she considered simply crashing into the building as a way of stopping her flight, but ultimately she decided against it. She was after whoever had given the order against the children at the house of healing, not potential innocents who remained unknowing of what their God had done.

With a mighty beat of her wings, Aperio slowed herself enough to only crack the street slightly. Her rather violent landing attracted the attention of two Humans in dark grey robes, both of them warily approaching her before they simply halted in their tracks and turned back. A moment later a silver-framed window appeared in front of Aperio.

Entity designated 'Natio' has attempted to transport the Creator. Action converted to transportation request due to insufficient permissions.

Would the Creator like to accept the transportation request and enter area designated 'Natio's Dominion'?

Advent - Chapter 42: Harsh Lessons

Aperio hesitated, not quite sure if she really wanted to enter Natio's Dominion. If the System could classify it, she should have authority over it, shouldn't she? But what if I don't? ...How do I accept it, anyway? Her question was answered when a warm sensation enveloped her and another silver-framed window faded into existence.

Creator has accepted the transportation request. Preparing area for Creator.

What needs to be prepared? She thought to herself as she squinted at the System notification. Does it make sure that Natio won't be able to harm me or what?

Area designated 'Natio's Dominion' requires reinforcement before it is able to accommodate the Creator.

Aperio looked down at herself and then back to the tiny window before tilting her head slightly. What? Will it break if I go there? Just get me inside! She did not quite understand how a Dominion could break with just her presence. Her Void seemed pretty unbreakable to her, but that was probably because it belonged to her. If it is my Dominion it has to be able to house me, after all.

Her thoughts were interrupted as a silver-blue glow surrounded her, one that she had come to associate with her own magic. It was accompanied by a foreign pull on the mana in her well, something that gave her the impression that it should feel wrong but, against all odds, it did not. Roots did say that the System depends on me. Did he mean this? That it needs my mana?

Before she could further follow that line of thought, her surroundings faded away only to be replaced by a dimly-lit stone chamber. The fact that she found herself in something that could only be described as a torture chamber only managed to gain a passing interest. Aperio had seen enough of them in her time before the sacrifice to know that this one was paltry at best in its offerings. Why does a God need one, anyway? What did get her attention were the flames flickering in the braziers in the corners of the room. More specifically their colour. Why green?

Welcome to 'Natio's Dominion'! The owner of this area has been informed of your arrival.

Aperio squinted at the notification before she dismissed it and glanced around the room once more, looking for an exit. The Dominion seemed to react to her behaviour as a door appeared in front of her. Not wanting to immediately leave and possibly run into a trap, Aperio first tried to alter the colour of the flames. Just to make sure.

It required more than the mere thought she needed within her Void, but with a slight flex of her mental muscles the fire obeyed. Another small exertion caused the entire wall opposite the door to disappear, revealing a swirling abyss of black and green. I like my Void better.

Satisfied that she would not be defenceless against the owner of this Dominion, Aperio turned around and opened the door. It swung open with a creak she had thought reserved for dramatic plays and revealed a narrow passageway lit by equally theatrical green torches.

Taking her first steps into the hallway caused the flames to flicker and change to a more normal yellow. Why does he like green so much? At least the stones did not break beneath her every step.

A shift in her aura caught her attention, causing her to stop and focus on the affected area. Someone was there; a tall, broad figure that moved its hands through the air in front of it as if tapping on things. The room he resided in had naked stone walls, lit by sickly green flames – almost the exact same as the one she had first appeared in. Is he really a God? Why would he want to spend his time in a place like this?

Aperio could only tilt her head at the strange behaviour and resume her journey towards the individual. It took her a couple more steps before she realised something that should have been obvious, especially after she had used her Void to teleport herself and Ferio to a different place in the mortal realm.

Closing her eyes, Aperio attempted to grasp the space behind the figure with her mind. Once she felt her mana take hold, she gave it a twist she was sure broke many laws of the universe. My laws?

With a tearing noise she had come to associate with the ripping of her clothes, Aperio found herself behind the hooded man she had seen through her aura. He whipped around to face the intruder, staring at her with glowing green orbs that hovered in an otherwise black abyss inside his hood.

Something told Aperio that the man – Natio, she had to assume – was attempting to be imposing and frightening with his dark grey robe and glowing eyes, but to her he felt surprisingly weak. He did not even manage to make half the impact in her aura that Ferio had. And he wants to kill me?

The tilting of her head seemed enough of a motion to break the tense silence that had settled inside stone chamber. "So, the 'The Sacred Goddess' thinks she can claim my Domain," Natio said, taking a step closer. "Awfully pretentious title for a new Goddess, is it not?"

Aperio did not answer his question, simply tilting her head to the other side. He did not strike her as particularly evil or godly. More like a pampered noble that thought the world belonged to him. Is that what my title means? Wait. He knows that, but not that I made the system? What did Vigil and Inanis tell him?

"The silent type? No matter, you won't leave here for a while." He took a few steps to the side to get a better view of Aperio, his gaze feeling distressingly similar to the calculated assessment of a slave owner. "Maybe after I break you I can give you to Vigil so I can get my Custodian access back. He does have a fable for deities of Moon Elven descent."

The statement caused her anger to rapidly rise to the forefront of her mind again and her aura to flare up a little, enough to make Natio take a step back. Her wondering about the nature of Dominions and their interaction with the System had been a good distraction from the rage that had fuelled her mad dash to get here, but now that the man had openly admitted to wanting to enslave her to get something back Vigil could not give him, it was back in force. "Why did you send your knights to kill innocents? Children?"

Natio raised an eyebrow at her question, seemingly unconcerned with the steadily rising pressure from her aura. "Vigil told me that you were interfering with his plans. And, since you already lay claim to my Domain, I saw no reason to deny his request. I also want my Custodian access back; not that you would know what that is."

"Do their lives mean nothing to you?!"

Her outburst was accompanied by a wave of mana that caused the braziers in the room to burst into bright silver-blue flames and Natio to take another step back.

"Do you think you are better just because you are strong?"

"I will not be attacked in my Dominion!" he yelled, pointing his hand at Aperio and yanking it down in a sharp motion. "Kneel before your betters!"

His words were accompanied by a subtle pressure at the back of her mind – one she knew all too well. One that made her disregard the last bits of calm that had settled on her mind since she had burned the knights.

With steps that sent cracks racing through the stone floor, Aperio moved towards her target. Unperturbed by the pressure building around her and the yells of the God that had come to realise his Dominion was no longer his own, the winged Goddess slowly lifted her hand. Then, with a sharp motion, she grabbed something only she could see and pulled it towards her.

A moment later Natio found himself sailing through the air, only to be stopped by a fist that impacted into his stomach far harder than mere flesh and bone had any right to. He crumpled at her feet, gasping for air that he did not even need. His reprieve was cut short as he was lifted to face the Goddess he had assumed to be new and powerless.

"You do not deserve to be a God."

As soon as the words finished passing through her lips, something cold and sharp pierced her abdomen and caused her to drop Natio in surprise. She had not seen when the other God had summoned a sword, nor had she expected any blade to be able to hurt her. With a grunt, she pulled the weapon free and threw it to the side, the wound already closed by the time the blade hit the wall.

The disgraced God had taken the time to distance himself from the now very angry Goddess, using the opportunity to also summon a wicked-looking scythe. Despite the fact that his sword had been able to hurt her, Aperio could not help but pause confusedly at the sight of the farming implement as his next choice of weapon.

With a wave of his hand, numerous sickly green orbs sprang to life around him. Their appearance was accompanied by a wave of disgust that was only rivalled by her memories of her dreaded collar. Whatever those spheres of green were, Natio would need to be punished. For using them, certainly, but also possibly for having created them as well.

Natio seemed to interpret her surprised pause as fearful hesitation as his lips twisted into a vile smile. "Not so big on words now, are we? Now tell me what you did to my Dominion."

"Nothing."

He only laughed at her answer, obviously not believing what she had said. "Are you Vigil's new plaything already? Did he mess with my Dominion?"

The spheres danced around him, flaring slightly at his words and lingering for just a moment longer before they darted towards the winged Goddess. Aperio was ready to strike them down with magic of her own, a blue flame already in her hand, but paused when the orbs slowed their approach. The closer they got, the dimmer the green glow they emitted grew. Once they had reached Aperio's side, they had turned into the multitude of colours she had seen before in her Void.

Souls?

She stopped her hand just shy of one of the orbs, remembering what her touch had done to Maria. Instead, she slashed her hand downwards, opening a rift to her Void. It required more effort than it usually did, but as soon as it was open the soul orbs rapidly flew into the opening and, for a brief moment, Aperio thought that she could detect something akin to gratefulness from those who were escaping.

"I am nobody's plaything," Aperio spat, closing the rift again. "Vigil will be dealt with after I am done with you."

Again, he only laughed, as if her statement was the funniest thing he has heard. This time, however, there was a nervous edge to it. A slight, unsteady shift in pitch that she would have never noticed before. No longer wanting to talk to the obviously deranged God, Aperio closed the distance between the two in the blink of an eye. Natio tried to cut her with his scythe, but now that she was aware of the rather unwieldy weapon it was easy to deflect it.

He took a few steps back, just enough to be outside her reach and summoned a green flame which he hurled at Aperio. She ducked low, not wanting to get hit by magic she did not know, letting the fire sail over her and harmlessly splash against the wall behind her. The flames had not felt particularly threatening, but after Natio had managed to embed a sword in her stomach, she was not as inclined to let herself get hit again as she was before.

Natio did not let up, summoning a wave of sickly green fire that swept her way, only for it to be parted by a thin silver barrier. Simply using her mana directly was proving to be the way to go for Aperio, at least as far as blocking the attacks of others went. Dealing damage herself was best left to her own blue fire; burning the soul out of a body was a sure-fire way to defeat your enemy.

Seeing that his magic showed no effect, Natio closed the distance with a dash that Aperio was quite sure was only possible because they were in his Dominion. Not that it gives him an advantage. If he had tried to use whatever authority a Dominion usually had, she had not noticed it.

The blade of the scythe struck at her neck, only to be deflected by a raised wing. The defence cost her a few feathers and a slight nick in the bones of her feathery appendages. His next strike was cut short as Aperio grabbed hold of the weapon with one hand and ripped it free from his grip, causing him to stumble forward only to be sent flying by a punch delivered from her free fist.

He crashed into the wall of his Dominion apocrypha, but did not break it. A silver-blue film of mana had spread over every surface of the room, stopping the self-proclaimed God of Death from breaking through its walls.

Before his feet reached the ground, Aperio was already next to him. She delivered another punch that sent him into the floor with a wet crack. A spark of joy flashed through Aperio's mind as she flung the now bleeding body of Natio across the room into the other wall. Letting out her frustrations on someone who more than deserved every bit of pain she gave him felt good — almost disgustingly so — but she did not want to stop.

She would continue her onslaught until he was broken, until he was dead, until he was...

A glimmer of doubt surfaced in her mind and Aperio, seeing what it was, embraced it. It was true that killing Natio here and now was what she wanted to do, but if she went through with it, it would only mean that she was more like him than she would be able to accept. It would be an act of doing what she wanted merely because nobody could stop her. No. No, there had to be another way. With a shake of her head, she grabbed the limp body of Natio and hoisted him up.

His head hung to the side, the man clearly no longer conscious. The vicious part of her psyche flared up again, gleefully pointing out that killing him – as he so rightly deserved – would be so simple. Just grab his head, and pull. Just that one simple task, and people would thank her for ridding the world of a vile evil. A good portion of her wanted to do exactly that, crying out for the death of this foolish God who had dared to question her – dare to see her as anything less than perfect.

Another part rebelled against that notion, not because she wanted to spare the man, but because she did not want to give in to the feelings of superiority. No matter how good and right they felt, Aperio wanted to reject them. She wasn't perfect. The fact that she was struggling to find the right choice right now and the cut in her dress where Natio had stabbed her showed as much. And yet, it felt so right to think of herself that way.

She shrugged the thoughts away as, suddenly, she had another idea. One that might be crueller than simply death, but also fairer.

Slowly she pushed her mana into him, trying to find the foundation that Ferio had described. If that was indeed the key to his Godhood, she would take it from him. Force him to live the life of a mortal and be judged by those he wronged. If they decided he should die, he would. If they wanted him to endure what he had inflicted onto them – he would.

It was not long before she found something within the mana of Natio that felt familiar. Not in the way of the blessing she had given to Laelia or the bond she shared with Maria, but more of the foreign feeling that she had felt when the System had transported her here. Aperio grabbed hold of the seed of mana, a tiny fraction of what coursed through the man's body, and ripped it out.

A moment later Natio's eyes shot wide open and he let out an agonising scream that would have caused Aperio to rush to his aid had she not known what he had planned for the children and herself. Serves you right.

She could feel the mana rushing out of his body, the System-given seed seemingly the only thing that had allowed the man to amass that much in the first place. The fact that the System had given something like this to such a person gave Aperio pause. Who else might have the ability to become a God like this? She considered trying to do something about it, but realized that changing anything in the System was not within her ability's scope at the moment. She simply didn't know enough about it. Vague feelings of wrong and right were not sufficient for her to tamper with something that this world – and possibly others – depended on.

A new window that appeared in her vision diverted her attention from the screaming man she held and the possibility of more Natios running around in the world. The notification had turned fully silver, somehow managing to look official even though it was just a tiny window hanging in the air.

Natio, God of the Underworld, has fallen from grace.

Any blessings or curses given by this deity will lose their effect.

Aperio squinted at the window for a moment. Did only I see that, or...? A new window did fade into existence, but her unspoken question did not receive an answer.

The owner of this area has lost all rights of Dominion ownership. This space will be discarded once all residents and guests have left.

As there was no longer any reason to remain where she was, Aperio tried to move back to the mortal realm in the same manner as she did from her Void. It seemed that Natio's removal from godhood had also removed whatever had imposed the higher effort of her magic within the Dominion, as now it only required a thought to twist reality apart and form a rift back to the house of healing.

She threw the still limp body of the fallen God through first before she stepped through herself. On the other side she was greeted by an unnaturally happy Ferio, who had immediately bound Natio in flaming ropes that seared his flesh. Next to draw her attention was the weary, quiet presence of Laelia, followed by the assortment of people who had watched her kill the knights.

A mere glance at any one of them was sufficient to answer the question she had had earlier. Without a doubt, they had seen the silver notification.

Advent - Chapter 43: Divine Punishment

Aperio regarded the crowd for a moment longer before she closed the small distance that separated her from the unconscious heap of a man that was Natio. A small wave of her hand righted the bound man and caused him to float just above the ground. The ropes that restrained him had lost a bit of their heat, probably so Natio would not be cooked alive. Not the he doesn't deserve it.

"This is Natio," Aperio said. "Advocate for murder and enslavement of innocents. For his transgressions he has been stripped of his status as a God and awaits judgement by you. Whatever you decide his sentence will be, I will carry out."

The gathered people in front of her gave each other confused glances, seemingly not that comfortable with judging an ex-god. It took a while longer before they started to talk amongst themselves, low murmurs that, while audible, were not understood by Aperio.

What she did understand, however, was the touch of her daughter's magic brushing past the edges of her mind. The slightly bloodied cut in her dress had not gone unnoticed and, while Ferio did not look overly concerned, there was an urgency to her magic that belied her outward appearance.

It was clear that she did not like her mother getting injured, likely fearing a repeat of what had made her disappear in the first place. Aperio could understand the worry, appreciate it even, but in this case it was not warranted. Something told her that getting stabbed – even in the heart – would not be as lethal as it was supposed to be.

Once she had reassured her daughter that she was indeed fine, there came another question. Apparently that her dress was still ripped was weird. Aperio could only tilt her head at the comment. Am I supposed to fix it now? I don't have what I need to sew with me. Aperio pushed the thoughts from her mind; she would deal with her clothing situation after the people present decided on what should happen to Natio.

That was until she remembered that she no longer needed such trivial tools to fix things. Simply willing her dress to be whole again did, sadly, not work. Going through the motions of sewing it back together in her mind, the string replaced with a thin thread of mana, however, did. Her magically conjured fabric blended seamlessly into the dress, leaving no trace that there was ever even the tiniest tear in it. Maybe I should make a whole dress like this.

Or maybe not? The people were still staring at the bound and floating form, only the occasional murmur breaking the silence. Do they want him to go free? ...Or are they scared he will punish them?

"Do you not wish him to answer for what he has done?" Aperio grabbed the man by the throat after her words; if they did not want to deliver a punishment, she would do it herself. "Then I will judge him."

Her action caused Kario to step forwards with head slightly lowered. "How are we supposed to punish a God? He will just kill us once you are gone."

Aperio tilted her head at the question. "Did you not see the notification?"

He gave a hesitant nod in reply, seemingly not quite understanding why it was of importance.

"Then you should know that Natio is no longer a God. He is a normal mortal now." She poked at him with her magic, trying to get a feeling for his strength. After she had removed the seed of the System, the man seemed to have almost no mana anymore. "He is likely weaker than Laelia's child now." The girl had not even flinched after she had ran into Aperio, something the winged Goddess was fairly sure would hurt without some form of magical aid. Only my voice hurt her, visibly at least. I should have really asked Ferio for help with that.

Her answer brought an eerie silence to the onlookers and caused their eyes to wander to the man she still held by the throat. The amount of attention it required to not accidentally squash the man was quite unnerving for Aperio, but ignoring it was not an option in this case. Only once they have made up their minds. Or leave it to me.

Kario obviously wanted to say something, as his mouth continued to open and close, but despite his efforts no sound managed to emerge from his lips. Then, the silver-furred Beastkin put his hand to the man's shoulder, and Aperio perked up. She felt a bit of mana flow from the Beastkin into the nervous Human, and in order to spare the proper amount of mental attention to the phenomenon she let go of Natio, allowing his unconscious form to resume hovering.

The intent of the magic was much like what Ferio had done with Laelia and herself once before. A calming presence, soothing to the troubled mind. Seeing it done by a mortal would normally not have made the Elven Goddess worry too much, but the concerning part was the corresponding pull of the System on her mana.

If someone used this magic to soothe the mind of another, what would stop them from using it to influence people in other ways? That the Gods and Goddesses of the world could do it was bad enough already, but at least with them she now knew for certain she could do something. But should I?

Further thoughts were interrupted as Natio started to wake in his bonds. He strained against the ropes for a moment before he noticed the people watching him and stopped. She felt the little mana he had left struggle to move through his body, trying to follow what he wanted to do. It was obvious that, whatever it was that he was attempting, it was too much for what remained of his power. His eyes widened as he, too, realised that fact.

Aperio could feel how his breathing quickened, how his muscles tensed whenever someone moved or even looked at him. She also felt him freeze up when she stepped next to him, and wince when she addressed the crowd. "What will his punishment be?"

Natio renewed his struggles against the ropes that held him, only for them to ignite again, eliciting a pained hiss from the fallen God. Aperio felt a spark of joy at the man’s pain that deeply unnerved her. She did not want to enjoy it but something within her saw things differently. The struggle between two parts of her mind – between what she felt, and what she wanted – was familiar, and in a rush it brought with it memories she had never wanted to remember.

The smell of iron and rust and dusty mold as the guards took her from her cell. The uncomfortable enjoyment of being able to lie on an actual bed, with a mattress and sheets that, though dirty, were vastly superior to anything else she might have had, before the joy was taken away from her with the bite of the rope that bound her. The way her own body moved of its own accord, forced to pleasure them all. Repeatedly. And the disgust, the nausea at the realization that, on some level, something within her was enjoying it. How her entire being shuddered with pleasure – one that she did not know was genuine or collar-dictated – at the act. Her mind screamed for it to stop, but her mouth only spurred them on in their vile acts.

And now, she recalled everything. Every detail shone with more clarity than it ever had before. The tiny voice that had asked how she had been able to stay sane during an entire lifetime as a slave was suddenly drowned out in a deluge of unwanted images and sensations, all of which were as real to her as the moment in which she had lived them.

There was something in her that took pleasure in the pain of others. It was something she did not want – even if the other might potentially deserve it. Upon recognizing it, she wholeheartedly rejected the feeling, shoving it deep down within her where it would remain unacted upon. Unfelt. Where it belonged. She had recently begun to trust her newfound instincts a little more, but she would have to seriously reevaluate that notion now.

The touch of a hand on her shoulder ripped Aperio from her thoughts and caused her to turn her head. Ferio was standing next to her, eyes full of what Aperio could guess was concern. Instead of speaking, she sent a questioning magical nudge. The form of communication conveyed more feelings of worry than mere words ever could. Aperio tried her best to dissuade her daughter's worries, trying to tell her that it was just a bad memory.

The mention of her past had been the wrong decision.

Aperio could feel the heat rising around Ferio, could see the hands of her daughter quiver with barely constrained rage. It only lasted for a moment, however. Ferio released a heavy breath that briefly heated the immediate area enough to make Natio release a pained growl.

"We will need to have another talk, mother," Ferio said quietly.

Aperio simply nodded in reply; she, too, still had some questions. The people in front of them had distanced themselves a bit from Ferio, but otherwise did not seem to mind the rather ungodly exchange very much at all. Or they think that they will get punished if they do something despite me having asked? But, they don't look particularly scared.

As silence still reigned, Aperio chose to direct the attention back to the topic at hand: What to do with Natio. "If you do not want to decide his sentence, I could bring him before one of your [Judicators]. Or deliver a punishment that I see fit."

"I not think we be of much help," Laelia said. "What right we have to judge actions of a God?"

Aperio had to pause at the question. In her mind they had every right to judge what a God was doing, but actually doing so had probably gotten people killed in the past. So if I start punishing other Gods, they will get even more scared of me, won't they? ...Is that why Vigil and Inanis tried to kill me? Because I did something that could not go unpunished?

She shook off the memories of the past with a twitch of her head. "You have every right to judge someone for doing wrong. No matter if they are a God, Goddess or something else."

Laelia seemed hesitant, wanting to ask something, which she only did after Aperio gestured for her to continue. "Even you?"

"Yes? Why would I be the exception?"

The eyes of her paladin slowly alternated from the very silent form of Natio back to Aperio. "Because you just stripped a God of his might as if it was nothing?"

Aperio wanted to object. That it was not nothing, she had been stabbed after all. But that only happened because I did not know what I should do. Because I was hesitant. In truth, stripping Natio's godhood had been easy, disgustingly so. But that was because it came from the System. Not all deities depend on that, right?

A quick, almost panicked, magically aided question to her daughter got her an answer. No, not every God or Goddess depends on the System, but a significant number do. Then can I also just make someone a God? The thought was pushed down again very quickly. She did not trust herself enough to start making Gods and Goddesses. Or did I already? Laelia's blessing was far greater in its scope than what Vigil had given her and Aperio herself still did not understand how any of it worked. I might have.

"If I do something you find objectionable, I expect you to inform me," Aperio replied. "But now, what should happen to Natio?"

The man stiffened at the mention of his name. Maybe he had hoped that they would somehow forget about him while they talked about Aperio's rather simple philosophy. The rest of the people had also remained quiet, almost suspiciously so, but now they were again quietly talking amongst themselves. Despite the length of time in which they had to deliberate, none of them had as yet dared to address Aperio's question. The lack of input from the people that Natio had wanted to kill started to get on her nerves, something she knew should not happen so easily.

It was Joref that eventually stepped forward to voice his opinion. "We could always use more hands around the house. He would not be allowed near the residents, but cleaning is still important."

The suggestion gave Aperio pause. She had expected them to ask for his death, or his torture. To ask for vengeance. She had thought that their reluctance to ask for such a thing was the reason for their continued silence. "You want the man that ordered his knights to kill the people under your care to clean as recompense for his actions?"

"Yes," Joref replied. The people behind him also began to slowly nod their assent at his suggestion.

"Not what you expected, mother?" Ferio asked.

Aperio just gave a slight shake of her head as reply. It was most definitely not what she had expected. "I expected them to want him dead."

"This is a house of healing. They take care of anyone that comes; you won't find people that cry for blood here."

"I guess not," the winged Goddess said in a quiet voice. "But if it is what they want, then so be it. Laelia." The mention of her name caused the paladin to turn away from the child that peeked out behind her legs. "I wish for you to remain here and keep watch over Natio. If he does anything out of line, do what you deem necessary. If you need anything of me, pray. I will come."

"Yes, my Goddess!" The words were delivered with a conviction that Aperio herself found rather startling. She had certainly had a great impact on Laelia's life in the short time they had known each other, but she did not believe it would result in such reverence.

"Ferio, I believe we have more to discuss," Aperio said, holding out her hand to her daughter.

"Yes, mother," Ferio replied, taking the offered hand. A thought later, they were back in homely embrace of Aperio's Void.

Advent - Chapter 44: Atelophobia

As soon as the pair had appeared in the Void, Aperio spread her wings and let herself fall backwards onto the soft nothing – simply hanging in the inky blackness was more comfortable than any bed she had been on before. And it doesn't squish my wings.

"Exhausted?"

The words caused Aperio to sit up and direct her eyes towards her daughter and give her a slight nod; she was exhausted. Mentally, at least. Her physical self, in comparison, felt as good as it had since she had been sacrificed, and the disparity between body and mind – one still ready and willing to do any activity, the other at the end of its ability and wanting to do nothing more than rest – was not something Aperio had ever expected to feel.

"I noticed the cut in your dress," Ferio said as her eyes wandered to the spot where it once had been. "Those don't just appear out of nowhere. Are you sure you are fine?"

Aperio's hand went to the now repaired patch of her dress on its own volition. She did not feel like anything was wrong, and the wound had healed immediately. The only thing that had still been damaged after her return to the mortal world was her dress and that, too, had been fixed.

"I think so, yes. It was only a small cut that was already healed when I pulled the sword out. It did not even hurt."

A brief expression of concern flickered across her daughter's face before she spoke again. "Do you have the blade with you? Or do you at least know what kind of sword it was?"

"I do not know what it was, nor do I have it. The System told me that Natio's Dominion would be removed after I left it, so I doubt the weapon still exists."

"Can't you just make the System recreate the sword?"

The words caused Aperio to pause. Could I? She knew the sword, to an extent: how it looked, how it felt, how much it weighed. Would that be enough? Even if it was, it did not immediately solve the problem, for she still did not truly know how to wield her own power, and by extent, the powers of the System. Thus far, she had but to merely want something to happen and through inexplicable, inscrutable magics it would come to be.

Is there a menu I can use? Natio was tapping on something before he fought me, maybe that was a System menu for his Dominion? Closing her eyes, Aperio tried to recall how the System's pull on the mana in her well had felt and, after pushing past a small barrier, her mind was again flooded with strange lists. Meaningless names and symbols floated past her attention's focus, as well as bizarre weaves of mana that drifted by, their shapes nothing but nonsense to her.

Yet, despite its mind-bending nature, looking at the System filled her with a sense of calm and, to a lesser degree, pride. As no easy to understand window appeared before her, Aperio tried to read the symbols and names in hope of gleaming some form of knowledge.

Much to her surprise, she was able to understand a good number of the symbols – runes, as she now had to notice. The first time she had looked within the System she had been too overwhelmed by the mess of mana and glyphs to properly attempt to read any of it, and had disregarded the whole as something she could not hope to understand. It was a mistake on her part, as it turned out.

The runes weren't like the ones the Empire or the village had used. These were vastly more complex, twisting in on themselves in ways that would make them impossible to carve on stone, or any other surface in the mortal world.

Most of them had simple meanings despite their complex shapes, simply comparing things and then directing them onward to even more complex sets of runes. What caught her interest, though, and what likely held the answers she sought, was a lone set of very intricate runes. Aperio understood them to mean 'assistance', something she was in dire need of at the moment.

Feeding the 'assistance' rune a tiny bit of her mana caused Aperio to open her eyes as a shudder ran through her. Before her eyes a window stitched itself together, much slower than the ones she had seen previously. When it eventually did appear, it was a lot less helpful than she had initially thought it would be.

Unable to process request: Cannot scan Creator.

Well, that was useless. What is it supposed to assist with anyway if it has to scan me?

Purpose: Assist users with System-provided skills by providing knowledge of usage and application.

Aperio squinted at the window; that was exactly what she wanted the System to do for her. But, as she was the origin of the System itself, she likely did not possess any skills that came from the System. More like all its functions come from me.

With a sigh, she willed the window to disappear. At least she got some form of knowledge from the endeavour. She knew that she could, in fact, understand a few things about the System. Not enough to try and tinker with it to any degree, but she now knew where to look for more information.

"I do not know," Aperio finally said, steeling herself for the abhorrent feelings she was sure would come with her next few words. "I barely understand what most of the runes even mean. Sometimes it does what I want with barely a thought and other times it does not. I do not know why."

"Maybe it needs more time to turn back on? It did take quite a while to even recognise you as its creator after all."

Aperio let herself fall back onto the soft nothing of her Void before she replied. "Perhaps. Or perhaps it broke while I was gone." And I can't fix it.

"So we are back to the issue of regaining your memories. But before we start with that, there are a few things we need to talk about." Her daughter's voice had gained an unsteady quality, something Aperio could not quite place. Concern? Or is she angry?

"I think we need to talk about your past, even if it is uncomfortable for you," Ferio said. "The way you just lock up and stare into the distance can't be healthy, even for you. What would happen if you remember something violent and someone comes to see what is wrong, only for you to kill them by accident? You made it quite clear that you don't want to hurt people without good reason. I might not agree with – or even understand – some of your new beliefs; but you are still my mother and I want to try my best to help you."

Aperio remained silent. She did not want to talk about her previous life – she wanted to forget it even happened. There was, she believed, nothing of value to be gained by talking about it. In fact, given her new mental abilities, she would only relive the horrors of it, in greater detail than she had previously thought possible.

The Void thickened, blanketing the winged Goddess with darkness as it reacted to her desire to be alone. Aperio embraced it, taking comfort in her obscured form. Through the use of her aura she could see Ferio rubbing the bridge of her nose, obviously not pleased with her mother's reaction.

"I am just trying to help you, mother. Talking about these things helps, trust me. I... I have been through something similar, when you disappeared. And, I have helped countless mortals who have lived a life not too far removed from what you are describing. But I cannot help if you don't want to be helped." Ferio paused, letting out a heavy sigh before she continued in a quiet voice. "I don't want to lose you again."

The whispered words caused Aperio to right herself and step out of the shadows that had appeared around her. What her daughter had said did not quite make sense to her. "Though I do not wish to talk about it, it does not mean I would leave you. I do not plan to go anywhere."

"If you continue to separate yourself from everyone else, mother, and avoid trusting anyone? You might as well have left." Ferio breathed deeply, for reasons Aperio couldn't place, then her daughter spoke again. "I know that it pains you to admit your faults, but believe me when I say that it is now more important than ever to admit that you cannot do it alone. That, in this respect, you are not perfect."

A part of her instantly awoke, rebelling against the notion of being anything less than perfect, wanting to strike down Ferio to show her where she belonged. Aperio froze in shock at her own thoughts. Why would I ever do that? The mere idea that even the tiniest part of her would even consider hurting her own daughter disgusted her more than anything else. A sinking feeling of doubt snaked its way through her mind, causing her to question whether she should ever consider finding out the sort of person she had been before.

Ferio spoke again, breaking the silence. "You helped me before, when I needed it. Please... Let me help you."

Aperio rejected the rebelling part of her brain then and there. She would not hurt her family.

Ever.

If she could, she would rip that part out of herself. It was irritating at the best of times, and right now it was starting to terrify her. What kind of person had she been? Was this the way her previous self had felt? Aperio shuddered, but knew that in the end, in order to find answers, she would have to mentally go where she did not wish to.

Despite her not listening to the feeling, she still could not bring herself to actually recount what had happened to her. She wanted to forget, but the change that had returned her strength had also made it impossible to do that. Aperio knew, deep down, that she would never truly forget. That she would carry the weight of her previous life forwards with her, potentially into eternity. Maybe it was the universe getting back at her for dying the first time – causing her to live a life that never quite managed to break her while she lived it, but now that she thought she had escaped its clutches the sheer force of its memory would tear her mind apart. A last parting gift from the world before it could no longer impose its will on its creator.

On me.

Pushing the memories down and focusing on the here and now was sadly not as easy as simply willing the thoughts away. There was a persistent nagging idea that she had done something that caused the other Gods to betray her, that it actually was her fault and not a coup as Ferio had implied.

"I need time," Aperio finally replied as the darkness drew closer again. "I am not yet ready. But you are right – I do need to talk at some point. ...Thank you."

Aperio closed her eyes and took a deep breath of the soothing nothing of her Void. Letting it wash over every fiber of her being in an attempt to wash off the haunting feeling of ghostly needles piercing her skin and eager hands exploring places that they had no right to. Another breath, to try to silence the echo of the arrogant voice of the Emperor's son – his orders, his forcing her to do things. Things she did not ever want to remember. Things that, given her perfect memory, she was forced to witness for the second time.

Her thoughts were interrupted by arms wrapping around her and a serene warmth spreading throughout her entire being. The magic of her daughter did wonders to calm her mind. Simply letting herself drift in the comforting nothing of her Void in the embrace of family managed to do what her previous attempt had not. It pushed the memories of her past from her mind, allowing some of Aperio's worries to fade.

"Thank you," she whispered, returning the embrace with shaking arms and wings.

Ferio did not reply immediately, instead holding tighter onto her mother. "Please let me help you," she said after a few more moments. "You never gave me the chance to before you disappeared, and now I fear you will do so again even when you need it more than ever."

At Aperio's continued silence, Ferio held the hug for a brief moment longer before she separated herself from her mother. "When you decide you are ready, I will be there for you."

"Thank you," the winged Goddess said again. The next words felt sour on her tongue, but she pushed them out into the open anyhow. "I think, before I can do that, I need to remember who I was before." Doubt and fear swirled in her mind at the inevitability of confronting the shadow of her past self, but she squashed them down as she allowed herself a change of topic. "I would also like to take care of Vigil now, but I doubt he will do as Natio did and simply invite me into his Dominion. I also do not know how to strip him of his godhood without seeing him."

The shift in the nature of their discussion caused Ferio to briefly pause as she considered it. "So you will go into the Ebenlowe dungeon first?"

"Yes," Aperio replied with a small nod, further convincing the unpleasant feelings within her to stay squashed. "Will you join me?"

"Of course!"

The ecstatic reply was not what Aperio had anticipated, but it brought with it a pleasant warmth in her chest that she could not quite describe. As soon as Ferio had taken her mother's offered hand, Aperio parted the fabric of reality and brought them back to the house of healing. She did want to check up on Laelia before she left.

Advent - Chapter 45: House Call

The door to the house of healing shook as Aperio knocked lightly on the wood. Fearing it would break, she ceased the movement and hoped that her barrage had been enough. She was about to ask Ferio to knock for her when the door was opened from the inside.

The man opened his mouth to greet the two Goddesses when Aperio heard rapid steps that were quickly followed by a shout she could not understand. A moment later, she saw Laelia's daughter fly down the hallway towards her, followed shortly thereafter by her foster mother.

Before the paladin had time to catch up, the girl had launched herself at the winged Goddess. Aperio caught the girl, taking a step back and lowering her arms along the girl’s path to soften the impact. The child immediately wrapped her arms around the Goddess as best she could and started to babble words that had no meaning to Aperio.

"I am sorry, my Goddess." Laelia said. "She not know how to behave. Very thankful that you saved her..." Her voice trailed off as she scrunched her brows, looking for the correct word.

"Brothers?" Aperio guessed. She spoke as softly as she could, trying to not cause any undue pain to the girl clinging to her. "And you need not be sorry. This is preferable to the usual pretentious behaviour."

Her paladin gave a nod despite the confused expression that had settled on her features. The woman seemingly still did not understand that Aperio did not like the formalities that being a Goddess entailed. Maybe it's the language barrier?

Learning a few more languages – especially the ones the Humans used – would certainly be helpful. Or will that be something I could recall after taking out a few of the crystals? Aperio had no great desire to sit down and learn a language like she had done with Moria, though with her drastically improved memory it should be a lot easier. Is there a limit to how much I can know?

She pushed the rather weird line of thought back down and instead returned her focus on the people present. The girl in her arms had stopped her stream of words once she realised the Goddess was not listening; instead, she had waited until both Aperio and Laelia had settled into silence to wiggle herself around and ask her foster mother something.

Whatever it was caused Ferio to stifle a laugh and answer before the Human had a chance. The girl seemed excited at the words as her eyes began to sparkle and she immediately asked the fiery-haired Goddess another question. This time, the girl froze at the answer and very slowly turned to look the winged Goddess in the eyes. Aperio could only give her daughter a confused look that was accompanied by a questioning magical nudge.

"She wanted to know why the 'pretty Elf’s words are so loud when she barely speaks'," Ferio said. "So I told her that you are a Goddess and that her mother serves under you, which caused her to ask what you are the Goddess of. I thought 'everything' is pretty accurate."

Aperio blinked at her daughter. If her title was to be believed, then Ferio's claim was certainly true, but she really did not want that to be the case. The idea of being able to just make a universe – or, at the very least, the creation of a System that was able to influence every form of life that lived in it, including the sapient species – simply did not sit right with her. It also seemed so outlandish! How would anyone ever be capable of something like that? That line of thinking brought her mind back to the crystals and the knowledge she hoped they would hold. Only one way to find out.

"I hope it did not scare her," Aperio said, looking at the still-frozen child in her arms. "I am not scary, am I?"

"Sometimes you scary," Laelia admitted. "But Brenia not scared. Probably asking herself many question and try to find right ones to ask you."

"I am afraid I will not have time to answer questions. I merely came by to make sure Natio was not making any trouble, and to let you know that I will be seeking out the dungeon in this city."

Laelia stood a bit straighter at the mention of the dungeon. "Wish me to join?"

"No," Aperio replied with a slight shake of her head. "I would like you to keep watch over the people here. Perhaps spend a bit more time with your family. Speaking of which, may I see your sons before I leave?" While she could see them perfectly fine through her aura, Aperio felt like actually going to visit them was the right thing to do.

Her paladin seemed confused by her question, remaining silent for a moment with her brows slightly scrunched together. The prolonged silence caused the part of herself Aperio was seriously starting to hate to call for the head of the insolent wench that would not answer the question of her Goddess. Luckily, she was getting better at ignoring the feeling, simply pushing it into the deepest abyss of her conscience where it belonged.

"Of course," Laelia finally said with a small rise in pitch that spoke of her uncertainty.

Aperio suddenly had an unpleasant inkling as to why the paladin seemed uncertain and hesitant. "Are you not used to being shown basic decency by the one you serve?"

"I used to receiving orders," she replied. "Hidden as request or statement. What I want not matter."

"It does matter to me. If you are not fine with something I do or ask of you, please, tell me." After she had received a small nod from Laelia, Aperio continued. "Then, may I see your sons?"

This time the Human only had the briefest of pauses before she nodded and motioned for the two Goddesses to follow. During their exchange Brenia had kept quiet, returning to hugging the winged Goddess. She had either not fully understood what Ferio had said or – what Aperio dearly hoped was true – did not care.

As they walked down the halls, the people they passed glanced their way out of simple common curiosity. However, as what they saw happened to be someone they knew to be a Goddess, being hugged by the child she carried, the simple glances turned quickly into prolonged stares. Clearly, they were seeing something that was far beyond what they considered to be normal.

Aperio did her best to ignore them, a task that should have been easy if it weren't for her aura providing her with information about every little detail in her surroundings. Relegating the influx from her aura to the back of her mind helped a little, but did not stop it. Slowing it to a trickle, like she could when she had just figured out that she could use it, did not really work anymore. At least it does not seem to bother the people as much anymore.

She did not know if they had simply gotten used to her rather overbearing mana or if the System recognising her as its creator again had brought the change, but she would not complain. If it helped her stand out a little less, it was welcome. Now I just to have to find more people with wings so that won't attract undue attention. Hiding her feathered appendages was something she would rather not do, even if she was technically capable of doing so.

Stepping through one last door, the group entered the room that held the two boys who were still asleep in their beds. At least, that is how things appeared. Aperio, however, knew better. Both boys had reacted to their mother entering the room, and when Aperio had stepped through as well they had both tensed up, trying their best to pretend to sleep. The winged Goddess gently lowered Brenia, much to the girl’s dismay, before stepping nearer to the beds.

Only now did she allow herself to closer inspect the two children through her aura, trying to find any damage she might have missed the first time. Much to her relief, she was unable to see anything wrong.

"How long have they pretended to be asleep now?"

"A few hours," Laelia replied. "I thought best to let rest."

"It probably is. Physically they are fine; they likely need time to process what has happened to them." Maybe they can forget it ever did. Aperio briefly tried to imagine what it would be like to have multiple souls within her, each vying for supremacy. She shuddered, and hoped that the boys would manage to forget. "If you need my help, just ask."

Her paladin hesitated again before she nodded, a motion that made Aperio fairly certain she would not ask when she should. "I mean it, Laelia; ask if you need help."

"I will," she said, her voice still carrying a note of uncertainty that brought a tinge of sadness and anger to Aperio's mind. She also felt the magic of her daughter brush past the edges of her mind, telling her that she should take her own advice.

Ferio was correct, of course. She should listen to her own advice. Take the offer her daughter had made. But, she could not bring herself to do so. The act of asking for help felt disgusting. The need to remember her life as a slave? Even more disgusting. But, at the same time, completely avoiding talking about it also felt utterly wrong.

Admitting to herself that she was not perfect should be easy. It was true after all; nobody is perfect. But a sizable portion of her psyche outright rejected the notion of being seen as anything but utter perfection.

With a mental sigh, Aperio turned to leave, but not before giving Brenia a very gentle pat on the head. The way the child did not care about what she was and what she could do was refreshing. I hope it stays that way.

"Now, what are you having the newest member of staff do?" She had already found where Natio was, but he currently resided in a place she would not give any more attention than necessary to. What he was doing there was answered by Laelia's next words.

"Latrine duty."

Aperio had to do her best to not laugh at the statement. Yesterday he was a God, and now he cleans toilets. It was an amusing thought, but it was also one that reminded her of what she was capable of and how little a literal God was able to do to stop her. "I do not think I have to go and check on him myself, then." I have seen enough of that to last me a good few centuries.

"Probably for the best," Ferio agreed. Laelia for her part just gave a small nod and started to lead them outside again.

As soon as the door had closed behind them, Aperio could not help but smile. The boys had stopped their act and were flooding Brenia with what the winged Goddess assumed to be questions that the girl eagerly answered. She was also quick to fetch Aperio's feather from a nearby drawer to present to her brothers.

The way back out was much like the way in: people stopped what they were doing to look and bow. Every step caused the wooden floor to slightly groan under her weight and the people who had not noticed her passing before to turn to look as well. While she did not mind the attention she got, Aperio still found the fact that she was someone others would come to revere simply because of her nature to be rather unnerving.

"You sure you not want me to follow you?" Laelia asked as they reached the front door.

"If you really want to, you may accompany us. I simply thought you would like to spend a bit more time with your family and your friends." She did not know if the people here were her friends, but she doubted the paladin would let her children alone with people she did not trust.

Laelia remained quiet for a while, staring at her feet. Did I do something wrong? Aperio was about to ask when her paladin looked at her with an expression that she could not place and spoke.

"Thank you."

The winged Goddess tilted her head ever so slightly at the words. She did not quite understand why Laelia sounded so thankful for something so simple. And a bit selfish, maybe. Aperio wanted her paladin to spend time with her family, yes, but she also wanted to spend more time with her own daughter. Whether a dungeon excursion was the right activity for an extended family reunion or not wasn't something she knew, but she doubted they would have much trouble.

After giving Laelia a nod, the woman turned and went back inside, only closing the door after she got another gesture from the winged Goddess, motioning for her to go. Does she think I don't like her? With a slight shake of her head, Aperio focused her attention on her daughter.

"Before we go, may I ask you something?"

"Of course, mother," Ferio replied.

"How do you speak normally?" Aperio asked, bracing herself for the wave of disgust that would soon wash over her. "No matter what I try, there is always this note of power to my voice."

"I am sorry, but I can't help you with that. You have always talked like this. If I want to lace my words with mana, I have to consciously do so. At least if I want enough that people notice it in the same way they do with yours."

"Oh." Aperio hesitated for a moment as an idea came to her. It might work, or conversely it might kill the people she tried it on. "Do you think I could talk to people like we do? It is almost like telepathy, after all. It would also solve the language barrier. I could understand Laelia's prayer just fine and it was most certainly not in a language I know."

"You already give me a headache when you reply to my questions that way, I think a mortal would die if you try that," Ferio said, wincing briefly. "Now that I think about it, however, the monsters in the dungeon are mostly mindless, but they should still react to a mental query. Should you wish, you could try to train your abilities that way."

Apparently you can be too strong. Aperio could not help but sigh at the answer. Simply more things to master. "Then please, lead the way."

Ferio gave her a nod before leaping into the sky with a graceful motion, her fiery wings materialising behind her. Aperio followed suit, kicking off of the ground and unfurling her own feathered limbs. The air caressing her form took the edge off her mind, a soothing touch that she had not known she needed.

Flying over Ebenlowe during midday was vastly different than during the crack of dawn as they had previously. At this time, they weren't the only ones using the sky as a quick way to cross the many islands that formed the city. None of them have wings like mine, though. There were varying sorts of people in the air with them, but Aperio spotted repeated clusters carrying spears and bows as long as their bodies. A better look revealed them to be wearing the same armour the guards had when she had first entered the city.

A group of three of them, noticing their ascent, started to move towards the pair of Goddesses, but they were quickly waved off by another man – one with red cloth stitched to his shoulder.

Aperio squinted, both physically and with her aura, to get a better look at the man, but she did not recognize him. Trying to listen to what they were saying was also fruitless, for despite her ability to hear their voices she still could not understand a word of what they were saying. In a way, she was glad that their speech remained incomprehensible. That I can even hear them is crazy enough, I really don't want to have to listen to an entire city talk. She found herself thankful for the fact that her distance hearing was selective in nature. It required her to actually focus to hear the faraway voices.

With a shake of her head, Aperio banished the thoughts from her mind and followed her daughter. Looking at her brought a question to her mind that she had not asked before but thought important nonetheless.

"Ferio?" she asked, only continuing once her daughter had settled in beside her. "Is it normal that the mortals do not know the appearance of their Goddess? Many people seem to know of you but fail to recognise you when they actually see you."

"I usually don't walk among the mortals," she replied with a shrug. "Most of my followers are also on Spicor, not here on Vetus. That is also where I used to spend most of my time, talking to Roots and trying to figure out what had happened to you. I also don't really care if they know how I look or not; it doesn't really matter as long as they show some respect once they know."

"I guess it does not," Aperio said more to herself than her daughter. It should not matter, but now that she was more than skin and bones she found that she wanted to be recognised. Though, she was not sure if she wanted people to notice how she looked or if she simply wanted them to recognise her as a – the – Goddess. But if they know what I am, I can't really just live my life, can I?

She shook her head and pushed the thought away. It was something she would deal with after the current mess with the other Gods and her lacking memory had been solved. "How big is the dungeon here?"

"I have never been inside myself, so I only know what some of my followers have told me. It is rumored to be a bit over a hundred floors, but few adventurers are capable of making it past the sixtieth. However, I doubt that will be a problem for you. Your strength continues to grow by leaps and bounds – even if you cannot remember any proper way of fighting, I have no qualms about your abilities."

Despite the disgust the statement would bring with it, Aperio voiced another inadequacy of hers aloud. "I would still like to learn how to fight properly. It seems like a fun thing to do," she continued, trying to soften the blow to her psyche. "I also have this." With those words, she summoned from her Void the blade the follower of Natio had used to try and bring about her demise. She grasped the hilt of it, then paused. It felt disturbingly light in her hand, and she had the impression that it might break if she gripped it too tightly.

Ferio gave the weapon a curious look before speaking. "I can try to teach you how to fight with that weapon, but I'd like to try something first. Though you may have lost your memory, and have become quite different in some ways, the way you talk and move, mother, has remained largely unchanged. I'd like to see what your instincts are with the sword. Perhaps, if you try, you can still figure out how to wield it." She gave a half-smile. "Though now that I think about it, your magic – or even your bare hands – will likely be deadlier than any weapon you have not forged yourself."

Before Aperio could answer, Ferio slowed down, pointing to a large stone building below them. A closer look revealed that it sported a large plaque depicting crossed spears in front of a shield – the emblem of the Adventurer's Guild. Below the plaque she could make out the words 'Ebenlowe Dungeon - Entrance' written in the slightly newer version of the Common she knew.

It was clearly their destination.

Advent - Chapter 46: The Dungeon's Entrance

Their landing caused less of a stir than Aperio had expected as the people nearby simply took their presence in stride, making the small detour to walk around the two Goddesses. Maybe if I still had the sword out they would've have noticed. It only took her a moment to figure out why the people were paying less attention than one would think to a winged Elf that broke the stone upon which she landed. Many of the passersby were talking to each other; low murmurs about the System message they had all received.

Aperio herself did not know how much it really mattered. Some people were talking about how it would topple some kingdoms who did not allow people to view their [Status], others just brushed it off as a gift from the Gods for their continued belief, and some were talking about a war amongst the Gods that was sure to come. Natio had already been cast down, after all.

All in all, the change seemed to have little impact on the people of the world. The festivities were still ongoing, though not as loud as when she had first entered the city. Maybe I got used to it? Now that she had reminded herself of the noise, it was starting to grate her ears again. Louder than it had been before. Why did I have to do this to myself?

After a slight shake of her head, Aperio gave a nod to her daughter who turned around and started to walk towards the entrance of the building. As they made their way through the crowd, Aperio could not help but notice that the people always stepped out of their path – her path. Whenever someone was in her way, they would move aside without seeming to realise it themselves. How does that work? Is it my aura? She shook her head again at the thought. No, that usually attracts the attention of everyone.

Asking Ferio through a very light magical touch only resulted in a mental shrug: she did not know why it happened, only that it did. There was also a tinge of amusement in the reply, as apparently her daughter found her confusion to be a source of entertainment. Weirdly enough, the knowledge elicited no feeling of disgust or wrong, and also failed to agitate the murderous part of her mind. Because she is my daughter? ...No.

She could only heave a mental sigh at her own reactions; or lack thereof. It would be too easy if I just knew why some things are disgusting and others need to be eradicated, wouldn't it?

Further thoughts were stopped as Ferio slowed down to walk beside her mother. "I would ask you to let me do the talking? I assume you do not want to stand out, and your voice would alert pretty much everyone here," she said, briefly pausing before continuing. "Unless of course you want to be swarmed by mortals who want to use your strength to delve deeper than they could alone."

For a brief moment she considered it, just to see what would happen. But the idea of using someone in such a way – using someone simply for her own amusement, even though it might benefit them as well – sat poorly with her, and in the end Aperio decided against it. She would rather explore the dungeon with her daughter alone, their reason for coming too personal to share with just anyone. The winged Goddess gave a sharp nod and a small mental acknowledgement. There was, however, another question that came to her mind. Won't they question why we want to explore a dungeon without supplies or even armour?

She relayed her thought to Ferio who simply waved her off. A moment later Aperio wanted to smack herself for forgetting about the existence of storage magic. Her Void might be special, but as far as storing things was concerned it should not be too different from what the mortals used. It even looks similar, at least to what Ira used. With her question answered, the pair continued to move through the sea of people that parted in front of them.

It wasn't long before they reached the door that lead inside the building. Flanking it were two guards who managed to look bored despite being fully covered in armour. One of them fixed their gaze onto the winged Goddess as she passed, only returning to watching the masses outside after they had been given a nudge by their colleague. Aperio herself was not certain if their actions were due to the presence of her wings, or due to the nudging guard having recognized her aura as the one blanketing the entire city with mana. Or perhaps people already know how I look and they recognised me as a Goddess? Whatever the reason for the prolonged stare was did not matter, as the guard made no move to follow them or otherwise impede their progress.

The interior of the building was not what Aperio had expected. She thought it would be like the one Ira had led her to in the village, with a notice board and a place to the side where people could accept the quests they picked. And, perhaps, a bar.

That, however, was not the case here. The floor was clean and made from what Aperio had to guess was some form of marble. Large, evenly spaced pillars made of glowing material both held the roof aloft and lit up the regions of the hall the massive ceiling windows could not reach. Overall, it reminded the winged Goddess more of the Emperor's palace than a guild branch.

Some features did stop the memories from charging to the forefront of her mind. There was a notice board, though calling it a notice wall would be more apt as the entire left side of the room they had entered was filled with various pieces of paper and parchment. Some of them she could not read, but most of them were written in a slightly different version of the Common she knew. It took a bit of effort to read the script, but in the end, it was an easy enough task.

The other side, the one they were currently walking towards, held a large row of counters that each had a person in a white and blue uniform sitting behind them and a long line of people waiting to be serviced in front. How long will we have to wait?

Her question was answered when Ferio simply ignored the lines and waved down another person in the blue-white uniform. Before the staff member could ask what she needed, Ferio produced a small red and gold coin with the marking of the [Guides] on it that she handed over. The person's eyes went wide for a second before he quickly nodded and said: "Please, follow me!"

Aperio could not help but raise an eyebrow at the exchange. Do we just get to go in? The man lead them into a small room behind the row of counters. There, they found a Dwarven man in a slightly fancier version of the guild uniform, sitting behind a rather ornate-looking desk. The small sign reading 'Guild Master Diveon' that sat upon the table answered the question of who he was and what he did. Wordlessly, the staff member placed the coin Ferio had given him in front of the guild master after which he gave a bow and left the room, closing the door behind him.

"It is not everyday someone hands out a boon from the [Guides]," the Dwarf said, briefly inspecting the piece of metal before placing it in a drawer of his desk. "What can the guild do for you?"

"Core removal."

The man raised an eyebrow at her words. "Another try so soon? I won't complain; if you find a way to remove this cursed thing, I would be a happy man." His gaze shifted to Aperio, looking her up and down with an expression that caused Aperio to slightly tilt her head.

She felt a pull on the mana in her well, more pronounced than the tiny ones that had not stopped ever since she had unwittingly re-enabled the System. Following the tug would have been an easy task for her, but one she did not need in this case. She knew the Dwarf was responsible. Not knowing what he had tried, Aperio squinted at him and tried to replicate the feeling that the pull had brought.

In response to her attempt, a small window came into existence above the man's head.

Andre Diveon | [Guild Master] | Level: 274

Aperio tilted her head at the text. What did he see? She had a feeling that he saw nothing, but she did not know for sure. Something to ask Ferio about once we are alone.

"I assume you do not need the guild to provide guards or supplies?" he continued, focusing back on Ferio and showing no surprise at what he may or may not have seen.

Ferio lightly shook her head at his question. "The only thing we require is a token."

"Ah, yes, that won't be a problem," he said, eyeing the two Goddesses again. "I doubt we have anyone on staff that would be capable of stopping either of you anyway."

The statement did not make sense to Aperio. Why would they need to stop us? She wanted to ask her daughter but shelved the thought when the Dwarf pulled out two metal cards that he placed on his desk.

"Should any member of the guild try to deny entry to the next floor, show them these. And please, remember that they are simply doing their job."

The winged Goddess tilted her head ever so slightly at his words. Does he expect us to just kill them? Why does everyone always assume that?

"Of course," Ferio replied, taking the tokens from his desk. "We will be on our way, then."

The meeting hadn't made much sense to Aperio, even if she understood its general purpose, and the entire experience had left her more confused. They apparently needed the tokens to get inside the dungeon and proceed further down. But didn't Ferio say that most people don't make it past the sixtieth floor? Her confusion was apparently evident as she felt the familiar touch of her daughter's magic, telling her that it was simply something she did to skip the hours of waiting in line.

Aperio just shook her head and took the token offered by her daughter. The small metal card felt light and flimsy in her hand, ready to break should she accidentally grasp it a bit too hard. I suppose most things will feel like this, won't they? With a wave of her hand she deposited the token in her Void; should someone want to see it, she could just take it back out.

Outside the guild master’s office they were greeted by the man that had first led them there. He offered another bow, before he motioned them to follow. Some people turned to look at them but quickly turned back to their previous tasks. A visit to the guild master’s office was apparently not something that out of the ordinary. As they made their way towards a big staircase – one that led downwards, with a sign reading 'Dungeon Entrance' above it – Aperio also couldn't help but notice that they were not the only ones heading in that direction wearing casual clothing.

The stairs were long, almost unnaturally so, and straight. Their steps echoed despite Aperio’s lack of footwear. Much like the stairwells in the dungeon she had first emerged into, the stones here were made from something that gave her a more solid impression than most anything she had seen thus far. I think I can break them now, though. As soon as they reached the bottom, Aperio felt a change in the atmosphere surrounding them.

The feeling caused her to breathe in deeply, letting the air fill her lungs. It felt alive somehow, bringing something to her being that she had been missing before. A sense of calm, reminiscent of the Void while not quite being the same. It only took her a moment to figure out what she felt.

The air inside the dungeon was laced with mana – her mana.

It reacted to her presence, leaning towards her as though it were eager to rejoin its mistress, but in a manner reminiscent of a dog straining at the end of its leash something was holding it back. Almost like something was trying to keep it away from her. She wanted to grasp the thing that was fighting her but, much like the times she tried to pull her mana through a shard of a dungeon core, every time she thought she might have it the connection suddenly slipped out of her mental grasp.

With each breath she took, Aperio seemed to find more and more subtle reasons to agree with the part of herself that she tried to keep buried. The part that called for her to destroy whatever it was that dared to keep her from what was her own. The notion was only reinforced when something she could only describe as a feeling of hostility settled over them.

Ferio, too, seemed to notice the change, giving her mother a questioning look before she seemed to realise what was causing it. The mortal that was guiding them showed no reaction to the change, either not noticing it or thinking it to be a natural occurrence. He led them the last few steps towards an open archway, bowed once again and wished them good luck on their journey, then swiftly left.

Aperio, in her current state, could not help but glare at the hallway that lead further into the dungeon. On a certain level, one she did not one hundred percent understand, she knew that the way it was trying to claim her mana as its own was wrong. She also knew that, however it was accomplishing this feat, it was something that could not be allowed to continue.

With the thought of reclaiming what was rightfully hers, she summoned the fanatic's sword from her Void and took her first steps into the dungeon of Ebenlowe.

Advent - Chapter 47: Beginning the Delve

The darkness that filled the hallway she was walking through posed no trouble for Aperio's improved eyes, a fact that only managed to briefly stay in her mind before it was discarded as useless. She could see, that was all that mattered.

The first inhabitant of the first floor she laid her eyes on was a large, slimy-looking worm that started to writhe and spasm as she got closer. When a silvery flash of light appeared above the worm, Aperio paused. It was, clearly, the now-familiar sight of a soul departing a body and heading to her Void to join the others, and it perplexed her. Why did it die?

Lifting the corpse with a touch of magic to get a better view of it revealed nothing out of the ordinary. A closer inspection with her aura also brought no new insights; despite showing no sign of injury, the monster had seemingly just died due to her proximity. Even the crystal that, to all appearances, replaced the heart of every dungeon-born beast was still intact.

"Do you know why it died?" Aperio asked her daughter. She was mildly apprehensive of the answer she would receive. If it turned out that, eventually, normal people would start dying simply from being near to her, she would have a real problem.

"Perhaps being close to you disrupted its connection to the dungeon," Ferio replied. "We have tried removing monsters before, over a century ago, and the lower the floor the monster came from the greater the chance was that they would die once we crossed the dungeon's threshold."

"So it was simply too weak?"

After she received a nod from her daughter, Aperio ceased her magic, letting the monster corpse drop to the floor. With her aura she searched for another of the worms. She wanted to know if it was simply coincidence or if her physical proximity was really the cause. It probably is. The dungeon did try to keep its mana away from her, after all. No mana, no life?

It did not take her long to find another of the slimy creatures, for one was hidden from sight behind a corner only a few strides away. Aperio slowly made her way towards the monster, taking one step at a time to get an idea of when the creature would perish. How do I have to be so close if my aura spans the entire city… At least the entire city. She suspected that it might be greater than that, but she had not attempted to feel the true extent of her aura's reach in some time. Neither did she want to try, as the possible outcome was not something she felt ready to deal with just yet.

The answer to when the creature died was when she was within a couple of steps from its body. Seeking out another one, this time trying to keep the monster inside a bubble of nothing within her own aura, resulted in the same outcome. It died when she got close. Aperio poked at the corpse with her sword, the need to conquer the dungeon she had felt just moments prior already wavering. "Will everything just die when I get close? Does the dungeon not actually want to keep me away?"

"I wouldn't know," Ferio said. "Despite the centuries I spent trying to make sense of these places, I am no closer to understanding them. Not truly, at least. Some seem to be nothing more than a tool, infinitely spawning new monsters, while others show a degree of intelligence that is sometimes frightening. This dungeon, for example, creates treasures for intrepid adventurers to find and use. It even goes so far as to reward people who conquer it. Or, at least, it did the last time someone managed to do so, but to be frank that was more than two hundred years ago.

"I could ask Candrial to bring what their group received, but I am not sure if she was the one to keep it. And if she did not, whether the other members of her group have it or are even still alive..." Ferio's voice grew quiet towards the end, almost as if she was ashamed that she did not have whatever the dungeon had made on hand.

"That will not be needed, we will go there ourselves after all… Perhaps I’ll even get to see if I can still use a sword." The words were accompanied with an experimental twirl of the blade. Aperio was certain that her previous self would have ended with torn muscle and possibly broken bones if she had even attempted to swing the blade, but now, she had to be careful not to break it, even when she was just doing something that was not even remotely close to fighting.

"Perhaps," her daughter echoed before falling into a silent trot behind her mother who had started to walk deeper into the dungeon once more.

Aperio ignored the worms that died at her passing, instead focusing on the group of three mortals she had spotted through her aura. They were fighting a vaguely Human-looking figure whose body was made of what appeared to be a black, viscous liquid. Oil? It was conjuring the worms and throwing them, as well as occasionally setting a part of its oily self on fire before throwing that at one of the mortals. As far as she could determine, the ones it was battling were two Humans, and an Elf.

Is that the monster that guards the entrance to the next floor? It had to be; she could not find another flight of stairs elsewhere on the floor. The presence of a little booth with the guild plaque and a Beastkin in the tell-tale blue and white uniform only reinforced the belief. Is that why we got the tokens? With a slight shake of her head, Aperio quickened her pace towards the centre of the floor. Maybe that oil-monster can fight me.

Before she got halfway towards the oil-monster, Aperio found a new beast that piqued her interest, one that did not simply keel over and die at her approach. The small green-skinned thing was poking at one of the deceased worms with its wooden club, seemingly not quite understanding that it had died. It screeched at the thing in what Aperio could only guess was anger.

As soon as she had rounded the corner, the green-skinned beast's head snapped in her direction. It let out another screech and began to charge in their direction. After a few steps, Aperio began to pity the creature. It stumbled their way at a speed only slightly faster than a normal walk, dragging its club behind it, and was not intimidating in the slightest.

Aperio made no move to intercept the club swung at her; she wanted to see what would happen. Much to the surprise of nobody but the monster itself, the club cracked and broke as soon as it made contact with her leg.The monster, however, quickly regained its resolve and moved to start punching the winged Goddess.

It never got the chance as Aperio simply thrust the blade she held through its skull. The ease with which she executed the movement was quite unnerving for Aperio. She had never fought with a sword before, or at least she could not remember a time, but there was a certain something that seemed to guide her hand. It did not do it fully – her movement, while executed with unnatural ease, had still felt clumsy to her. Much like my punching when I fought the fanatic.

With a wet thud, the small monster fell to the floor as Aperio pulled the sword out of its head. A touch of magic erased the blood that clung to the blade, returning the metal to its usual shiny golden-green again. "I think we have to go deeper before anything actually worth fighting appears."

Ferio only gave a small laugh at her words, seemingly finding her mother’s antics to be quite amusing. Aperio herself just lightly shook her head, and as she continued towards the centre arena she started to doubt the oil monster's ability to provide a decent bout. Though, the mortals seem to struggle with it.

The three had not been able to injure the beast, at least as far as Aperio could tell through her aura. Most of the time they spent killing the worms the creature continued to throw and dodging the puddles of burning oil it created. Aperio herself did not quite understand why it was a challenge as the monster moved quite slow and, even if the worms did not die due to her presence, they really did not demand the amount of attention the group gave them.

Their continued struggle brought an idea to the Goddess' mind. She once again pulled on her mana, trying to replicate the feeling she had gotten when the guild master had tried to inspect her. A moment later the System window appeared over their heads.

Joshua Rivens | [Bonded Twin] | Level: 54

Heria Rivens | [Bonded Twin] | Level: 52

Lorkan Jestens | Level: 49

Much to her surprise, the monster too had received one.

Incarnation of Oil | [First Layer Guardian] | Level: 73

Is that why they struggle so much, because it is higher leveled? Curiosity got the better of her and she inspected the guild staff that still sat in their booth with a rather bored expression.

Angela Kellegrehn | [Devoted of Mayeia] | Level: 246

Mayeia? Isn't that the Goddess that ascended at the same time as Natio? Aperio would be careful around the woman; she did not know what her Goddess thought of her yet and while she could probably dispose of her as she did with Natio, she did not really want to. The pantheon has to exist for a reason after all.

With a slight shake of her head, she resumed the journey.

Lorkan breathed heavily as he ducked below yet another flying mass of burning oil. We should have trained more before coming here, he thought. The floor guardian was over level seventy, something none of their group could claim. Why did I agree to this? After everyone had received the message that they could now freely view their [Status], the Rivens' twins immediately did so.

Their parents had forbidden them from using the stones and had never told them what they saw when they were first appraised. Now Lorkan understood why. The [Bonded Twin] title they both held was simply too enticing to not use. Apparently any System-given reward would get doubled if they faced 'challenging enemies'. That included experience gained. Life's never fair, is it?

Another stab of his dagger ended the life of yet another of the slimy worms. How many are there?

"Heria! Sword!"

Upon her brother's call, Heria immediately threw the sword in his direction and took the bow from her back to replace the weapon she just lost. Lorkan himself still did not know how the two managed to throw their weapons to each other in a fight and not get hurt, but he could not question its effectiveness.

Joshua caught the flying blade with practiced ease and slashed at the floor guardian. Much like his previous attempts, the attack left no mark. How are we supposed to kill it without magic?

Heria could infuse her arrows with a bit of wind magic, but they had already tried that to less than desirable results. The attack had only managed to splatter nearly every surface in the room with burning oil. Lorkan's own magic was also useless against the monster as it had no blood he could use. The best he could do now was to uphold the enhancement he had on their group. Their self-proclaimed leader, Joshua, had no real magic himself. All he could do was make his sword glow a bit, nothing useful.

Lorkan was about to ask his friends to stop and collect their things, to retreat and try again at a later date, when an oppressive presence settled over the room. For a moment he thought that they had angered the dungeon, that it had grown tired of their dance with its weakest boss, but that thought was quickly banished as he saw the monster itself pause.

A moment later he heard knocking on the door that sealed the boss room from the rest of the floor. Joshua motioned for them to group up, something Lorkan was very much in favour of. If something gave a floor guardian pause, it couldn't be good. That it could disregard their group so completely was, however, very disheartening.

There was a moment of silence before another, more forceful knock followed. He wasn't quite sure what whoever was knocking was trying to accomplish. Once closed, the doors would not open until the guardian was defeated or the group perished. Not that that happens with the Overseer here.

For a moment Lorkan thought he heard someone speaking behind the door, the voice somehow managing to carry through the thick, dungeon-enchanted stone. He could not make out the words, but something about the voice felt unsettling to him, like he should not be close to the one who spoke.

Further thoughts were interrupted by a loud crash that sent the supposedly impenetrable door flying from its hinges, barely missing the oily floor guardian. Stepping through the now-empty frame were two woman, one a Human and one an Elf that either had a feathered cape or actual wings. Neither of them wore armour, or had weapons aside from the longsword the Elven woman casually held in one hand. Does she intend to use that one-handed? And… Is that adamantite? Lorkan was by no means an expert on metals, but he was fairly sure the greenish-gold sword was at least partially made out of the ludicrously expensive material.

"I told you kicking down the door would attract attention," the Human woman said.

"It is just a door." The Elf waved her off, before turning to face their group. "You may continue with your fight, we will wait until you are done. ...Unless you require aid?"

None of them wanted to admit that they needed help, but neither did any of them want to ask. Something about the two newcomers was unnerving, and it wasn't just their lack of armour, or their single weapon that was not properly wielded. The Overseer, too, was looking at the pair and even the monster seemed stunned at the unfolding situation as it simply stared at the Elven woman.

It was then that Lorkan realised something he should have noticed earlier. "The worms are dead," he said.

The twins looked at each other and then the slimy corpses that dotted the room before their eyes settled on the newcomers. "When did they die?" he heard Heria whisper. Joshua just gave a shallow shrug in reply; much like Lorkan himself, he did not know.

Any further thoughts to why and how things had died were cut short by an ear-splitting scream coming from the floor guardian. Lorkan and his group took a few steps back as the monster grew taller and its liquid skin started to condense into a hard-looking, black surface.

A moment later the arena was lit up as the guardian set itself ablaze. The heat coming off of the monster was not something that could be compared to the bit of burning oil it had thrown before and caused Lorkan's group to quickly seek shelter behind the Overseer's booth.

Both newcomers seemed unconcerned with the proceedings. The Human simply took a step back and the Elf raised her sword slightly. With another inhuman scream, the monster charged at the sword-wielding Elf with a speed that Lorkan found almost impossible to follow.

The newcomer seemed unimpressed as she simply stayed where she was, letting the monster crash into her. Lorkan had expected her to be thrown back from the collision, repelled with enough force to exit the arena entirely. Shockingly, she stayed where she was and the force of the impact did not cause her to move one bit. A moment later, his astonishment grew as he saw that her sword had exited the back of the monster. Further incredulity ensued in his mind as he spotted something sparkling at the end of the blade: the crystal heart, found in every dungeon-born monster, was impaled upon the tip.

A breath later the heat vanished and, with a wet thud, the monster fell to the floor where it started to slowly dissolve into a puddle of liquid. The Elven woman just lowered her sword and sighed. A few patches of her dress had been burned, but even as Lorkan noticed them they were already shifting, stitching themselves back together. For a brief moment he asked himself why a fighter would learn a tailor's magic before he disregarded the thought. It was obviously useful.

The newcomers simply stepped around the puddle that was the former floor guardian and approached the Overseer's booth, both of them placing a small metal card in front of the rather shocked Beastkin. She took a moment to compose herself before looking at the tokens they had presented. Wordlessly, the minder of the booth handed them back to the pair and waved them through to the next portion of the dungeon.

As the two passed, Lorkan couldn’t help but stare at what he was now certain were wings. The Elven woman's eyes focused on him in reply, briefly lingering and sending a shiver down his spine. At the moment, he wanted to be anywhere other than where he was.

Advent - Chapter 48: New Layer, New Discovery

You have defeated 'Incarnation of Oil Level: 280 (72)'

Experience could not be awarded: Cannot distribute from source to source.

Aperio squinted at the window she had brought back in front of her. So it gained levels when it got angry? Did not really make it more of a challenge, though. She mentally dismissed the window and returned her focus to the stairs leading downwards. Before she got to test their durability against her current self, another tug at her mind caught her attention.

Grabbing hold of the feeling resulted in another System notification appearing in front of her.

Feature restored.

Enable feature 'Combat Summary'?

The winged Goddess tilted her head at the words. Did she want to do that? It seemed like a good idea; people would get to see what they killed and what they received as a reward. There was just this tiny bit of doubt in her mind that this would lead to other things she was not quite ready for. Can I turn it on without letting everyone know?

'Combat Summary' enabled. Notification suppressed.

I want a manual. It was true that she did want to turn it on without sending a notification to everyone on Verenier – Perhaps even on other worlds – but she would have liked the System to provide a bit more feedback; maybe tell her a bit more about the feature she was about to restore. However that works.

A most peculiar shift in the mana in her well interrupted her thoughts and caused Aperio to stop and slightly tilt her head. A closer inspection revealed her mana to flow through some unseen passage towards the runes that made up the System. How exactly her well and the space that held the System were connected was not something she knew. The knowledge was absent from her mind, without even a hint of an answer to be found.

The runes shifted and changed, forming new connections that only furthered its complexity. Maybe I should not enable more 'features' until I better understand how the System works. Perhaps regaining a bit of her memory would help. If their plan even worked, which was something she wasn't entirely certain about.

"Something wrong, mother?" Ferio asked.

"Not exactly," Aperio replied. "Another part of the System restored itself and watching it come into effect… It was a most peculiar experience."

"No notification this time?"

The winged Goddess lightly shook her head in reply. "No, I thought it best not to announce it to everyone when I do not know how the information might be used by Vigil or Inanis. From what I picked up outside the dungeon, they seem to have no problem letting the people believe they restored the System."

"Most people think they made it or are at least in charge of it, anyway," her daughter replied with a shrug. "I gave up trying to correct the masses long ago. When enough other deities tell them that I am wrong, the people don't exactly go out of their way to accept a truth that, in the end, has no impact on their life.

"No matter who runs the System, it works for everyone. For some it is something that bears investigation, but for most the knowledge that it will work is enough. Even my own followers are hesitant to believe there is someone above the pantheon that made all of this." Her last words were accompanied by a sweeping gesture that seemed to indicate everything that surrounded them.

"So am I," Aperio said quietly, as she began to make her way deeper into the dungeon once more.

She could sense her daughter's shoulders slump at her words, the need for her to say something so clear on her face that she had no trouble seeing it. But, in the end, Ferio remained quiet, giving her mother the space and time she had said she would need.

Once the pair had reached the bottom of the stairs, Aperio turned and did what she had wanted to do before the System had interrupted her. As she had expected, the previously unbreakable marble surface of the stairs showed cracks after she had given it a light kick. Her bare feet on the other hand showed no signs of damage. Didn't even hurt.

How she was able to feel more than she had ever before by touch and at the same time not experience pain was not something she understood or could even begin to make sense of for that matter. Not that the why is all that important.

"You have a dislike for doors and stairs now, mother?" Ferio asked with a barely hidden smile on her face.

"In the dungeon I returned to there were similar stairs. Pristine. No cracks or other imperfections. Even back then, the stone broke readily when I added force to my blows, but the stairs did not seem to react. I wanted to see if they were still as solid to my feet."

"I would say the answer is a resounding no. It didn't look like you even put much force behind the kick."

"I did not, but then, I also only have the barest of grasps on my own strength. Breaking things is easier than not." She had expected to feel at least a little disgust at her words, but admitting that she was too strong was apparently an acceptable thing to do. Why does nothing make sense?

"Sadly, I do not know a way to help you there," Ferio said. "I don't really think about how much strength is required for any one action. We can only hope that regaining your memories will help with this too."

Aperio only gave a subdued sigh and returned her attention to the floor they had just entered. It only took her a moment to find the next flight of stairs further down, guarded by yet another member of the guild in their white and blue uniform. What she did not find was anyone currently fighting the floor guardian or even anyone getting close to it.

The monsters on the second floor were seemingly just an iteration of what she found on the first. There were slightly bigger versions of green-skinned monsters that also had a wider variety of weapons, with some even holding what was unmistakably a mages' staff. A quick identification revealed them to be Goblins, around level fifty – a monster she thought she knew. Weren't they grey before? She pushed the thought from her mind; what colour they were mattered little when they still wanted to kill and rape everything they saw.

Not that they can now.

That she could defend herself was still welcome, even if it meant she had to pay the utmost attention when interacting with anything – or anyone – she did not wish to break. The line of thought did bring a question to her mind, one that she could answer herself but would rather hear it from the person it pertained to. There was only one problem Aperio faced; she did not know how to ask. She knew her daughter to be weaker than her own self, that much was clear. But asking exactly how strong she was? It did not sit right with her. Neither did an unprompted inspection, even if she was certain that Ferio would not mind the query much, if at all. I should probably not inspect every person I see either.

As she lacked the words to properly voice her thoughts, Aperio tried to convey them with a touch of magic, a gesture that was rapidly becoming second nature. Despite attempting to be as gentle as she could, the winged Goddess still saw her daughter wince ever so slightly at her request. Another, almost nonexistent, question confirmed that it was not the content but the delivery of her first request caused the reaction.

Ferio answered her nonetheless, a small reply that gave her permission to perform her inspection and an inquiry about what exactly that was. The question gave Aperio pause as she had assumed her daughter would know what it was if a mortal could do it.

She relayed her intent with great care as she pulled on the Systems' functions to perform the task she herself knew not how to. She did not expect the ease with which she could focus on both tasks simultaneously, but it was welcomed nonetheless. It was a confirmation of sorts of her intuition which claimed that she could do both at once.

Ferio | [Goddess of Life] | Level: System entity outside of feature’s scope

Aperio could only tilt her head at the window, as it was most certainly not what she had expected. Shouldn't she have more than one title? Her daughter's reply was a bit more insightful; she knew what the Dwarven guild master had done, but according to her it was not the inspection Aperio knew but a skill called [Threat Perception]. Apparently using it on her only resulted in a blank reply which the Dwarf had seemingly interpreted as non-threatening.

Not entirely wrong. She had indeed had no intention of hurting the man, but the idea of herself not being a threat was very wrong. Something she wanted to prove, but the group of Goblins that rounded the corner in front of the pair of Goddesses was not exactly what Aperio would consider a challenge. One immediately lost its head to the rapid swing of her sword while the other two were simultaneously engulfed in a blue flame.

Ferio raised an eyebrow at the charred corpses while Aperio herself could not help but frown. She had wanted to see how much she could do with a sword, but instead she had resorted to a magic she already knew she could use. The reaction had been instinctual, had happened before she could consciously think.

She disliked that she had lost control.

That was what had happened. She had lost control, something that brought a feeling of disgust only second to admitting that she did not know something she somehow felt she should. Before she descended into an endless spiral of being angered at her loss of control which in and of itself would also be a loss of control, Aperio gave a tiny flex of her mental muscles to remove the bits of gore from her blade and continued on her way deeper into the dungeon.

Aperio made no real effort to seek out monsters on her way towards the next guardian; they did not give her enough of a challenge to actually see how much she could still do with a sword. The ones that did cross their way proved her assumption to be correct — a single swing was all that she needed.

After she had disposed of a few more groups of the green-skinned Goblins, something changed and they started to avoid her. They were clearly choosing paths that lead away from her, even turning around just before they would come around a corner to meet her. Did they always know where I was? It has to be the dungeon doing that, right?

Her interest piqued, she tried to ask the monster a question in the same manner as she did with Ferio. It was the only way she could think that the dungeon itself would use to communicate with — and control — its monsters.

A thought later, a robed Goblin staggered briefly before falling to the floor, dead. Aperio could see blood leaking from its ears, nose, and even eyes through her aura. The fact that she had just killed something by essentially thinking in its direction was quite unnerving to her. What would have happened if I had tried to answer Laelia's prayer in this way? She was fairly certain that she did not want to know the answer to that particular question.

Ferio had been right: a normal mortal would probably die if she tried this with them. That is, if levels between monsters and people are the same. She was pretty sure there wasn't much of a distinction between the two anyway, as people could, with astonishing alacrity, become monsters themselves. The tiny feeling at the back of her mind hinting at the System's indifference only furthered that thought. But then, does a higher level make one's brain… tougher?

A higher level usually meant higher strength, but that was just their overall power. At least Aperio assumed so, anything else would make little sense. So maybe a mortal could survive, if they somehow trained their mind… However one would do that. A mage, perhaps?

For her, magic was a mental exercise, though one that did not really bring improvement when she compared to the changes she underwent by simply existing. But, perhaps, for a mortal it was a good way to train their mind. She relayed her line of thought to her daughter, this time trying to miss the glowing beacon that she knew to be her daughter's mind just a little. Maybe that will help?

The reply she received was a little disheartening. Apparently a mage could train their mental fortitude, but most chose to simply focus on more physical means of defense and even those that tried to gain proficiency in the art of mental defense would not be able to offer much resistance to her intrusion. That was another thing she had to figure out how to avoid.

According to her daughter, she was not offering a bit of magic that could be read. No, what Aperio was seemingly doing was implanting her reply directly into the mind of the one she wanted to talk to. The realisation almost caused her to abandon any ideas of ever trying any form of mental communication again. If this is how she conveyed her thoughts it was only a little bit further before she accidentally willed someone to do something they did not want.

The only thing keeping her from actually doing so was the last bit of Ferio's reply that told her how she now sounded a bit more distant and the reply did not just appear in her mind. It still forced its way in, but less so then before; closer to what she actually wanted.

With a sigh, Aperio turned her attention back towards the guardian of the second floor. It was a Goblin, but a two-headed version, one that was slightly taller and a bit more muscular than its brethren, wielding a club made from a dark metal she could not identify. Item appraisal would be nice. Armour was not something the Goblins seemed to have figured out, as even the strongest one on the floor wore little more than thin cloth. But, despite its intimidating weapon and rather nice attire, she doubted it would pose more of a challenge than the Incarnation of Oil had. Its name is fancy though.

Will of the Gobs | [Second Layer Guardian] | Level 113

After only a couple more minutes, the pair of mother and daughter stepped through the door into the arena of the guardian. For a moment Aperio considered removing this door as well, just to make her point, but quickly decided against it. It's just a door. If Ferio wants to think it's special, she can.

Much like the first guardian she saw, this one too started to scream as soon as it laid eyes on her and began to change. Its skin turned a bright red as its muscles bulged, ripping the thin fabric it wore apart. A third head sprouted between the two old ones, quickly followed by two additional arms, one of which pulled another club out of thin air. The Human that guarded the entry to the next floor raised an eyebrow at the Goblin’s transformation, but otherwise remained impassive.

Will of the Gobs | [Second Layer Guardian] | Level 445 (113)

The Goblin guardian swung its club with reckless abandon as soon as Aperio stepped closer. She simply swatted it aside, sending it flying out of the monster’s hand which broke with a wet crack, before she grabbed the hand that held the reaming club and squeezed. Her strategy caused the guild member to lightly shake his head, probably thinking her to be another muscle-head.

Instead of using her sword to simply pierce the crystal she could sense in its chest, Aperio tried to touch the creature's mind. She felt something break as soon as her magic had reached its target. Curiously, it was not the mind of the monster that broke — If I could even feel that — but the crystal in its chest. The Human's expression changed to what Aperio would interpret as fear when the guardian fell to the ground, and a quickly-growing puddle of blood formed under its head.

So even a monster above level four hundred dies immediately. How am I supposed to ever use this with a regular person? She already used as little power as she could, only the tiniest fraction of her mana ever leaving to deliver the message she wanted to send.

A touch of magic was all she needed to clean off the blood that had splattered on her clothes and face. This is so much easier than scrubbing it off. Stepping around the corpse, she retrieved her token from her Void and placed it in front of the guild staff quickly followed by Ferio doing the same.

The Human briefly looked at the two metal cards before nodding and returning them. Aperio was about to ask if he was fine, as she did not think a Human should be this pale, but when she felt a tiny nudge from her daughter's magic telling her not to scare the poor man anymore, she decided against asking.

With another silent sigh, she stepped past the booth and headed down towards the next, probably equally disappointing, layer.

Advent - Chapter 49: Delving Deep

The monsters on the third floor had only increased in strength by a few levels, proving Aperio's assumption to be correct: it was just as boring here as it was on the two floors above. The tiny boost to her 'enemies' was nowhere near sufficient to offer a change to their abilities, nor was it able to let them survive a single swing from her sword or the most tentative of mental queries.

Out of her lack of enthusiasm came different methods of testing her opponents: she allowed them to attack her unopposed, to see what they would do. Their greatest threat seemed to be to her dress, as the most they ever managed to do was to make a few tears. This, however, lead to an unexpected discovery. The areas of her clothing that she had personally mended seemed to be less prone to tearing, seemingly sturdier than the normal cloth that comprised her outfit. Thinking on it, it made a certain amount of sense to her. She had essentially willed the dress back together with the intent of it not breaking again, so she should have expected this sort of result. The only thing stopping her from making herself an entire battle-ready outfit on the spot was a lack of knowledge on exactly how she had made the cloth sturdier. Is it only because it's my mana?

The thought led naturally to experiments she wanted to try and, for a brief moment, she considered toying with some magical sewing techniques. Then she discarded the notion. She had an important goal in sight right now, and she would not allow her boredom to get in the way of that. Not that that helps things get any more interesting along the way.

There was nothing between them and the next guardian but monsters that posed no challenge whatsoever. As they approached the door that barred their way into the area, Aperio sensed a duo of adventurers battling the monster within, as well as the by-now expected guild staff calmly stationed behind their booth.

A light kick sent the door flying off of its hinges and right into the unprepared monster, sending both flying into the wall and painting it in various shades of red. Taking what might have been a good fight from the two adventurers did not sit quite right with her, but Aperio did not want to wait until they had killed it on their own. That would have taken an eternity.

The pair, an Elf and a Human, took a step back as she went past, seemingly not wanting to confront her even though she had prematurely ended their fight. Instead, they turned to follow the pair in front of them with a respectful distance. Aperio could hear their whispers, the Elven woman seemingly recognising Ferio — or at least her attire — and telling her companion to leave them alone. It was just a door. The crucial detail missed by the adventurer, however, was that neither Aperio nor Ferio herself were warriors in the service of the Goddess of Life and Light, but the actual Goddess herself and her mother.

Aperio saw no reason to correct their assumption and simply presented the token to the slightly shocked guild official. Maybe I should not kick the doors? Like their colleagues before, they quickly checked the metal card before allowing them to go further inside.

She started to descend the stairs, ignoring the frantic discussion that had started between the guild official and the two adventurers. Another boring layer awaits, she mentally grumbled as she observed the floor below through her aura. Then, she spotted the entry to the next layer and gave up on the stairs. She brute-forced her way in the direction of the next guardian fight, walls be damned.

Ferio gave an amused laugh as her mother simply waltzed through the enchanted stone, completely ignoring the monsters and other adventurers they found with increasing frequency. Aperio herself used the time to try and convey her thoughts to the monsters and her daughter in a way that would not cause undue pain. Or kill people. Her attempts were less than fruitful, however. Another floor down and the monster still died at her attempts at communication.

I can't use less mana than this, she thought. It was true, the amount of mana she used to send her mental message was already so small that she barely registered it. A quick query directed at her daughter revealed that the amount was not even the problem, as it was already far lower than what Ferio herself used to convey her thoughts. Mortal creatures — And deities — seemingly could not handle the intense purity of her mana.

Soon, Aperio fell into a monotonous rhythm of half-hearted sword swings and intermittent attempt at mental communication with the resident monsters. The feeling of hostility the dungeon still projected her way had long been relegated to the back of her mind, the monsters it possessed not even worth the thought it took to kill them. Why is everything so weak?

The answer to that was as simple as looking at one of her titles, a thing she loathed to do. Aperio did not want to believe what the System told her the [Demiurge] title meant — even if a part of her knew it to be true. How could anything that draws its power from me be stronger than myself? She pushed the thought from her mind as she pierced the crystal heart of yet another floor guardian. The kill notifications had long stopped coming, the System itself seemingly not wanting to bother its creator with meaningless messages. Or it somehow figured out I did not want them.

Only the presence of her daughter and her comments on her apparently still rather proper sword technique stopped Aperio from simply trying to burn the dungeon in its entirety. It would be effortless to simply let her flames devour the crystal and its abominations, but a part of her loathed the idea of using the easy solution, a part she agreed with. Her primary goal for coming here might be the potential retrieval of her memories — Or a part of them at least — but along the way she also wanted to test her skill with the sword. Something the liberal use of magic would make impossible. Not that the monsters pose much of a challenge anyway.

Aperio stopped as she saw a small sign in front of the next flight of stairs leading down towards the next floor. It proclaimed the end of guild-run safety measures past this point and informed her that the next resupply point would be on the fiftieth floor. So they post people on the first, what, five or six floors and then stop?

The only reason she could see for that was that the guardians from here on out would be too strong for a staff member to handle on their own. That was at least what Aperio assumed the primary purpose of those people to be. A quick mental query to Ferio confirmed her assumption, they were indeed there to provide aid to the people fighting the floor guardian should they need it.

In the end it mattered little to the pair of Goddesses, for they would have no need for that specific service. Perhaps the upcoming monsters will actually require more than mindless sword-waving, then. The lack of guild-run booths did raise another question in Aperio's mind. What is the point of the token then? Did we just need them for the first couple of floors?

Sadly, Ferio had no answer for her question as she herself had not delved into this dungeon before, only having personally visited the one near the city that held her main temple. She simply knew what she had been told, and one of the bits of information that had been passed on was the requirement of the tokens. Maybe we need it for whatever is on the fiftieth floor. The thought of the apparently special layer did bring another question to the forefront of her mind.

Which one are we on right now?

Aperio had not kept track, simply heading straight through towards the next arena, quickly disposing of its guardian, and then heading down. A quick skim through her remarkably sharp memory revealed them to be on the twelfth floor, a lot further down than she had anticipated. Breaking through the walls really makes it quite fast. She had considered simply burrowing her way through the floors, but the dungeon did not go straight down and she also did not want to leave a hole that lead to floors with monsters that people could not reasonably be expected to kill on their own. Do the monsters even leave their own layer, though?

So far the individual monsters seemed to stick to the floor they originated on, though most of them being some form of Goblin muddied the waters a little. I hope the dungeon has something else besides these things… And something else besides endless stone halls. Aperio had, perhaps foolishly, assumed that a dungeon would produce more fantastical interiors. Where the idea had come from was something she did not know, as the only dungeon she had been in had been entirely compromised of small stone hallways and a very prison-like appearance.

With a slight shake of her head, she pushed the thoughts out of her mind and continued downwards. Her hopes of the monsters being significantly stronger on the next layer were quickly dashed as she dispatched a very familiar looking dog-like creature. At least they have more than Goblins now… but why is that the same kind of beast I encountered in the first dungeon? ...Do dungeons talk to each other?

It only took her a moment to relay her thought to her daughter, sadly still not completely painlessly. The answer she received was not the one she had hoped for but should have expected. Ferio did not know. She would not put it outside the scope of possibility — the dungeons could, after all, control their monsters over a vast distance, so why would communications between them be such a stretch? Could a dungeon take over another dungeon? How smart is a dungeon?

The one that tried to enslave her had not seemed intelligent, but then, she had also made short work of it. This one had adapted an air of hostility as soon as she had entered and the guardians seemed to be possessed by something else whenever she came close. Does it do that as a kind of reflex because it instinctively knows that I can take back my mana? The thought of the dungeon using her own mana against her made Aperio unconsciously quicken her pace and flare her wings ever so slightly. Just thinking about the fact felt all kinds of wrong.

Like an affront to all of creation.

Perhaps it is? Sooner or later she would have to come to terms with what she was. One thing at a time. With those thoughts she removed another door barring her way from its hinges and dispatched the overgrown Goblin that was about to squash a lone adventurer with its club. The man started a flood of thank you's and other words of praise, but Aperio simply waved him off and continued down the next flight of stairs, the thought about her very nature still swirling in her mind like an unruly storm.

The monotonous nature of their journey through the dungeon did not help take her mind off of things. In fact, the opposite was true. The further down they went the more practiced Aperio became with the sword, dispatching the monsters with even less effort. It would seem that Ferio had been right and a part of her still knew how to fight with a sword. Aperio herself did not truly know if any of the moves were right or wrong, simply letting instinct guide her hand. The only conscious effort she put into the act was controlling the strength she put into her grip; a few times already she had forgotten what she could do and deformed the hilt of the weapon. At least it's not broken yet.

Another thought surfaced in her mind after they had wandered through even more of the unchanging stone halls. Why do they not drop anything? Didn't Ferio say the dungeon produced things people could take with them? She disposed of yet another monster, but this time she stayed and watched. She saw the by now familiar sight of a soul returning to her Void, as the monster's corpse slowly dissolved into nothingness. But that was it; there was nothing else. Does it use the soul to make the reward?

She turned to walk in the direction of the next guardian but focused her attention towards her daughter and asked her a simple question. She felt awkward posing yet another question wordlessly, as all of her mana-based communication was surely taking its toll, but words were insufficient to convey what she wanted to ask. To describe how a soul felt was a task she felt no verbal language could accomplish.

All she wanted to know was if Ferio had felt something similar from the item that her priestess' group had obtained. Sadly, her daughter could not say for certain. All she knew was that the item was of magical nature; she had not spared it much thought in favour of investigating the splinters of the dungeon core. I will have to look at it myself then, should destroying the crystal not give us anything.

With a shake of her head, Aperio stepped through the doorway to face yet another weak guardian. She did not raise her sword, instead sending the monster a simple hello via a touch of magic. Just like all the other monsters she had tried it on, this one too died the moment her magic took hold. Over level one thousand and it still dies instantly… Perhaps the dungeon is killing them because it thinks I will take control?

Due to boredom and monotony, she had no mental energy left for anything more than a disappointed sigh as she stepped over the corpse. As she started to descend the next flight of stairs, something suddenly shifted in her aura. What? Her mind suddenly wide awake with curiosity, she quickened her pace, eager to see what had brought about this change.

She was forcefully slowed, however, by the presence of a thin veil at the bottom of the stairs. She could not tell if it was physical as well as magical, but it billowed and rippled as it kept her aura from proceeding past its barrier. Aperio, in consideration of the presence of adventurers on the lower levels, had not wanted to push past the obstacle without seeing it in person. Now that she fully knew what it was, she ripped the veil apart with a thought and let the information of her aura flood her mind.

Beyond the veil lay an expanse of green. Gusts of wind sent waves rolling through the tall grass, and gently shook the leaves on the trees dotting the open field. It was vastly different to anything they had seen previously, and if this was the next floor to travel through, then it would perhaps pose at least a little bit of a challenge. The notion was quickly discarded, however. Aperio could not spot a single monster in the lush and verdant area; the only thing of note was a flight of stairs dead center in her field of view.

She took a deep, calming breath of the fresh air that now flowed through the broken veil. So this is where you are supposed to resupply? Reaching out a little further, she could sense a small collection of stone houses out of view, near to the stairs, shrouded by some sort of magic in the same way that the village near the first dungeon had been. Much to her surprise, a person there — a Human in the guild uniform — stiffened, rapidly turning to face towards them. He had, clearly, noticed her unsubtle use of magic, and quickly scribbled down a note that he then pointed at.

Aperio tilted her head at the action before realisation dawned on her and she focused on the piece of paper. Before she started to read what the man had written, an idea formed in her mind. With a flex of her mental muscles, Aperio willed the space in front of her and her daughter to twist itself apart. A second thought did the same to the fabric of reality a few steps away from the man who turned in shock and started to yell.

The winged Goddess paid no mind to his words and stepped through her newly created portal.

Advent - Chapter 50: A Chance Meeting

The man took another step back as reality stitched itself together behind Aperio and Ferio; her portal idea had worked better than expected. Could I teleport without going into my Void? It was an idea that she would have to investigate at a later date, as for now she had to deal with a rather scared Human and an approaching group of armed adventurers.

With a flick of her wrist, the paper the man had written flew into her hand. The motion was not needed, but it had felt like the right thing to do. It also turned out to be a useless action, as the message simply informed them about the way they would need to take to get to the small village — something her little portal trick had taken care of — and that they would need proper identification to continue further on. Why did he have to tell us that with a piece of paper? Couldn't he just wait until we reach the village?

With a thought, she exchanged the note in her hand with the token she had received from the guild master. Once she had turned it over so that the man could see the rune embossed on the metal card, he visibly relaxed. It lasted only a moment, however, as once Aperio took a step closer his muscles tensed once again and his breathing became irregular. Did he find her threatening?

Perhaps the portal was not the best idea? A quick mental query to her daughter did confirm that the magic she had employed was usually reserved for bigger rituals or permanent installations. Seeing someone conjure such a thing out of thin air with seemingly little effort would certainly scare some people. Not that anyone else got scared when I moved between my Void and this …realm. Aperio knew not if there was a proper name for the plane of existence in which the world resided. Calling it a realm felt right, even if she could not point exactly as to why. Though at the time they also knew what I was.

With a shake of her head, she handed her token over to Ferio. The chances of her daughter handling the situation without it devolving into violence were astronomically higher than if she attempted to do so herself. The feeling of disgust that wanted to make itself known at this action was quickly pressed down again. What's wrong with letting someone else do something they are better at? She knew the answer to that, of course. If she was as perfect as a part of her so adamantly believed, there would be no-one better than her.

Ferio took the metal card from her mother's hand, her expression briefly flickering with what Aperio could only guess was worry before she donned a smile and turned towards the armed group that had stopped a few paces away from them. Much like the Human that had first spotted her, this group seemed not quite ready to actually approach the two Goddesses. Unlike the man, however, they did not step back as Ferio closed the distance between them.

Wordlessly, she presented the tokens they had received from the guild master to the person leading the group. The armoured form took the metal cards from her hand and inspected them closely before signing something to their compatriots that caused them to visibly relax, all except a robed and hooded woman in the back of their 'formation'.

Aperio could only tilt her head at the mana she felt around the woman. It wasn't exactly threatening, at least not to her, but the winged Goddess couldn't shake the feeling that the robed woman did not have the best intentions in mind. She squinted at the distant form, trying to glean any information she could. There were tiny imperfections in her skin, of course, and little bits of dirt that clung to her clothes — the usual things to notice on any individual — but aside from those Aperio could not see anything of note. That is, until she tried to peek behind the odd veil of darkness that filled the figure's hood, where she was met with a slight resistance. While it was likely easy to break, she would leave it intact for now. She did not want to fully trust the fuzzy feeling about the woman's intentions, but neither did she want to simply brush it aside. Not that she could hurt me. Of that, she was sure.

"Do you require any supplies before you continue?" the armoured figure asked, handing the tokens back to Ferio. "Perhaps a room to rest? I can't imagine the journey has become any more pleasant since we did it."

"It was a most numbing journey, yes," Aperio said. "But we will not require any supplies or a place to rest. We should continue onwards as soon as we can."

Her voice caused the man that had initially spotted her to take another step back and the robed woman to tighten the swirling mass of mana that surrounded her. The rest of the group showed no reaction she could discern. Most of them seem… surprised? Did they expect me to be a mute?

"Mother is correct, the sooner we finish this the better."

Being addressed as Ferio's mother got more of a reaction out of the adventurers than her ethereal and oddly echo-y voice. There was a simple answer for their surprise, but Aperio would rather believe the people in front of her would not behave like the one woman they had encountered who was overly glib with her insults. Just thinking about the altercation was enough to make her blood boil again.

Her agitation did not go unnoticed as the armoured figure raised its hands in what Aperio assumed to be a placating gesture. "It is rare for family to form parties, even less so for them to undertake dangerous missions such as this one."

Aperio could only raise an eyebrow at the statement. Dangerously boring, yes. The only thing that would be a danger to her here was perhaps the core itself, as the first one of its kind she had found had tried to take her over. Not that it had much success. She was very certain that her rather violent outburst had killed the thing for good.

Perhaps I should go and check, just to make sure. Maybe Ferio can get some information out of whatever is left of it? It would not take long either; a quick hop into her Void and then back to the place she had initially returned to. Or I could try to teleport without using my Void?

Further musings were cut short as Ferio handed her back her token, which she promptly deposited back into her Void, and sent a small mental nudge to follow. For a moment Aperio questioned how her daughter would know where to go, before she came to the rather obvious realisation that the other Goddess likely had her own aura senses. A tentative mental query gave her the answer she expected but also informed her that her aura was rather overbearing and made the use of Ferio's own a bit more difficult.

The information caused Aperio to shift her attention back to the robed woman. Perhaps she is like Thaddeus? Excluding the woman from her aura only required a thought and caused her to shift her stance ever so slightly. The bit of hostility Aperio felt from her, however, still remained. How does that even work? She wanted to inspect the woman to perhaps find out a bit more but, after her rather liberal initial use of the skill, she was hesitant to invade the privacy of others like that again. Not that they have much anyway. Her aura would always give her more information than she would want about the people in front of her, after all.

Suppressing a sigh, Aperio turned to the only option left that would not further her dive into hypocrisy. "Is there anything you want to say, miss?" she asked, turning to face the robed woman.

There was no reply to her question, something that irked Aperio more than it probably should. She could sense the other adventurers tense up as she took a step towards the individual. "Stop glaring and speak. You have a mouth, do you not?"

The woman still did not reply, instead tightening the swirling mass of mana that still danced around in what Aperio assumed was an attempt to hide herself. Can someone hide from me? If they used something that the System enabled them to do, wouldn't she be able to sense them anyway? As the woman was seemingly unable to speak to her, it was with a mental sigh that Aperio identified the woman anyway.

Caethya Martinek | [Touched by the All-Mother] | Level: 389

Oh.

Though Aperio had not expected to so quickly find the other soul she had touched, it did thoroughly explain why she could feel the woman's hostility. So it does ruin their lives? It was the only reason she could think of for the woman's less than pleasant reception. It was an understandable reaction of course, but not something she could change. Or know how to, at least. Somehow she doubted that there was nothing she could do, even if it didn't involve turning back time.

That fact the robed woman was the highest level mortal she had seen thus far was relegated to the back of Aperio's mind as she tried to find a way to deal with the situation at hand. Conversation was not an option, as the woman was apparently unwilling to talk to her. For a brief moment Aperio wanted to take the direct route, sending a mental query as she did with her daughter, but what Ferio had said about the likely outcome coupled with her disastrous experience with the monsters thus far caused her to dismiss the idea. For now.

What else can I try? Well, the people I blessed seemed to not mind my mana at all... It was worth a shot, as nothing else seemed to be working. What she could certainly do was stop her aura's exclusion of the woman. As she was already Touched by her own hand, her mana would do nothing, aside from perhaps enhancing whatever she had already received from the blessing. Soothing the woman through her aura, as she had once done with Laelia, came to mind next, and it was an idea that gave her pause.

The act of using her mana to convey feelings was very similar to the way she shared her thoughts with her daughter. In fact, the only difference she could find was the intent behind it. One was supposed to calm while the other was meant to transport information. Why is it, then, that I can soothe the emotions of others, but the monsters simply die when I attempt to speak with them?

With a shake of her head, Aperio reached out with her mind and tried to grab hold of the magic she had imparted on the soul of the woman in front of her. She had no idea if it would even work; unlike the blessings, there was no vague feeling in the back of her mind to guide her actions. It was merely a hunch she had, one that felt vastly different than the ethereal feelings that had steered her thus far.

Is this, then, something that has never happened to me before? It was the only explanation she could come up with. All her vague feelings and nudges she experienced when she encountered things she had not known in her life as a slave were the distant echoes of her existence before that time. Letting her know that she had once known how to do things, but not how to do them, or why. But if I am as old as… the universe, how can it be that I never touched a soul?

It only took a moment for her to find what she was looking for and as soon as her magic took hold, the woman visibly tensed up and the mana she had drawn so tightly around her exploded outwards. A brief touch of Aperio's own magic caused the wild mana to cease its unruly outburst and return to a calm, more natural state. How she knew that the state it was in now was normal was something she chalked up to having apparently made everything, something she seemingly had to accept sooner rather than later.

There was a small resistance, a barrier of sorts, that prevented Aperio from pushing deeper and truly grasping what laid beyond. Though she knew it would only take a thought on her part to push past the blockage, she also knew that it would not be pleasant or healthy for the woman that carried it.

At a loss for other options, the winged Goddess tried to ever so gently convey her thoughts to the by now frightened woman. Knowing how another person felt to such a degree was something Aperio would probably never get used to, but she had begun to learn to live with it nonetheless. These particular feelings were especially distressing for her to note. She had touched this woman's soul, however innocently she had meant it at the time, and whatever weird experiences had stemmed from that action were all entirely her fault. At least my connection is useful in this instance. As soon as she felt anything amiss with Caethya, she would be able to stop.

Confusion permeated the bond she shared with Caethya, which Aperio took as an indication that her attempt was working. Then, a moment later, there was what Aperio could only describe as frightened understanding as she saw Caethya fall to her knees. Fearing what might come next, Aperio twisted reality apart and brought Caethya, Ferio, and herself to her Void before the woman had the chance to say anything.

If the woman truly knew, truly understood who Aperio was? It was infinitely preferable to explain teleportation and spontaneous abduction rather than openly proclaim her status as the literal creator of everything they knew.

Advent - Chapter 51: The Second Soul

Caethya breathed heavily as she stared into the endless dark below her. Her lungs filled with nothing, her hands and knees somehow found purchase on ground that did not exist, and her mind struggled to comprehend what her eyes saw and her aura sensed. Despite not being able to truly understand what surrounded her, Caethya was intimately familiar with it. Every night, in her dreams, she had had visions of this place.

At first she had thought it was the dungeon trying to trick her yet again. It had never ceased in its attempts to try to take her, turn her into one of the soulless puppets that would obey whatever twisted thing the dungeon desired. Once the woman's attention had fully settled on her, however, that quickly changed. There was an incomprehensibly vast and yet familiar presence looming just outside her mind, one that she had been searching for all her life.

The Elven-looking woman did not appear to be doing much — she wasn’t even carrying her sword anymore — and yet she was threatening to overwhelm Caethya by simply existing. Her mind still echoed with thoughts not her own, forced inside by something against which she could never hope to properly defend herself. And yet, they only spoke of apology and sadness, asking for her forgiveness for what had been done to her.

Caethya did not quite understand why the All-Mother would be sorry for anything. She should be lauded, thanked, and indeed Caetha herself had fallen to her knees to offer her gratitude for her blessing, almost even daring to ask why she, of all beings, had been blessed. The title she had been given was the reason for her rise to power, after all. Only twenty-five years of age, and she was already close to level four hundred; a feat few could ever claim to accomplish, not even other Elves like herself.

Her kind might have the initial advantage of time, but for some reason not many chose to use it to better themselves. But then, the same could be said for all the races. The pursuit of power was not something many took part in, most saying it was too dangerous.

For Caethya it had always been clear what she would do when she was old enough. She would travel, searching for the being that had given her this blessing. It might have been unreadable by the stones and only recently had she actually known what the title actually meant, but its effects had always been clear regardless.

Every reward the System gave was increased for her. She was able to gain levels faster than others, accrued more attributes per level, and had a control over her own mana that made some of the masters she had trained under grow pale. The amount of mana she could draw on had also already dwarfed that of her parents when she had been first appraised at sixteen.

There had been some confusion at the time over the garbled mess that was her title, but it was quickly dismissed as fault of the stone simply not being able to properly handle the amount of mana she held. Now that she knew for certain what the title meant, she was glad it had not been revealed at her first appraisal. Caethya had heard of the legendary being that was somehow above the other deities, but had never taken an active part in those discussions. It was a good way to get yourself on the bad side of some of the bigger churches. At least Mayeia doesn't think that way.

Quite the opposite in fact; the Goddess of Magic had been eager to meet Caethya. She had met the Goddess in person – a rare honor – three years ago, and it was then that she had gotten the cryptic hint that she should, perhaps, visit the Ebenlowe dungeon and head for the core. Did she know I would meet her here?

She shook her head and took another deep breath of the nothing that filled the black abyss surrounding her. It was weirdly soothing, filling her with a sense of calm that she had not known before. It seemed similar, in a way, to the sensations she now knew stemmed from the woman that had given her the blessing. Is this her Dominion, then?

She stiffened at the thought, slowly raising her head to look at the winged Goddess. Caethya could not claim to know much about the workings of the Gods, but being brought to what was essentially their home was most certainly not something common.

"Are you hurt, Caethya?"

The voice of the All-Mother echoed through the nothingness, filling the kneeling Elf with a new wave of comfortable warmth. Her first instinct was to resist the mana that rolled off the winged Goddess, to reject the foreign intrusion. Any attempt to do so would be futile of course; Caethya had little doubt that the being in front of her could erase her from existence with but a passing thought.

She took a deep breath and, for a brief moment, wondered how the winged Goddess knew her name, before she remembered just who the being in front of her was. After another breath, she shook her head in an attempt to clear it. Physically she was fine, despite the lack of air or anything one would usually expect to find in a world made for the living. "I-I am fine," she managed to stammer out after another moment of silence.

"...May I see your face?" There was a bit of apprehension in her voice, as well as a small pressure against the veil her hood cast over her face. Most people assumed she hid her appearance because she had somehow been disfigured, like most other adventures that made use of such enchantments.

She did not have such concerns, as any wound she had received during her adventures had healed perfectly given enough time. Even the time she had lost her hand had, eventually, left no scars or other signs of the injury. For Caethya the hood was just a means to hide her identity; it made the use of identification magic rather useless. Not that many people have such skills anyway.

Before the [Status] view had been enabled, skills like [Identify] were the only means to get a quick view of someone's level and their most prominent title, should the person have one and the user of the skill have it at a high enough level.

Caethya pushed herself off of the solid nothing below her, settling in a proper kneeling position and pulled her hood back, revealing her black and silver hair and the pointed ears of her Elven heritage. Why the Goddess had not simply looked past the veil was not something Caethya knew, but neither would she question the All-Mother.

The winged Goddess took a step closer, the movement somehow enough to close the not insignificant distance and bring her directly in front of the now kneeling Elf. She lowered herself and very slowly stretched out her hand to brush an errant strand of hair out of Caethya's face.

"I hope your life has not been marred by undue hardships," the All-Mother said, her eyes darting around, trying to find something that did not reveal itself to Caethya. Did I do something wrong? She unconsciously balled her fists at the thought, a motion that did not go unnoticed by the winged Goddess as she quickly withdrew her hand and took a step back.

She was so close to getting answers. The only person who could give them was in front of her, and yet Caethya could not find the proper words to voice her questions. It should have been a simple thing, just open her mouth and ask: 'Why me?'. Was there a reason for her to gain this blessing? Did she somehow miss a hint as to what she was meant to do? Or, perhaps, this all came to be because the All-Mother was bored and wanted entertainment? But why would she ask for forgiveness, then?

Her swirling thoughts were interrupted by the voice of the fiery-haired woman that not only looked very similar to the All-Mother, but was also familiar to Caethya despite her inability to place where she might have seen the woman before.

"I believe she needs a bit more time to calm down, mother. Meeting you and then being transported here is undoubtedly quite shocking to any mortal."

"Perhaps," the All-Mother murmured quietly, not taking her eyes off of the kneeling Elf. There was obviously something more she wanted to say but kept to herself. Caethya had no reason to believe that the being in front of her was in any way disappointed with what she had done, but her mind still defaulted to that line of thinking.

That the All-Mother, the one she knew had made everything that surrounded them — or at least played a significant role in its initial creation — had asked for her forgiveness was simply ignored. What had she done that would require the forgiveness of a mere mortal? Why would she even ask that?

Aperio did not take her eyes off the kneeling Elf. The woman had told her that she was fine, only to then react with what the winged Goddess interpreted as rage at her touch. Perhaps she was a slave as well?

Not many people besides her own daughter had made attempts at touching her. There was a good reason for that, too, as the first one that had tried was no longer among the living. That death had been one of the reasons why she had come to Ebenlowe, but now it seemed that it had been largely forgotten. Or the [Grandmaster] made it quite clear that they should not mess with me.

She pushed those thoughts from her mind and refocused on the woman in front of her. Caethya. Aperio had not heard the name before, of course, but she still felt something familiar from the woman. Probably my mana inside her. She still wasn't sure if by 'granting them a fraction of your magic' the System meant that they had access to mana of higher purity or simply possessed innate skills that closer resembled what she did with magic.

The Elf slowly straightened herself, but remained kneeling. She eyed Aperio for a moment longer before finally deciding to speak. "Why do you ask for forgiveness?"

It was not what Aperio had expected. She sounded genuinely confused, clearly not understanding why she had asked to be forgiven on their first meeting. It also implied that her life might not have been ruined like Maria's or, what Aperio considered more likely, that her magic was messing with their minds.

For ruining your life? Touching your very soul without permission? Forgetting what I have become and giving in to curiosity? There were many things she could choose from which would require forgiveness, and yet she could not bring herself to say any of them without knowing what kind of life the Elf in front of her had lived.

"For setting you on a path before you were even born and bringing you here," Aperio finally said. It was not a lie, per se, but neither was it the whole truth. In the end, it was simply the best answer she could come up with at the time that did not require her to endure more absurd feelings of disgust and wrong.

Caethya's brows drew closer as she lowered her head in thought. It only lasted for a moment, however, as she quickly lifted her head again and met the eyes of the winged Goddess.

"I will not forgive, but thank you for blessing me with this gift," she said. "I do not know why you chose me, but I am grateful that you did. Your touch has allowed me to reach heights that few can even dream of, survive wounds that would claim any normal person's life."

Aperio knew not where the woman had suddenly found the conviction to talk like she did. It was a welcome change, however, as it revealed that her blessing — Does it count as one? — actually did some good. Now she only needed to figure out if it was her mana influencing the person in front of her to make them more agreeable or if they were simply frightened that she would will them out of existence should they not say what she wished to hear. There was, however, something she wanted to know.

"Your family did not shun you for having a title they could not understand?"

"Why would they?" Caethya asked, raising an eyebrow at the question. "They follow Mayeia and she does not care for what the System says, only what you do."

And the title made you stronger so in their eyes it's more than fine. Aperio wasn't sure if she really liked that approach either, but it was undoubtedly better than what Vigil, Inanis, and the rest of what Ferio had so liberally branded as traitors did. The fact that a Goddess did not care what the System said somehow unsettled Aperio however, especially when it was one that supposedly ascended around the same time as Natio.

Maybe she wants to hide the fact that the System can ascend someone to Godhood? It was a plausible answer, as the existing deities did not seem to like competition. Perhaps they will have to deal with Laelia one day though… Probably Caethya and Maria too. All of them had received a rather sizable chunk of very potent mana from her after all. Maybe even Arden, though he has less than the other three.

Saying that she was not interested in seeing the people she had accidentally blessed ascend to godhood would be a lie, but Aperio would still not inform them of the possibility. At least not now. If they proved to be sane enough, it would be an option. But isn't that messing with their lives even more? Telling them or not, both would influence them to follow certain paths, something she had wanted to avoid doing.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a slight mental nudge from her daughter, asking if she was alright. Aperio waved her concerns off, simply shifting the thoughts she had about three potential Goddesses to her daughter.

A slight giggle from Ferio got the attention of Caethya who opened her mouth to speak, but was silenced when the Goddess of Light and Life herself spoke up. "Nothing you have to concern yourself with, sister."

The words of her daughter gave Aperio pause. ...Sister? Caethya? Why her, but not Maria? Or is it just sister-in-faith, and I'm overthinking things? Something told her that Ferio was thinking more along the lines of an actual sister rather than just a fellow woman who happened to believe in the same Goddess.

A gentle touch of her mana conveyed her question to her daughter who, after a brief moment of silence, replied with what Aperio had apparently told her about how she came to be.

It wasn't that different to what had happened to Maria or Caethya. Instead of touching a soul that was floating in the river waiting for its next turn at life, Aperio had created one. The fact did not sit entirely well with her, as it only further solidified things she did not like but already knew. But, it did indeed answer why her daughter thought of the kneeling Elf as a sister.

Should Caethya ascend to godhood — something Ferio apparently assumed was just a matter of time — there would virtually be no difference between the two of them. Just that I did not raise her myself. Which, while not that common, was not unheard of in the world of royalty and high nobility. There was another thing that made them more equal, something that hurt far more greatly than many things had thus far.

I also cannot remember raising Ferio.

"Sister?" The confused voice of Caethya returned Aperio's attention to the present.

"Perhaps one day," the winged Goddess said, foregoing an explanation. "Before we return, I have one favour I would like to ask of you." After she had received a hesitant nod from kneeling woman, Aperio continued. "I would appreciate it if you did not tell the others who I am. I would like to enjoy the few days of privacy I have left before word spreads down here."

"Of course, I will do as you ask," Caethya said, then hesitated briefly. "May I know why you are here?"

"To destroy the dungeon," Ferio replied. "For good."

The Elf's eyes widened at the answer, her head quickly swivelling between Aperio and her daughter.

"Would you like to join us?" Aperio had not really thought about what this might entail, but the shock and frantic expression that had settled on the young woman's features lead her to believe that destroying the core before she had a chance to get there would not be good.

"I would… but what about the rest of my party?"

"The offer is only for you; the reason I am here is not something I wish to share with complete strangers." This might be the first time she had met Caethya, but the bond she shared with her made trusting the woman that much easier. Any lie would easily be seen through. "You can confer with them once we return. We shall wait until you have come to a decision."

With those words, Aperio waved her hand at an empty patch of space. A small flex of her mental muscles was all that was required for reality to turn in on itself and a portal to the fiftieth floor of the Ebenlowe dungeon to form.

Taking a step closer to the still kneeling Elf, Aperio held out her hand. "Come now."

Advent - Chapter 52: The Village in the Dungeon

As soon as Aperio stepped through the portal, she was greeted by a sword pointed at her face. The only reaction the blade managed to get out of the winged Goddess was a slight tilt of her head. "That blade will do you no good."

While she might not yet have had the silvery-blue metal used against her, Aperio chose to trust the feeling at the back of her mind that told her that the weapon would do nothing. Only a God has managed to hurt me thus far… And some trees. I should test if they can still hurt me now.

With those thoughts, she pushed the weapon aside with the back of her hand and stepped to the side to allow Caethya and her daughter to pass through the portal. Ferio only raised an eyebrow at the agitated adventurer who had, yet again, pointed his sword at Aperio.

"What did you do to Caethya?" the armoured figure asked in a tone Aperio assumed was supposed to be threatening. "She never takes off her hood."

The Elf in question quickly rectified the mistake she had made and slipped the hood back on, the black veil forming a moment later. Aperio simply fixed her gaze on the armoured form and narrowed her eyes slightly. "I wished to speak in private. What we discussed is of no concern to you."

"I'm fine, Kermal," Caethya said, stepping past the winged Goddess. "It was something I had wanted for a long time."

Aperio could not help but tilt her head at the statement. She had never really thought about time, but thinking of anything below a few millena as long somehow seemed weird to her. But a few decades is long, she thought, shaking her head lightly. The change really shifted how I think about time, didn't it?

"While you discuss what you must with your group, my daughter and I will have a look around this… quaint little village." The eclectic collection of buildings had piqued her interest, if only because some of them appeared to be made from the same material as the dungeon itself. If they use it to build, then they can harvest it in some way. It is breakable. Why, then, do they get confused when I merely destroy some doors?

Caethya turned around at her words. "How am I supposed to find you?"

Aperio only cocked her head a little to the side and then tapped at her temple. With the movement, she conveyed her name and the instruction to pray when she was ready as gently as she could towards the Elf. Her attempt appeared to be largely successful as Caethya nodded, but Aperio was dismayed to see that the action had also caused her to stagger back a little. She only survives it because of my mana residing inside her, doesn't she?

The thought of her mana did spawn an idea in her mind, one that would require a bit more understanding of the System but could potentially solve her communication problems. The System itself obviously understood everyone, even monsters who spoke no language whatsoever, so why shouldn't it be able to act as an interpreter for her? Even if it just gives them a notification to read through, it would be vastly preferable to them dropping dead when I think in their direction.

While any use of magic was just an expression of her will, killing something with a literal thought was on an extreme level of oddity that Aperio would happily do without. Turning away from the group, she tried to ignore the whispered debate that the armoured figure — Kermal, apparently — had started. Still, she couldn't help but smile as she was being introduced as Caethya's old teacher, one that she had tried to track down for years. So I am an Elder of the Moons, a normal noblewoman, a priestess in service to myself and now also a teacher. ...I should probably figure out a single thing I can tell people.

Of course, that would only work for a short while until word about her true nature spread. Something she did not expect would take much longer. Also, there's not many winged Elves I could get confused with. It would appear that hiding her beloved wings would become a necessity for incognito travel in the future.

With a mental sigh, Aperio focused on the information her aura provided. The mismatched buildings that comprised the village were indeed of interest to her, but so was the number of people that actually walked its street. She had expected a small inn, perhaps, or a similar equivalent in which the mortals could rest and have a proper meal. Instead, this seemed to be a thriving village, one that rivaled the one she had found shortly after her return.

The building that truly got her attention, however, was a small, single story tavern with the Adventurers Guild plaque hanging proudly over its door. She wasn't interested in trying the food and drinks they undoubtedly had to offer, but the rather large open area behind the building where she could see a decent number of people sparring against one another.

After informing her daughter of her intent with a brief mental nudge, Ferio chose to follow as Aperio took to the skies and quickly closed the distance that separated her from her destination. Caethya's group did not react much to her departure, only furthering their questions for the Elven woman. The fact that flight was not that extraordinary but having wings was not normal still seemed weird to Aperio. It can't be just me, can it?

The thought was shelved for later deliberation as she very carefully opened the wooden door of the guild-run tavern. A few heads turned at their entrance, but they quickly turned back to what they had been doing. Aperio couldn't help but frown at the smell that practically assaulted her nose. So far she had never truly focused on what she could smell, her senses often already overwhelmed by the noise that surrounded her. The shouting and clanging of blades outside coupled with the animated conversations of the patrons inside was already threatening to do just that.

She could not place the smell. It was not something as simple as the combination of blood, shit, and alcohol – something she was, sadly, very familiar with through experience – but rather a mixture of something sickly sweet and, at the same time, something as rancid as a rotting corpse. What are they making in here?

With a shake of her head she pushed onwards, walking past the filled tables and dodging various servers holding way too many plates. Once she stepped outside again, her nose was treated to the much more familiar smell of blood and she could see, with her own eyes, the source of the shouting. It was the reason she had come here after all.

"Do you intend to spar with them, mother?" Ferio asked. "I doubt they would be much of a challenge."

"I simply wanted to watch them fight." That she did so in the hopes of potentially learning something was left unsaid.

Neither the crowd nor the fighters themselves seemed to care much for the two approaching Goddesses, too focused on the fight itself. While Aperio herself knew little of actual fighting outside of the instincts she still had from her apparent previous life, she could tell that the two who were currently sparring knew what they were doing.

They moved efficiently; everything they did was done to achieve victory. It reminded her of the bits of training she had seen the Royal Guards perform, they too only moved as much as necessary to deflect a strike or get close enough to deliver a blow of their own. The only difference here was that a seemingly disorganized blocked attack was simply a feint, a ruse to lure the other into false confidence so they could be struck at. Occasionally they would throw the odd bit of magic at each other as well, though most of what they used seemed extraordinarily weak to the winged Goddess. But is it really weak?

And yet, despite their obvious prowess, Aperio could not help but frown at the fight. To her, they still seemed to move slowly. Even when one of them managed to land a blow that seemingly blindsided the other, Aperio had somehow known it would come. A slight twitch of the attacker’s arm, the subtle step back they took was apparently all she needed to figure out what they intended to do. But, how?

She could not explain to herself how this was possible; it went past what instinct should be able to provide. The only thing that would give an explanation would be something bordering on precognition, an ability she would rather not have. Is there even a limit to what I can do? Her instinct was to say no. If she truly made everything there would be no reason to assume there would be any form of limit to what she could achieve. It did, however, give her an idea for speeding the rest of their journey to the core up. After they had walked through the first fifty floors, Aperio was not convinced completing the journey on foot would be worth it. I doubt anything in here will be a challenge.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a burst of even louder cheering; a winner had been decided. Aperio had expected gloating or mockery from the winning side, but instead they offered their hand to their fallen opponent.

"Better luck next time," the winner said, removing their helmet and revealing a raven-haired, black-eyed Human youth that did not seem to match the deep voice he possessed. The loser did not respond, simply vanishing into the crowd. "Anyone else want to challenge me?"

"Yeah, who wants to challenge my Kiro?" The voice belonged to a fox-eared Beastkin girl that wore something Aperio would not deem appropriate for anything outside of some very private endeavours. Well, I should not judge.

Nobody responded to the challenge, most people trying to appear as small as possible as the eyes of the youth wandered over them. His gaze stopped on Aperio who, unlike the others, saw no reason to hide herself. He will probably see that as a challenge, won't he? Her thoughts were proven to be correct by his next words.

"Do you want to challenge me?"

Aperio ignored the slight giggle of Ferio behind her, simply tilting her head at this question. "I did not plan to, no. Should you wish to challenge me, however, I would be inclined to humour you."

Her voice had more of an impact on the youth than she had thought it would have, as his eyes widened slightly and he took a half-step back. His vocal fan-girl seemingly did not like Aperio's choice of words as she started to mutter various insults under her breath that almost caused the winged Goddess to help the Beastkin into an early grave. The tiny voice in her head was screaming at her to kill the insolent mortal, and for once Aperio actually considered it, even if only briefly.

"You should teach your friend some manners," Aperio said, indicating the Beastkin girl as the friend in question with one of her wings. "Not everyone is willing to forgive such insults." Like Ferio. She could sense her daughter's anger at the comments, but she restrained herself as Aperio herself made no move to stop the flow of insults that came from the girl.

"How about I teach you some manners after I’ve won our duel?"

The smile that accompanied his words caused Aperio to twist her face in disgust at the comment. Whatever he had in mind he could do without and far away from her. With an unneeded motion, she retrieved her sword from her Void and stepped forwards. "You need a lesson in humility."

How he could not see the difference in their strength was beyond her. How can he think he can beat me if my voice makes him stagger? With a shake of her head, she lazily lifted her sword and pointed it at the Human youth. "You may start when you are ready."

The gathered people seemed to like their disagreement as they started their incoherent shouting again. A few of them even started to bet on who would win. Much to Aperio's surprise, most bet on the youth in front of her, seemingly not trusting a random winged Elf with a magical voice to be strong enough to beat the reigning champion. I guess they will lose some money, then.

With a smooth motion, the Human youth put his helmet back on and settled into what Aperio assumed to be a stance; it definitely looked more competent than her lazily lifted sword. Still, the moment he kicked off of the ground in a dash to close the distance, Aperio could not help but tilt her head at the lack of speed in his movements. Much like her first encounter after she had returned, the world seemed to have slowed down. This time, though, it was markedly more extreme. To her it looked like Kiro was attempting to dash through a thick layer of syrup instead of air.

She could have simply cut his attack short, appear next to him and introduce him to the ground, but Aperio chose to let him come to her. A few agonisingly long moments later, the youth had reached her and drew his sword back in what would appear to be an obvious attempt to attack. At least that is what it looked like and what she assumed he wanted for her to see. It would have worked if she could not feel the mana flow through him and slowly condense in his free hand.

Aperio let her sword vanish back into her Void; it would not be needed here. And, if he loses against an unarmed opponent it would be more humiliating, no? With that thought, she grabbed the sword that was now being thrust in her direction and pulled.

She had not used a lot of strength, but seemingly still too much. The sword came flying from Kiro's hand, its blade bent and cracked where Aperio had gripped it. The winged Goddess dropped the useless weapon and directed her attention to the youth's hand that was still gathering mana for what she assumed to be a bigger attack. At least for him.

Her assumption was proven to be correct as a moment later a cone of mist filled with tiny shards of ice was released in her direction. Neither the cold nor the projectiles bothered her in the least. The only effect it had was that a very small part of her attention was focused on fixing the dress wherever the frozen blades cut it open.The patches she had previously fixed herself showed no sign of damage despite the continued attack. Soon I will have a dress made entirely from my mana. It's probably going to be more effective than armour as well.

A thought later and the barrage from the youth fizzled away into nothing, revealing a rather bored-looking Aperio. "Anything else you would like to try?"

In response to her rather boorish taunt, Kiro removed his helmet and performed a weird set of motions with his hands that made no sense to the winged Goddess. Still, in response to his antics she could sense the mana in his body start to change. It began to flow differently, entering into a state of something that looked close to her passive improvement. Will the changes to my body ever stop? Even if they did, Aperio was not sure she wanted them to. The youths' actions did give her an idea, however.

Ira had said that the strength of her aura was determined by the amount of mana she held within her body. Aperio had never really tried to see how much mana she could draw from her well into her corporeal form, but now seemed like a good time to try. She did inform Ferio of her plan, telling her that, should it come to pass that it would be too much for the onlookers and she herself was, for whatever reason, unable to properly exclude them from her aura, it would be up to her daughter to shield them.

With an unnecessary breath, Aperio began to draw as much mana from her well as she could. No matter how much she took, the amount in reserve did not seem to change. Neither did she feel any resistance to how much she could keep in her body. The only thing that she did notice was that all the mana she took out of her well immediately set out to improve her body as best it could. Last time I tried to speed up that process I had to do it consciously. Why does it happen on its own now?

The way the colour was slowly draining from Kiro's face brought an unexpected sense of joy to Aperio's mind. Am I that vain of a person? She liked being strong, very much so, but she had not thought displaying that strength and showing superiority over others would bring her joy. Or does it simply feel good to use what I have? It was also an answer, one she would have to test once the 'fight' was over.

It only took a moment longer before Kiro fell to his hands and knees, the mana in his body returning to its normal flow. It was then that Aperio noticed an ethereal glow that was starting to emanate from her skin. Tiny wisps of blue and silver were dancing around her wings. She unfurled her feathered appendages and took a heavy step towards the downed Human. The floor broke under her feet, the cracks lighting up with a silvery-blue shine she knew came from her mana.

With each passing moment, Kiro's breathing became more laboured. Sweat started to drip from his form and his arms and legs started to shake under the strain of the unseen weight of her aura. A small echo in the back of her mind informed Aperio of her daughter's call to restrain herself, that she would not be able to shield everyone present let alone the entire village should she continue as she did now.

Aperio did not want to stop.

Using more than a tiny fraction of her might felt good. Freeing. It also felt disturbingly good to punish a presumptuous mortal that had dared to challenge her. The one who gave them everything they had. Gave him the very power he so foolishly believed would be able to stand a chance against her.

Aperio held out her hand, the wisps of mana dancing around her outstretched wings glowing even brighter. The ethereal light emanating from her skin had by this time also turned to tiny puffs of mana-smoke that now seeped out of her form to swirl around her.

She would show this foolish mortal what true power was.

Advent - Chapter 53: Continuing the Journey

"You dare to challenge me?" Aperio asked. Her voice slamming into the Human like a physical force, causing him to crumple further into a frail and helpless heap. "You are weak."

She brought her outstretched arm down in a sharp motion, reality itself seeming to split apart in its wake. A heartbeat later, reality shifted again. The ground reached for itself greedily, knitting itself back together. The air, too, seemed to imperceptibly rush into itself to once again become a coherent whole. Then, air and earth heaved, sliding spent blood and flesh back towards the fallen Human. With a grating slurp the two halves of the corpse stretched, accepting the offshoots of injury back within itself and molding back into a singular entity. As soon as the lungs reformed the screaming began anew, wordlessly proclaiming in no uncertain terms to all present that life, too, had returned to the Human.

Aperio had not wanted to kill him — at least not yet. All she had wanted to do was inflict pain, something the universe itself was seemingly very willing to help her with. Shifting her attention away from the now crying Kiro, the winged Goddess drove her hand through the air in front of her, breaking reality like a glass window and revealing a vast expanse of white. She did not know how she had done what she did, but what she needed from here was clear.

Her senses filled the white expanse, searching for what she knew to be present. In a fraction of a moment, what she sought appeared before her. The bladed staff hovered in the nothing, slowly spinning around its own axis. Waiting.

A thought was all Aperio needed to wake the weapon from its slumber.

Thin strands of silver came to life all along the black surface of the blade, a line of blue that seemed to slice through the very space it occupied forming on the cutting edge. Delicate cracks of blue appeared, pulsing rhythmically, and spread web-like across the silver haft. Once the progression of her mana throughout the weapon had stopped, Aperio willed it to return to her hand.

The swordstaff felt comfortable to hold, the weight it carried vastly preferable to the feather-like feel of the sword she had used before. Another thing this weapon — her weapon — brought was the knowledge that it would not break should she grip it with a bit more force.

Aperio spun the blade in her hand once before she pointed it at that cowering Human in front of her. A small flex of her newly empowered magical muscles brought the fanatic’s sword out from her Void and embedded it in the floor in front of Kiro. "Go on. Fight me."

Kiro's only response was to curl up, clearly trying to make himself as small as possible. Aperio scoffed at the movement. "You proclaimed the challenge! Now stand and fight!"

The Human youth, ever so slowly, stood up. His eyes were wide open in shock as his body obeyed Aperio's will and not his own. She could feel his fear, taste it in the air. Smell it. A rapid movement behind her, sensed through her aura, caused Aperio to rapidly spin in place and point her bladed staff at the approaching figure.

Aperio wanted to unleash the full brunt of her anger on the person who had dared to interrupt her, but at the sight of fiery red hair and the unmistakable touch of her daughter’s magic a tiny sliver of shock interrupted her movements. She had sworn to herself that she would not, would never hurt family, and yet in the heady heat of impending battle she had almost done just that.

She had almost brought the full force of her might against her own daughter..

She let out a breath, a thin line of wispy mana-smoke leaving her mouth. As the arms of her daughter carefully wrapped around her and a whispered "Calm" entered her ears, Aperio ceased the flow of mana from her well. As good as it felt to let her mana flow through her, it was not worth the loss of control it brought with it.

When she had felt power fill every fiber of her being, more than she had ever thought possible, she had wanted to use it to erase the insolent mortal who had challenged her from existence. And I almost did. Still, at least some good came of this. She had her own weapon again, one that would not break under the force of her wielding it, and she knew the frightful power of its abilities. What remained unrevealed to her was how she had known where it was. Or, for that matter, how she had gotten it back.

The light emanating from her skin and the wisps of mana that danced around her wings were slowly starting to vanish as the excess she had pulled from her well was rapidly incorporated into her physical form. Using her feathered limbs, Aperio concealed the two of them from the prying eyes of the people that surrounded them.

"Thank you," she whispered. That the note of power in her voice had yet again increased in strength was ignored; an obvious consequence of what she had done. She also tried not to listen to the murmurs of the onlookers, as what they had witnessed was obviously far outside the scope of what any of them knew.

"I have never seen you like that before. Just you standing there in that state, doing nothing, would be enough to kill most mortals," Ferio said, separating herself from her mother in what seemed to be an attempt to examine her. "I also didn't know you grew taller when angered."

Aperio could only tilt her head at the statement. She had not noticed a change in height; the Human had always seemed small and weak to her. Does it really matter? For her, such a minor change in her physical form did not. What did matter, however, was that she had lost control yet again. That she had been intoxicated by her own might. All because a mortal challenged me. I should be above that.

She let out a sigh, folding her wings behind her back again. Perhaps I just need to let loose once. Blow up a mountain or something. In the end, she would need to learn how to control the power she commanded one way or another. Hopefully regaining my memory helps with that.

Turning back around, Aperio moved towards the cowering form of Kiro. He winced as she stepped closer, trying to scoot away from the winged Goddess but failing to do so. "Do not challenge someone you cannot beat,” she said before gesturing to the sword that was still firmly embedded in the floor. “You may keep this as compensation for your broken one." And because I have a proper weapon now.

The swordstaff she had retrieved felt good in her hand, a familiar weight that she had not known she missed. Her mana had run through the weapon, causing shining lines to permeate across the haft and blade as it had waited to be used. It was almost like it was anticipating her desire to impose her will on creation and offering itself up as a tool to help that come to pass. Such power and abilities were concepts that she would have found uncomfortable just a few moments ago, but now they seemed to feel oddly welcome.

Peering into the vast expanse of nothing but white light had changed — Restored? — something. The amount of information she received from her aura had not altered, but the quality of it had increased. Everything seemed to feel more palpable to her. She could feel the beating hearts of the mortals surrounding her, how they drew in her magic with every breath they took.

That was something else that had changed. She could see how things connected to each other and, in the end, to her. This new visual ability was fleeting, growing weaker with each passing moment as the mana was absorbed in her body's constant quest for improvement. No use denying it anymore. The way in which all that she could see connected back to her made it quite clear that her [Demiurge] title had meant exactly what she thought it did.

Still, she tried not to focus on the tiny threads that tied all of reality to her and instead brought a tiny bit of foreign mana to her attention. As she brought it closer she recognized the form of a prayer, its nature apparent by the quiet whispers that came from it. A quick inspection revealed it to be from Caethya. So she’s made her choice. ...Or she wants to know what just happened here.

A mental query to her daughter informed her that none outside of those directly present for her outburst should have noticed anything out of the ordinary. Ferio also asked that she please restrain herself in the future as the strain she had put on her daughter by merely existing had been greater than what she was comfortable with. Aperio could only grimace at the reply, another reminder that she had lost control. With a shake of her head, she focused on Caethya's prayer again.

"I wish to accompany you and your daughter to the core," the Elven woman's disembodied voice said. "My former party does not want to believe my words and may try to stop us. I beg for your mercy on their behalf, they do not know who you are and would not believe me if I told them."

It was understandable reaction of course; who would believe someone who was kidnapped when they claimed that the one that had taken them was the literal creator of the world?

Luckily, the way Aperio intended to cover the last part of their journey would make tracking them rather difficult. If they try to stop us… They simply would not be able to. Additionally, the tiny voice in the back of her mind that readily told her she did not have to fear mortal weaponry was also being quite vocal in its praise of the potential combat prowess of the one she had inadvertently blessed. She was fairly certain that, should a fight come to pass, Caethya alone could take on her group.

After she had informed Caethya that she would be with her shortly, Aperio stored her freshly reacquired weapon in her Void. Then, she quickly checked on Kiro, something she should have probably done sooner. He winced at the touch of her mana, trying again to distance himself from the winged Goddess. Aperio couldn't blame him, but neither would she feel sorry for him.

The only injuries she could find were already healing, and there was no sign of any permanent form of damage. At least physically. If he would recover from whatever shock he carried from this encounter was out of her hands. He had challenged her, and he would have to deal with the consequences.

Unwilling to give any form of explanation to the people that were still gathered around them, Aperio took to the sky. Ferio quickly followed her, a slight frown on her face as her mother had not told her she would be leaving. A mental apology later, the two set off to where Aperio could sense Caethya.

The short journey was not enough to clear her head from what she had done just moments prior, the feeling of her mana freely flowing through her still fresh. She wanted to experience it again, almost desperately so, but would not give in to the feeling until she knew she would not lose control. And not until I can do it without impacting everyone around me.

Their arrival did not go unnoticed, the group of adventurers immediately turning their attention to the pair of Goddesses. Aperio ignored the looks the others gave her and focused on Caethya. "Are you ready to leave?"

After a brief moment of hesitation, the Elf nodded. "Yes."

"Can you fly?"

In response to her question, Caethya began to hover slightly above the ground.

After a nod, Aperio kicked off of the ground and spread her wings again. She waited for both Ferio and Caethya to catch up before she moved towards the entrance of the next floor.

"Why the hurry?" Ferio asked.

Aperio could offer no proper answer to her daughter's question, just a feeling of general discomfort she got from being here. Perhaps it was the shame she felt for her loss of control, or maybe it was that the dungeon itself was starting to do something in order to get her to leave. In the end, it did not matter much — their journey downwards would continue now.

Much to her dismay, Aperio found Caethya's speed to be rather slow, something that was luckily not that important as the entrance was close by. Or am I just too fast? It was possible, but then, Ferio had no trouble keeping up with her thus far. But she is also a Goddess, and I have not yet flown as fast as I can.

Pushing the rather useless train of thought from her mind, Aperio focused on the entrance leading further down. Just like the ones in the upper floors, it had a booth staffed by a uniform-wearing member of the guild. The presence of the checkpoint did raise a question in her mind. Does Caethya have a token?

She conveyed her question as gently as she could to the newest member of their group, slowing down slightly when Caethya tumbled a little as the thoughts reached her. Once she had regained her bearings, she produced a small card not too dissimilar from the ones Aperio and her daughter had received. Not a problem then.

They set down just outside the small building that housed the stairway, getting a brief nod from one of the guards standing beside the open door. Caethya offered a small wave while Aperio and Ferio simply walked past the armoured figure.

Much like before, they were quickly waved through after they had presented their tokens. The stairs leading down were similarly unremarkable, the dungeon seemingly using the same design every time. Is it even intelligent? It was a question she would hopefully be able to answer soon.

"Uhm, Lady All-Mother. ...Did something happen?" Caethya asked. "I felt something in my blessing change. I don't know what it was, but I felt angry and ...powerful? I don't know how else to put it."

So what I feel leaks over to those who carry my blessing? Or is it because she was close? "Someone needed to be taught a lesson. What you felt was a part of what I felt." Why Caethya had felt more powerful was not something she knew, but something told her that the more concentrated her mana became in one place, the stronger someone with her blessing would be. They do use my mana after all. "You may also call me Aperio. I am not too fond of formality."

The statement got her an affirmative nod and a brief, confused look. "I hope whoever required a teaching from you has learned their lesson."

"I think they did."

The rest of the journey down was spent in silence, Aperio mentally preparing for what she had planned once they reached the next floor. She was relatively confident that it would work — or, at least, she saw no reason why it shouldn't. Only one way to find out.

Advent - Chapter 54: The Core

Once they had reached the bottom of the stairs, Aperio motioned for her daughter and Caethya to stop. "I will take us the rest of the way."

Ferio seemed to have an idea of what Aperio planned to do as she simply nodded in reply. Caethya on the other hand shifted her gaze between the Goddess and the vast expanse of green before them. She obviously wasn't quite sure how Aperio intended to bring them fifty-odd floors down.

The lack of confidence from a person she herself had blessed, even if she had never meant to, hurt. Caethya most certainly knew who — and more importantly what — she was. That she could get them where she wanted to go should have been obvious. But then, I am not even sure if it will actually work.

There was no reason it shouldn't. The small portal trick she had performed to get to the village had been an easy thing, after all. She only needed to be able to sense the place she wanted to move to, something that should be easily achievable with her ever-expanding aura. And if it isn't, I can always draw a bit more mana from my well.

It wasn't something she necessarily wanted to do. She still felt herself longing for the feeling of power that came with being immersed in her own mana, and with that came the squeezing fear of losing control. If, in the end, it should be necessary to reach for her well in order to accomplish her task, then she was willing to try. Hopefully it won't be needed, though.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, an action that felt increasingly unnecessary to her, and focused on her aura. The trickle of information slowly turned into a flood that detailed everything that surrounded her.

The rhythmic beat of Caethya's heart, the slight pulsing of her daughter's magic, and the countless beasts that roamed the sea of green in front of her. All was visible through her aura; only a thought away. And yet, it was not enough, she wanted more.

There was no need to push her mana further out, just for her to access what her aura already provided. Her senses swept over the floors below her, more monsters roaming ever more desolate looking fields and plains until jagged pieces of stone replaced the grass and trees.

Further down, streams of molten rock replaced the water that filled the occasional river in the layers above. Their banks were not filled with sand or dirt but covered in shards of glass, some of which slowly melted, joining the river of liquid stone.

The monsters, too, had changed. No longer did Aperio see Goblins or dog-like beasts. Now the layers were inhabited by overgrown lizards and bats that she would have never dared to approach before her sacrifice. So weak.

It was not the only thought that crossed her mind as she inspected a few of the monsters more closely, however. The itch to fight was still there, but by now Aperio had almost given up hope that she would be able to find someone who could give her an interesting challenge. Perhaps that is for the best. If someone could beat her, then they could accomplish the unthinkable and force their will upon her.

Pushing the thoughts aside, Aperio let her senses expand even deeper into the dungeon. The floors flew past, turning more and more into a hellish landscape of molten rock and jagged stone until she could finally see a large, cathedral-like building.

Its walls were decorated with sharp edged protrusions of stones, carved into what Aperio could only assume were meant to be people in their last moments of life. Some seemed to be impaled upon swords or other sharp weaponry. Others were being torn apart in the wild feeding frenzy of monsters she had seen in the floors above. Still others seemed to be melting, or crumbling, in reaction to some sort of poisonous attack.

Inside the building she knew to be the core, a thin barrier of its magic trying to keep her aura outside. It was, of course, a futile attempt, as Aperio did not even need to push against the obstacle for her aura to seep inside. She only gave the core a brief mental look before she willed the space in front of the core to connect to her current location.

A moment later her eyes shot open at the sound of infinite stacks of porcelain shattering and ricocheting off of unseen walls. Before her, reality fell apart in jagged splinters, the view in front of her falling away in pieces to gradually reveal the dungeon core.

The portal she had created did not look like the one she had made before. This one had no edges, no obvious sign of outside magic. The section of space in front of them had simply been replaced by the bit Aperio wanted to move to, almost like her mana had been used to seamlessly fill the holes in her dress.

I can go anywhere I want, can't I? With that thought, Aperio stepped through her newly created portal. Ferio followed shortly after, seemingly not surprised at what her mother had done. Caethya, on the other hand, didn't move. She simply stared at the section of space that led elsewhere.

After a moment's pause she took a step to the side, looking at the magical passageway from a different angle. Aperio tilted her head at the actions of the young Elf, not quite knowing what she was trying to accomplish. A very light touch of her magic conveyed her confusion, and the winged Goddess winced slightly as she saw an expression of pain briefly flash over Caethya's face. Nonetheless, after another brief moment of hesitation, the Elven woman stepped through the portal.

"What is that?" Caethya asked, watching with wide eyes as reality repaired itself and the passage disappeared.

Aperio lightly cocked her head at the question. She did not really have a name for what it was; she simply wanted a way to easily move herself and the rest of her group to their destination. Perhaps I should have tried to simply teleport us all. Unbidden, a grisly memory of one of the Empire's failed teleportation experiments came to mind, and she quickly shelved her idea. I do not want either of them to end up inside a wall.

She was fairly certain that she herself could survive such a thing, the reassuring feeling at the back of her mind not really finding the idea of appearing inside of a wall to be a threat. Perhaps Ferio would be able to survive as well, as a Goddess should be a lot more durable than a mortal. But Caethya, even with her blessing, would probably not fare too well and Aperio did not want to find out if she could actually regrow most of a person.

"It was just a means to an end, an easy way for us to skip the rest of the dungeon," Aperio said.

There was a slight mental nudge from her daughter, letting Aperio know that she had seen through her rather obvious lie. Ferio knew that her mother had simply wanted to see if she could bend reality to her will, something her daughter apparently had had few doubts about. Well, now I know.

With that, Aperio focused on the core. At least, on what she assumed to be the core. She had half expected it to fight her as soon as she appeared, something that had obviously not happened. Instead, the large purple and red crystal floated above a pedestal in the middle of the room, slowly rotating around its own axis. Aperio could feel her mana leak out of the crystalline structure, could see how it tried to connect to her only to be reined back in by something she could not identify.

What she had no problem identifying, however, was the familiar twinkling light and the mist that hovered on the inside edges of the crystal, desperately trying to break free. As she now knew, the feeling was her mana that resided inside the crystal. One thing she still could not reliably identify was the mist that was trapped inside.

It still reminded her of the souls that resided inside her Void, but the dungeon core did not give off the same feel as the tiny orbs. But then, neither does a living being.

She stepped closer, summoning her swordstaff from her Void almost on reflex. With the comfortable weight of the weapon in her hand, she took another step towards the crystal, ready for it to attack her as the first one she had encountered had done. The weapon pulsed with her mana: eager for battle, impatient to be used again.

One more step caused the mist to break free from its crystalline prison. It flowed to the ground, and remained there for a moment. Strangely, this dungeon core didn't seem to want to attack, or even move in Aperio's direction. Instead, the mist slowly rose from the ground, gradually coalescing into a mirror image of the winged Goddess.

Staring at the mist-born imitation of herself caused a spark of anger to race through Aperio's mind. How dare someone take her likeness? Assume her form without consent? She wanted to remove the fake-her from existence the moment it had finished forming, but restrained herself. At least for now.

The fact that the core could see her, or at least knew how she looked, implied that it knew what was around it. Perhaps it was nothing more than a reaction it displayed for everyone that approached, but there was a chance that there was more to the crystal than met the eye.

A deeper inspection with her aura caused the mist-Aperio to flicker, briefly returning to its cloud-like state. Sadly, it did not reveal more information for the winged Goddess. She could feel her mana residing inside the crystal; knew that all she needed to do was destroy the core to get it back. But, try as she might, Aperio could not figure out what exactly the mist was.

Her attention was drawn away from the crystal and the figure of mist as she felt a shift in her aura just behind the door at the other side of the room. A moment later, a man in a well-tailored black suit opened the door and stepped through, followed shortly thereafter by a woman in a maid uniform.

Aperio could not help but tilt her head at the approaching figures. Unlike the mist or the core itself they held no trace of her mana, but they had still used the core to arrive. She had sensed the crystal’s use of her mana, after all. The nature of the two people was also of interest to her. The man looked like a Human until you factored in the black horns sprouting from his temples and the slight red tint of his skin. His black hair and red eyes were also something Aperio herself had not seen before, as both seemed to shift ever so slightly in colour with every breath he took.

The woman, Aperio wanted to identify as a Beastkin, but that felt wrong. She had never heard of something like a Dragon-born Beastkin, or even a Dragon that had deigned to take on a different form. Not that that means anything. Still, seeing an Elf-like being with horns, scales reaching halfway up their limbs, and — most intriguingly — wings was something rather unexpected. Is she half-dragon and half-elf? ...How would they even make that work?

A gesture of Aperio's hand dispersed the mist-copy that had still been standing in front of her. If it had stayed much longer, the anger she had felt would have probably made itself known; something she did not want.

Her action seemed to cause a small amount of confusion as the approaching pair briefly hesitated before they resumed their journey. Aperio cocked her head to the other side at their reaction. Are they connected to the core? She could no longer see the traces of mana that connected everything, but a closer inspection of the core and the approaching people revealed a little bit of mana darting back and forth between the three. So the dungeon does use mana to talk to its monsters? Why have I not seen it before, then?

The only explanation she could think of at the moment was that she had not known what exactly to look for, something she only knew after she had used more than a fraction of her might. And peered into that white space, whatever that was.

With a slight shake of her head, Aperio focused back on the pair that had by now made their way to just behind the core. The winged Goddess sent a small mental nudge to her daughter, asking if she knew what these beings were, but only got a negative in reply. If she doesn't know, then who does?

Assuming that Ferio knew everything that happened in the world was probably foolish but, thus far, she had been able to answer most of Aperio's questions. That she did not know of an entire species, or other hybrid crossings, seemed unlikely.

With slightly narrowed eyes, Aperio observed the two. The maid stood two steps behind the man, clearly wearing the uniform for more than simple amusement, while the man himself was staring intently at the winged Goddess. After a few more moments of silence, Aperio felt her mana shift inside the core.

She shifted the swordstaff in her hand in reply, the weapon leaving a trail of silver and blue in the air. While the man took an almost imperceptible step at her action and swallowed slightly, the maid flared her wings and produced a spear through what Aperio assumed to be a storage skill of some kind. The spear was not particularly threatening, being made from the same green metal that Aperio knew to be ineffective. Probably even more so now.

"What do you seek, traveller?" the man asked, his voice filled with apprehension.

Aperio took an unnecessary breath, drawing just enough mana from her well to prepare for every potentiality of the fight she knew was soon to come.

"I have come to reclaim what is mine."

Advent - Chapter 55: Principle of Creation

"Dungeons are known to create, not to take the belongings of others," the horned man said. His voice was still apprehensive, but it was clear he did not believe the dungeon would have anything that belonged to Aperio. His next words were mumbled more to himself than the winged Goddess. "What could a dungeon even take?"

Aperio took another step forward and pointed her weapon at the core. “It is made from my mana; taken without my consent. I will reclaim what is mine."

The dragon-maid gripped her spear tighter at Aperio's rather forceful declaration while the horned butler let his eyes wander, taking in the core, Aperio, and the rest of her group. He did not seem to understand what exactly she meant, asking the core what the winged Goddess was talking about. At least, Aperio assumed that was what the increased frequency of mana darting between the two meant.

As the anger was still rising in her chest, Aperio directed her own thoughts at the core itself. At first she had refrained from doing so, foolishly fearing what might happen. Despite her rather timid acceptance of who — and what — she was, Aperio was still afraid of what she could do; even when she knew that her abilities would solve an issue or at least expedite the process.

Her mind's voice crashed into the crystalline structure, causing tiny cracks to form on its surface. The demand which she had conveyed went unanswered, however. The only reply was a frantic step forwards from the horned man as he moved to stand between the angered Goddess and the core. The dragon-maid, too, advanced a pace towards Aperio, slightly angling her spear to point at the winged Goddess.

"Please, I'm sure we can find a way to resolve this without violence," the butler said.

She wanted to destroy the core right this instant, wanted to call it an abomination; curse it for imprisoning a part of her mana and memories. For twisting her creation. But, she did not strike. Instead, she directed her gaze to the horned man. Within the scope of her aura she could feel Ferio and Caethya shifting to properly view the man, her daughter also taking on something Aperio presumed to be a fighting stance of some sort.

"I will not let it continue to use what is mine to further its twisted goals." Her statement was final. No matter what resolution he sought, she would not leave without reclaiming what she had come for. "Stand aside or perish."

Both the dragon-elf and the butler seemed to argue with the core, the bits of mana flying between the three increasing in both speed and frequency. A moment later the mist seeped out of its crystalline prison again, forming another imitation of Aperio.

She glared at her mist-born copy, raising her hand to dismiss it like she had done before. Clearly reacting to her threat of removal, the mist morphed, losing its wings and changing its shape slightly. It still looked very similar to Aperio herself, but it was clear that it was trying to appease the winged Goddess.

Does it even know who I am? In Aperio's mind, it had to. It had obviously recognised her, empowering its guardians to keep at her at bay. As fruitless as it was. She shifted her weight to her other leg and adjusted the grip of her weapon ever so slightly. The motion caused the Dragon-Elf to grip her own weapon tighter, her scaled knuckles somehow managing to appear whiter than before.

"Whoever made you has no more claim to the Mana of Origin than any other of my kind," the misty figure said, its voice echoing and overlapping as if multiple people were speaking at once. The language it used was not one Aperio knew, and yet she could understand it just fine.

The implications of that were ignored as its words caused Aperio's anger to flare, the weight of her aura increasing in response. She drew more mana from her well almost on reflex, an expression of her anger that caused the decorated windows of the cathedral-like building to shatter. She flared her wings, tiny arcs of her mana already dancing around them as she pointed her swordstaff at the core.

"Made me?!" Her words caused the cracks of her mental assault to further spread across the core. Tiny wisps of smoke leaked out and dissolved into the air. She knew her next words to be true, she was the genesis of all that existed; had seen how it all connected back to her with her own two eyes. "I am the Origin of all Creation!"

Saying it out loud felt right to a degree nothing had before; even her realisation of one of her Domains could not compare. She was the one who made this universe, created its laws and governed all that lived within. How dare a glorified piece of rock question her nature? How dare it presume her might came from anywhere but herself?

The floor cracked beneath Aperio's feet as she took a step towards the core, a slash of her swordstaff slicing through the core's projection, causing it to dissolve. Both the dragon-maid and the horned butler quickly moved away, clearly not wanting to stand in the way of the being that had just proclaimed to be the creator of everything they knew. That both of them looked sickly pale was pointedly ignored, for they had come upon the beck and call of the thing that dared to withhold what had been stolen from her.

Taking another step forward, Aperio drew more mana from her well, letting the power course through her veins. She could feel the world around her slow as her mind's reach expanded; could see the tiny threads of her mana that held reality together. Her weapon thrummed as her mana surged through it, almost as if it was anticipating the violence that was to come.

She ignored the mental call of her daughter to calm herself as she took another step towards the core and, with a swing of her arms that felt so blissfully natural, embedded her blade into it. A quivering shudder seemed to scuttle across the surface of reality. Everything shook violently — just once — and then the piercing sound of a thousand voices screaming in unison filled the chamber as the core broke apart and the weapon vanished into her Void.

Aperio closed her eyes and breathed deeply as she felt the mana the core had kept from her surge through her body. She could feel the changes it brought. Much like her initial transformation in the Void, she could feel her bones breaking and muscles tearing only to be reforged anew, stronger than before. She turned around, facing her daughter and Caethya. They were so small; insignificant. Weak.

She drew more mana from her well, aiding the still ongoing flood of mana from the destroyed crystal in its mission to bring the change she had never admitted she wanted. Aperio took another deep breath, ignoring the wispy smoke of mana she exhaled in the process. What she was doing felt right, the scepticism to trust her instincts gone as she knew them to be true just as surely as she knew her name.

Ferio's assumption had been correct. Along with her mana returning to her, so did memories of a time she could not recall. There was nothing to speak of in the thoughts that she retrieved — nothing, in quite a literal sense. Images of herself hanging in a black abyss not unlike her Void flooded her mind.The only difference was that this place did not feel like home; not welcome. Just cold nothing.

Then, with a thought, a surge of energy erupted from her figure to fill the nothingness that prevailed around her. She wanted to do the same now, let her might do what it was supposed to and form reality according to her will. But, despite the pleasure she knew it would bring, Aperio restrained herself, if only for the sake of her daughter and her blessed. The change and re-creation her body was undergoing would have to be enough for the moment.

Returning her focus to the newly returned memory caused more of her anger to wash away. Seeing — remembering — the creation of the universe she lived in brought a measure of calm nothing else could compare to. The feeling of her mind brushing against all that she had made; her creations thrumming with joy at her presence.

Seeing how the nothingness slowly shifted to a star-filled sky over what Aperio knew to be aeons caused a spark of delight to race through her. That she was older than anything else that existed did not matter to her when she could finally remember, actually see for herself what she could do.

The mana flowing through her body reacted to the joy she felt at her memories, as the air around her took on a spring-like quality. A slight breeze swept through the eerily silent building, brushing against Aperio's wings and letting her hair flow in a way she would have deemed impossible had she still been a mortal.

More wisps of her mana danced around her, almost as if they enjoyed the remembrance of their mistress'. She took another breath, her nose picking up a faint scent that she could not place but that sparked a newly-returned memory of herself and young Ferio running over a vast plain of green. It was something she had not known she had missed. How could I have known? I didn't remember any of it.

She let out a breath of wispy, mana-filled air and opened her eyes. No longer did she stand on the cold floor of the core's cathedral but on a field of grass and flowers. Looking up, Aperio saw tiny clouds floating just beneath the ceiling, lazily drifting in the breeze that still gently flowed through the room.

The mana of her well and the dead dungeon was still coursing through her, doing its best to further her body’s endless quest for perfection. Currently, however, it did not matter to Aperio. The world around her seemed more alive than before, more colourful, almost as if she had previously viewed it through a dirtied window that turned everything on the other side bleak and lifeless. The threads of her mana that tied reality together shone brighter than the time she had drawn on her well in anger, seemingly happy at her current calmness.

Aperio folded her wings behind her back, smiling slightly at the silver and blue sheen her black feathers had taken on, and moved towards her daughter. Ferio had done her best to aid her mother ever since they had been reunited. But, despite her help there had always been a tiny voice of doubt in Aperio's mind that claimed she was being used. That Ferio was using her for her own goals.

She had never listened to the voice, and now she knew it to be wrong. Aperio stepped in front of her daughter, ignoring the fact that she now towered over her. Ferio had said that drawing on her well had affected her size the last time she had done so but, much like that time, Aperio herself had not noticed until it was unavoidably obvious.

Lifting Ferio off the ground, Aperio wrapped her arms and wings around her. This time, there was no feeling of wrongness or anything of the like. Only joy that she could finally remember her daughter, and her previous life.

How she had made her daughter's soul, formed her likeness and raised her. The joy and sadness as Ferio discovered her Domains while she could not find her own, the anger when one of the Goddesses she had allowed to ascend tried to take her daughter, and the sadness she had felt but could never show after a disagreement with her Ferio. There was still a lot more that was missing, she knew that, but truly knowing felt better than just an ethereal feeling of right or wrong.

She gave her daughter a gentle squeeze, not wanting to hurt her daughter with the new strength she knew her excessive influx of mana had brought. Ferio returned the gesture, wiping away a tear from her mother's cheek with a content smile on her face.

After Aperio set her daughter down again, she turned her attention to the one she had blessed. Caethya was looking at her with wide eyes, looking as if she was ready to fall over any minute. For a brief moment Aperio feared that her aura had become so oppressive that she had hurt her, but a look at the pair the core had summoned removed that doubt. They were looking just fine.

Neither of them was deathly pale anymore, nor did they show any signs she had previously observed when people were negatively affected by her aura. What surprised her more was that she knew why they suffered no harm from her aura despite the fact that she was still drawing more and more mana from her well.

Aperio had not anticipated answers. She had expected a vague feeling that perhaps would lead her to answers later, not solid knowledge that she could now easily recall. She had been fighting her nature, struggling with what she knew to be true. Of course the beings that were a product of her creations would feel the ever-shifting swirl of her emotions. That struggle was no more, her mana no longer lashing out at her surroundings in constant turmoil. Now it was weaving its way through the mana that had always filled the air, almost joyfully dancing with threads of reality.

Her reverie was interrupted by a silver-framed System notification.

Anomalous Entity removed.

Temporary control over Entity’s Soul-bound minions has been seized by the System.

Terminate all Soul-bound minions?

Aperio tilted her head at the notification. Did she want to fully destroy the dungeon? Can I have the System run it? It should be able to, right? Sadly, the memories she had retrieved did not bring more insights into the System itself. They did, however, grant her an understanding that she had not had before. She simply knew that it could perform the task she wanted it to; just not how. Annoying.

She directed her thoughts towards the space the formation of runes that comprised the System resided in, trying to find something that would help her find a way to get it to do what she wanted. There was a small pull coming from a section of space that was filled with inactive rune formations. A part of her knew what she was looking for to be there, hidden amongst the masses of unused parts.

For a brief moment Aperio considered turning them all on to see what would happen. She had more than enough mana to do so, after all. Still, she decided against it. Aperio still knew too little, and it would be unwise to activate everything without knowing the scope the consequences might take.

Following the nudge from her instincts led her to a large diamond-shaped mass of runes. The connection between the previous core and the System’s interpretation of it was obvious the moment she laid her eyes on it. Or did they take the shape of this? That was probably what had happened, the System had existed long before the dungeons after all.

After she had eased a bit of her mana into the new part of the System, another notification appeared before her.

Partial functionality restored: Combat Trials.

New designation assigned by the will of the Creator: Dungeons.

Aperio blinked at the notification. If it knows what I want to do, why can't it just turn the things I want on by itself? Further thoughts were interrupted by another window.

Area and entities suitable for 'Dungeon' deployment found.

Previously Soul-bound entities will be replaced.

Please designate an Entity or Entities to oversee 'Dungeon' designated 'Principle of Creation'.

Crusade - Chapter 56: Decisions Overseen

Aperio dismissed the notifications with a thought before she set her eyes upon Caethya. Her first choice for someone to look over the dungeon was either her or Laelia, but she somehow doubted either of them would want to do so. Perhaps they shouldn't. She still liked the idea of watching them ascend to Godhood, something an appointment as Overseer for a dungeon would probably slow down.

Nonetheless, she sent a small thought to the one she had blessed. Aperio had hoped that, perhaps, the most recent change would have lessened the pain Caethya would feel upon her mental query, but the slight stagger and twisted face spoke of the opposite. After taking a moment to get her bearings again, Caethya gently shook her head and denied the offer as Aperio had already expected.

She had also briefly considered Maria for the position of Overseer, but that thought, too, had been quickly discarded. She is too young. And she has not reached out since I left their estate. The girl knew her name, could have prayed to Aperio to talk or make a request, but there had been only silence. Perhaps she is mad at me after all? She put visiting the Terenyk estate back on her mental to-do list. After I’ve sorted this. If she couldn't find a willing mortal, she could still simply assume the role herself. Now how to ask Laelia...

With that thought, Aperio focused on her aura, letting her senses fly upwards through the dungeon. She briefly noted that the monsters all seemed to be frozen in place, something the adventurers she saw gleefully took advantage of. The village on the fiftieth floor was filled with a flurry of activity, people preparing for something that would never come. Their frantic actions made Aperio question how they had perceived the death of the dungeon. For her it was a like a shudder had run through reality itself, but something in the back of her mind told her that the mortals would not perceive it like she did. How could they? Her connection to the universe was vastly different from theirs, after all.

She let her senses expand past the village and the rest of the dungeon, finding the [Grandmaster] in the office of the local guildmaster. Focusing on the pair caused her to hear their voices, a faint whisper that Aperio knew she could pull on to find out more. It was something she would have considered if the [Grandmaster] hadn't whipped her head around and stared in her direction. There was a brief moment of confusion before she turned back to the guildmaster to continue their talk, seemingly unconcerned that Aperio could be listening in. Does she even know it was me?

With a shake of her head, the winged Goddess directed her attention towards the house of healing her paladin resided in. She knew she could stretch her senses even further, that her aura's reach was not limited to the town or even the continent, and yet she did not want to see all there was through her mana's touch. She might have begun to truly accept what she was, but that did not mean she would immediately become Magistrate of all that there was. Aperio wanted to discover what she had made, see it with her own eyes. Perhaps find something that offers a challenge.

Finding Laelia was a simple task. Her paladin was a proverbial beacon of mana when compared to those surrounding her. Aperio was certain that there was more mana than before in the Human's body. Even if the increase wasn't that much, it was still there. Very carefully, she nudged her mana towards the woman, trying to convey her thoughts as gently as she could.

Laelia tensed up as soon as the mana touched her, reaching for the sword at her hip before she realised who was invading her mind. Instead of drawing her weapon, she lowered herself to her knees and directed her gaze towards the ceiling, a motion Aperio found highly amusing and wholly unnecessary. She told Laelia as much, the words of her Goddess causing the paladin to jump to her feet and start a flurry of mental apologies.

Aperio dismissed her concern, instead offering her the position as Overseer over the newly re-created dungeon and, perhaps more importantly, asking why she was not showing any signs of pain. Laelia was quick to deny the offer, stating that she would rather follow her Goddess more closely, but only replied with the mental equivalent of a shrug to the question of feeling pain. According to Laelia, getting a headache was a small price to pay to talk to her Goddess, a mentality Aperio was not quite sure she shared.

Having eliminated her paladin from the list of Overseer candidates, Aperio turned to face the two people the now-dead core had summoned. As no-one else was accepting the opportunity, she wanted to extend the offer to them. As a test, perhaps. Neither of them had behaved improperly, simply doing what they were asked — or possibly forced — to do.

They shrunk under her gaze, seemingly intimidated by her imposing stature and the wisps of silver and blue that still floated around her. And probably because I killed the thing that summoned them. She felt no remorse for her actions, however; the core had withheld something it had no right to. It had also forced hapless Souls into its service, something that would change once she had appointed a replacement.

Or, perhaps, they could feel the massive amounts of mana that she had drawn from her well and that still coursed through her body. She did not want to stop at the moment, the feeling of power flowing through her a sensation she had not really known she had missed. Neither did she need to, as Ferio was not asking her to cease her actions, nor was she drawing from her well in anger. Right now she did so simply because she enjoyed it, much like some people would perhaps enjoy a fine wine. Just that this is actually useful. Drinking wine would probably not make one stronger.

She took a step towards the pair, the fissures that formed under her feet glowing and crackling with her mana. Both of them tried to make themselves even smaller at her approach, tried to hide from the being that had destroyed a dungeon core for good. Aperio stopped just out of arm's reach of the scared duo. Not that I have to be close to reach anything.

"I have an offer for you," Aperio said, her voice sounding more ethereal than ever. Soon it sounds like I will whisper directly into their brain… Maybe they will stop wincing when I speak, then? Or will my voice go back to normal as soon as I stop drawing from my well? She doubted that would be the case. The changes brought by the mana she drew were permanent, after all.

There was no reply, at least not a verbal one. The two of them just looked at her before quickly averting their gaze again. Do I look scary to them? Aperio did not think that would be the case, she wasn't angry and the tiny wisps and arcs of mana that darted around her looked more otherworldly than scary. Or do they think they are not worthy to lay their eyes upon a Goddess?

To her that was a silly notion but then, she also was a Goddess. The Goddess. With a shake of her head, she continued her one-sided conversation. "If you wish to oversee this dungeon, I am willing to offer you two a chance to prove that you are more than the mouthpiece of an abomination."

Both of their heads turned ever so slowly in her direction, this time maintaining their gaze after a moment had passed. Neither of them seemed to really believe what she had said, their suspicion clear on their face as well as practically flowing off of them. Aperio tilted her head at the sensation. She did not share a bond with them like she did with Caethya or Maria and had not expected to gain the same insight into someone's feelings. Is it because of the influx of mana, or because I retrieved some of my memories? With every moment that passed, what she had reclaimed from the core became clearer in her head, new — Old? — information surfacing in her mind. That some of those memories would influence her subconscious and her perception of the world and its people was only to be expected.

"Y-You are offering us control over this dungeon?" the horned butler asked, seemingly not quite believing his ears.

"Yes."

"How?" Aperio had not expected the Dragon-Elf to speak, as she had not made any move to do so before. In response to her question, Aperio focused on the feeling at the back of her mind she knew to be the System. Its request for her to designate an Overseer for the dungeon was still there and, with a thought, Aperio directed it at the pair in front of her. She could see the notifications form in front of them, how the threads of reality changed ever so slightly.

Both of them looked at the window that had appeared before them, reading through the rather extensive list that had presented itself. Aperio, too, took a look at it through her aura but quickly lost interest. It was simply a collection of the functions they would have access to if they accepted the title of 'Dungeon Master', none of which was of much interest to the winged Goddess.

She had no desire to create a new monster or change how the dungeon looked, neither did she care about what the reward for beating it would be. The only things of note to her were a pair of warnings. One informed them that they could still die and that whoever killed them could assume their role or destroy the dungeon, while the other stated that Aperio may change whatever she wished at any time. Why is that even in there? Isn't that true for all that exists?

There was no answer to her unspoken question, neither her memory or the System providing anything that would hint as to why this disclaimer was there. With a slight sigh, Aperio turned around and approached her daughter again, letting the Dragon-Elf and horned butler decide their future in peace.

Ferio looked at her mother with a slight smile on her face, obviously happy that she had regained at least a part of her memories. Aperio herself was not quite sure what she actually wanted to do now. She still had to take care of the other deities that had dared to go against her but, right now, all the All-Mother wanted to do was spend time with her daughter. But, what should we do?

Aperio couldn't claim to know what families were supposed to do. The Emperor's family spent most of their time scheming against one another, something she would hope Ferio would not do. The winged Goddess herself wanted to explore the world she had made and had spent most of her life on. Perhaps even other worlds. But she did not know if Ferio could so simply leave this plane of existence, or even if she had any desire to do so. Are the other worlds even on another plane?

With a slight shake of her head, she pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind. For now she would have to find a way to deal with Vigil, Inanis, and whoever they had managed to turn against her. She had an idea where she might find an inspirational hint towards infiltrating the Dominions of Vigil and Inanis. It was perhaps a silly idea, but in Aperio's mind there had to be a reason why the two deities were connected to the moons. To know if her initial idea was useless, all she needed was to pose a simple question.

"Do you know where your Dominion is, Ferio?" The mention of her daughter's name caused the maybe-overseers to jerk their heads away from the System-provided window to look at the pair of Goddesses. Aperio chose to ignore them, focusing on Ferio instead.

Her daughter seemed surprised at the question, tilting her head slightly to the side. Did she get that from me? "I don't really know? I never really thought about where it would be because I had always assumed it would be in another realm like your Void. Or are you telling me that that is not the case?"

"I simply had an idea that would perhaps help with finding a way into Vigil's Dominion," Aperio replied. "I had hoped you could provide a bit more insight, but it would appear I will have to go myself to see if it will work."

"I'm sorry," Ferio mumbled, lowering her head slightly.

"For what? You do not have to know everything." I have to.

"I just want to be able to help you; be useful."

Aperio cocked her head to the side at the statement. "You have already done more for me than anyone else, it is not your duty to solve my problems."

The only reply the winged Goddess got was an incoherent mumble as Ferio continued to stare at her feet. Did I do something wrong? She stretched out her arm and gently brushed her hand over her daughter's hair, a motion she hoped would soothe Ferio. Aperio did not know if it would, but it simply felt like the right thing to do.

Through her aura she saw Caethya's eyes darting between herself and Ferio and the two summoned people, a confused look on her face. It was clear that she wanted to say something, perhaps ask why Aperio was talking about rather private matters in front of strangers. Aperio chose to ignore her much like she did the other two in the room. Her attention's current focus was on figuring out what exactly was wrong with her daughter.

Ferio had not behaved like this since their reunion and neither could she find anything in her newly reacquired memory that would help. Then, a new notification materialized in front of her.

A'ryein and Den'kelter have accepted the position of 'Overseer' over the dungeon designated 'Principle of Creation'.

In accordance with established rules as set forth by the Creator, the assigned Overseers will be elevated to match the current strongest monster residing in the designated area.

Crusade - Chapter 57: Law of The First

Aperio tilted her head. How strong is the strongest monster here? Then she dismissed the notification that lingered in front of her. That the System was following rules she had set possibly aeons ago did bother her, but not as much as she had thought it would. In the end, it was just a reminder that she did not understand her creation. With a silent sigh, she directed her attention at the two mortals who had accepted her offer.

Both of them had fallen to the floor, twisting and turning as more and more mana entered their bodies. Aperio could see the tiny, System-created tears in the fabric of reality that had been made to facilitate the rapid advancement of the two mortals before her, could feel the mana drain from her well.

What surprised her most — even though it should not have — was that despite the amounts that flowed from her well to both herself and now the two mortals, the amount residing within barely changed.

The Dragon-maid let out a scream that Aperio could not solidly identify as pain or pleasure as the mana guided by the System’s hand started to tear into every fibre of their being. It was a process Aperio was intimately familiar with. Not only had she felt it for what had seemed to be eons after her sacrifice, but just moments before she had gone through the same sensations as she destroyed the crystal core.

A cracking sound caused Aperio to shift her attention to the horned butler. He had struck at the floor, hitting and breaking one of the few patches uncovered by the grass she had inadvertently created. Much like his Dragon-Elf companion, the mana ravaged through his body; tearing him apart to rebuild him anew.

The seams that had come undone to allow the mana from her well into this realm closed silently, and the mortals slowly rolled onto their backs; ending the ordeal as suddenly as it had begun. Neither of them spoke a word, instead taking deep breaths to calm themselves.

A'ryein | [Dungeon Master] | Level: 2389

Den'kelter | [Dungeon Master] | Level: 2389

I guess that is strong? It was the highest level she had seen on a mortal, but the monsters she had killed on her way down to the fiftieth floor had reached levels higher than that when they fought her. How does that even work?

She shook her head, dismissing the thought as well as the tiny voice at the back of her mind that wanted her to challenge the newly elevated [Dungeon Masters]. Both of them were on their knees, panting in exhaustion; neither seemed ready to fight. Is levelling up that exhausting? Or is it because they jumped so many at once?

The first to get her bearings again was the Dragon-Elf. She righted herself, grabbing her spear for support only for the metal haft of the weapon to break under her grip. Aperio couldn't help but stifle a laugh at the rather astounded expression of the woman. For a brief moment she considered finding a way to make a suitable weapon to give as a gift, but decided against it. The dungeon should be able to make what they needed, after all. If the System did not lie… Can it even lie? Aperio did not think it could, but then, she also did not know how to check.

Despite not wanting to spoil what had to have been a rather important moment of their lives, Aperio felt that she had to issue them a warning. "Should I find that you are abusing what you have been given, there will be punishment." Replacing the core with two people that would just enslave people again was not what she wanted to do.

Both of them turned to look at her and then each other, the glances seemingly a form of communication that only the two of them understood. Aperio had half expected them to attack her, drunk on the power she inadvertently had given them, but they did not. Instead, both clasped their hands together in front of their chest and bowed deeply.

They did not speak a word. Do I have to tell them that they don't have to bow? As the seconds ticked by, they simply remained in their bowed position, and Aperio decided that it was, once again, up to her to act. "Rise. You do not need to bow."

While they did cease to bow, neither of them looked particularly happy at the idea of not paying their respects. Is that a cultural thing? It was a definite possibility, as neither she nor Ferio knew what species either of the two belonged to. Aperio also doubted that Caethya would know; according to the woman herself, she had spent most of her life searching for Aperio.

"Do you feel obligated to bow?" Aperio asked. "If you have to pay respects to me, do so by not bowing."

"I think you will have to get used to people paying their respects in some form, mother," Ferio said. "Once they truly know who you are, they will inevitably react with reverence."

Everyone but Aperio herself seemed to agree with the statement as they nodded their assent. The winged Goddess' gaze slid from her daughter to the tiny wisps of mana that still danced around her own body. Those probably don't help… Why is everything I enjoy bound to make my life harder? Her wings, her voice, even just her presence alone seemed to somehow inform people that she was more than one would assume. Towering over most people and having mana dancing around her physical form was certainly only going to compound the effects.

And yet, Aperio did not want to hide what she was or what she could do. Complaining about this is also a bit weird, isn't it? Most people would probably give everything they had to be in her position. She would too, and in a way, she already had. I did die for this. Twice, apparently.

How exactly she ended up as a slave was still a mystery to her; the only God she had fought so far had been laughably weak. Her daughter had, in her own words, mentioned that she had been able to fight Vigil and Inanis herself. She had also said that Aperio was now beyond her in terms of raw power. So how did they do it? ...Or did I do it myself? She had looked forward to her death, but so far Aperio had always seen it as a way to escape a life of slavery. Why would I choose to die before, then?

As it stood, she could not find a reason. She had no desire to leave Ferio alone with deities that despised her simply because they did not like her mother. Nor did she want to give up what she had finally gotten back, even if it filled her life with minor annoyances. With a sigh, she relegated the thoughts to the back of her mind.

"Perhaps you are right. I will still endeavour to make them not do it as, in the end, I am just another person." Aperio paused and gestured around the grass-filled room. "I may have made all of this, but that does not mean I want people to stop living their lives to thank me for doing so. As long as I can have my peace, I am happy." Now I just have to figure out what I need to do to be at peace. Removing Vigil, Inanis, and the rest of the uppity deities was certainly a step in the right direction, but Aperio felt like there was most certainly more to it. Like finding something worth fighting.

"Is it so wrong that we want to show our gratitude, Lady Aperio?" Caethya inquired, her voice a lot less steady than her appearance suggested.

Aperio tilted her head at the question. "No, I simply wish to get rid of the notion that it is required." Is it that important to her?

"We do not bow simply because you are stronger than we are, my Goddess," the horned butler — Den'kelter — said. "We bow because we want to show our sincere gratitude. It is the way our ancestors have done it for generations."

"Where did you two come from, anyway?" Aperio asked, pressing the feeling of disgust deep down where it belonged. She had a suspicion, but did not want to say it aloud before they had made their own claim.

"The Valley of Everlasting Fire," A'ryein replied. "We served under Fel'Erreyth. He is the strongest Dragon on Verenier. Or, was." Her last words were spoken with a sly smile on her face that caused Aperio to raise an eyebrow.

"My deepest apologies, my Goddess. We have failed to make proper introductions." Den'kelter spoke a bit louder than necessary, an obvious attempt to detract attention from the Dragon-maid, who was quickly looking like she might devolve into giggles at any moment. "I am Den'kelter, formerly the head butler of his majesty Fel'Erreyth, [Regent of Procul]. Now I serve The First." His words were accompanied by a deep bow, a motion A'ryein quickly followed before speaking herself.

"My name is A'ryein. I, too, have served his majesty Fel'Erreyth, first as a Lady in Waiting for one of his wives and later as his personal maid under Den'kelter. But now, under the Laws of The First, I serve you; my Lady."

Laws of The First? Did someone make a set of laws around me? She narrowed her eyes at the thought. So people do remember me, or am I misunderstanding this? It also led to another question, one that she could potentially even get an answer to. "Why are you so ready to discard your old liege? And what does this 'Regent of Procul' have to do with dungeons?" Since when does an entire continent have a Regent, anyway?

The set of questions seemed to confuse everyone but Ferio. Instead of being surprised that her mother did not know everything, she too seemed eager for an answer. Well, she did not know what they were either. Are they Dragons that changed their form? Can they even do that? ...If not, what exactly would a Dragon need a butler or maid for? Scale polishing?

"The Laws of The First, simply put, state that we are to follow The First. The Strongest. The one who, through the very might of their being, brought forth life from nothing. You have declared yourself the Origin of all Creation, and your very words resonated within my soul. I know, without a doubt, that they are true. Even if they were not, you bestowed upon us strength — strength that rivals even that of our old liege — in a gesture that seemed effortless. Like it was nothing. That, alone, makes you more deserving of our devotion." Den'kelter's voice was bordering on reverent, and it was only now that he truly looked at Aperio. "I may not be a Dragon myself, and A'ryein may only carry a portion of her mother's heritage, but we have, since time immemorial, followed the same laws as our ancestors."

The notion that she might not have spoken the truth about her nature caused a bit of anger to boil up in the winged Goddess. She pushed it down of course, but it was still there at the back of her mind, demanding she punish the mortal in front of her. Annoying. "Following someone just because they are strong is not always a good idea. I am also not looking to found a new religion."

"I am sorry, my Lady, but I don't think even you could prevent that by simply asking," A'ryein said. "If you do not directly prohibit what people do, they will start to worship you. It is simply a matter of time."

"She is right, mother," Ferio agreed. "And you have made it quite clear that you dislike anything that takes away the freedom of others."

"Perhaps you are correct. However, that does not mean I have to like it." Aperio sighed, ignoring how the breeze flowing through the room had gotten colder at her exasperated gesture. “That also does not answer why you have been summoned here, though.”

“Fel’Erreyth rules from the Heart of Fire, a dungeon of his own,” A’ryein said. “Why or how it has chosen him, I do not know. Much like the The Laws of the First, it is a tradition that has been at the core of the culture of Procul. Though it was not always a dungeon that chose the next Regent, it was always something that has been touched by the mana of Origin. Touched by you, my Lady.”

“So, the dungeon called for help? Why?” How? She had not noticed anything akin to a call for help. Especially one to another continent. Perhaps I just don’t know where to look?

“No, Fel’Erreyth orded us to verify a claim made by the Heart of Fire. We were simply the closest reliable members of his court he could send. That we would meet The First was not something we anticipated.”

“It seems I will have to pay this Fel’Erreyth a visit sometime soon,” Aperio said with a shake of her head. “When I do so, I would be delighted to have you as my guides. For now, however, I have done what I came here to do. You may do with this dungeon what you wish as long as you abstain from slavery and other vile acts. I will not tolerate such abuse of my gifts." Even if I did not mean to give some of them.

She had tried to give her voice a bit of finality, make it clear she would not accept her gifts being abused. Judging by how the two newly appointed [Dungeon Masters] bowed, she seemed to have made her point clear. Towering over them and being wreathed in my own mana probably helps, too.

While Aperio had no mirror handy with which to take a look at herself, she had taken a moment to inspect the physical changes drawing on her well brought through her aura. Besides being taller and having wisps of her mana float around her, Aperio could not really see a difference. Perhaps a mortal sees it differently?

With a shake of her head, she turned her attention towards Caethya and her daughter. For a moment she considered reaching out with her mind to convey her idea, but decided against it. Ferio might be able to take her continued barrage of thoughts, but she was not so sure about Caethya. She had been stronger than most anyone Aperio had seen thus far, but the reaction she had had to her few attempts at mental communication had not been promising.

As a private talk via thoughts was out of the question for the moment, Aperio simply opened a portal to her Void with a wave of her hand. Den'kelter and A'ryein might have said they were devoted to her, but that did not mean she trusted them. Trust requires action, not words.

Neither of her companions needed further encouragement to step into her Void, Caethya even looking eager to go back to her Goddess’ Dominion. Aperio gave her two newest followers a last look before stepping through the portal as well.

Crusade - Chapter 58: Over the Moon

Caethya bowed her head slightly as her Goddess entered the Void — a name she was not sure she had heard before or simply knew because of her connection to Aperio — and closed the portal behind her. There were a great many things she wanted to ask, but her voice was currently struggling to make itself known. Ever since Aperio had revealed what Caethya assumed to be something closer to her true form, she had felt oddly calm. However, it had also reminded her just who — and what — her Goddess actually was.

Her presence alone demanded respect, something that made speaking all the harder for the young Elf. That she towered over everyone present and had wreathed herself in mana also did not help. Finally, being able to feel and see her Goddess growing stronger with each passing moment had removed the last bit of confidence she had with which to ask what was on her mind.

Throughout all of this, the most surprising thing for Caethya — the thing that lingered most in her thoughts — was that her Goddess did not seem to care that her dress was no longer quite as modest as it once had been. Couldn't she just make it fit perfectly again? She couldn't claim to understand the mind of a Goddess, but in this case Caethya somehow doubted there was much to think about. Not if one wants to continue living, at least. She was certain that unprompted advances would not go over well with Aperio. How do I even know that?

An ethereal sigh that somehow shook her very soul ripped Caethya out of her thoughts and caused her to look at her Goddess. She had summoned her weapon again, absentmindedly twirling it with one hand. As it whirled through the Void on its revolving path, the blade itself somehow cut through the nothingness that was equivalent to air in this place. The slices it left healed almost instantly, but in that fraction of a second the young Elf glimpsed something she did not understand, and which gave her a headache when she tried to focus on it further.

"Are you certain that you do not know where your Dominion is, Ferio?" Aperio asked.

"I am sorry mother, but I truly don't know," Ferio replied. "...I could bring us there? Maybe that would help? But, why does it matter where exactly my Dominion is, anyway?"

That the Goddess of Life and Light was the daughter of the All-Mother was not something Caethya had known. Neither had she known the physical appearance of the Goddess, despite having grown up on Spicor and having attended more than one service performed by her church. A statue really doesn't properly convey her presence.

"I wish to test a theory, one that — if proven successful — would make our search for Vigil much easier."

"Test?" The word had slipped unbidden from Caethya's lips. The idea that the All-Mother had to test anything seemed somehow wrong to her.

In response to her question, Aperio's eyes settled onto the young Elf. The way the gaze seemed to pierce straight to her core caused Caethya to shrink a little. The tiny wisps of mana that danced around the All-Mother seemed to shine a bit brighter, ready to burn anything they touched. A tiny voice in the back of her mind insisted that her life was now forfeit, to be snuffed out by her Goddess for doubting her abilities.

"Yes...test," Aperio said slowly. "There are a few deities that have done something I cannot tolerate; now they are hiding and I do not know where. I have my suspicions, but I will not know for certain without testing it."

Caethya tore her eyes from her Goddess and directed them at the nothing below her feet. Why did I ask? Having the attention of the All-Mother on her felt good in a way, but did things to her that she did not like. Under the Goddess' gaze, she found she couldn't manage to concentrate on any one thing, and even now that she wasn't under such intense scrutiny there was still a strange feeling lingering within her stomach. It distracted her in ways she had never before experienced, pointing out the way muscles slid around under the skin of her Goddess with every move, or the subtle curves when she took on contrapposto poses. It all culminated in a very foreign feeling, one that brought a joy to her mind but still slipped past her understanding to cause confusion.

Already the load on her mind was heavy, but adding to it was the way she also somehow knew her Goddess, knew the way she felt. It was affecting her emotions greatly, and she was about to try to grapple with its meaning again when a warm sensation spread across her cheek, ripping her out of her thoughts. Directly in front of her was her Goddess. With no weapon in sight, her gentle, warm hand pulled away from Caethya's cheek to very carefully brush aside a few strands of her hair. The angle of the elbow, the bends in the nimble fingers, all augmented with mana that flowed to her from the Goddess at every touch; it caused shivers to run down her spine.

Caethya stiffened as she met the eyes of the All-Mother. The pair of irises drew in her attention, seeming to be comprised of flecks of color that slowly danced and revolved around one another and refused to stay still. They were silver, and blue, and all possible shades between, and each time the Goddess blinked they seemed to resolve into a new, fascinating arrangement of color.

"Is something wrong?"

There was a softness to Aperio's voice that Caethya had not heard before. With every word she spoke, a wave of calm spread through her entire being, something that had not happened before. There was also a note of concern present that she had not expected. Why would she care? Of course, she knew that the All-Mother wouldn't just bless anyone, but neither did Caethya understand why she would be concerned for her. She had always assumed Aperio did not care for the lives of mortals, a belief she would have to rectify.

"I-I'm fine," she managed to stammer out.

The All-Mother removed her hand at the comment, causing the trickle of mana that flowed from her hand to cease. Caethya let out a small, shaky breath at the disappearance of the feeling that had raced down her spine. What was that?

Aperio tilted her head slightly as she stood up to her full height again; she had found nothing truly wrong with Caethya's body. The mana that she knew came from her blessing had been calmer than before, more focused on its endless task of improvement. Still, she doubted that that was the reason for the Elf's reaction. As soon as she had focused on Caethya the woman had locked up, and her cheeks had flushed in embarrassment after she had asked a rather innocent question.

"Are you sure?" Aperio inquired, ignoring the light giggle from her daughter. "I do not think that is a normal reaction."

"I think you underestimate the effect you have on people, mother. Especially in your current form."

Aperio frowned and looked down at herself; she could still not see much of a difference besides having gained a bit of height. Perhaps it’s the mana and the glow? A slight, almost imperceptible light did shine from her skin, but she doubted anyone aside from herself, and perhaps Ferio, would be able to even notice. It's certainly not like what happened when I first drew on my well. Back then, the light had had a true radiance to it, looking almost otherworldly.

With a slight rustling, her wings flared out slightly behind her back. They had gained a faint sheen ever since she started drawing on her well again, but not to an extent that Aperio thought would provoke a reaction outside of surprise at the fact that she even had wings to begin with. "What effect do I have on people?"

"Caethya can probably explain that best herself," Ferio said, with what Aperio would describe as a soft tone of mischief in her voice.

The Elven woman took a slight step back as a bit of redness spread to the tips of her ears. She is easily embarrassed, isn't she? Luckily, Aperio herself had long gotten rid of her own feelings of embarrassment. Even if the reasons for that are not pleasant. While she had done so out of necessity before, now she saw no reason to hide herself or be embarrassed about any part of her. But then, not everyone will think like that, will they?

She might have begun to accept what she was and how she would look for the rest of eternity, but the same was likely true for anyone else. I should know that the mind plays tricks on itself. She might have stayed sane through ordeals that would have broken other people, but that had only served to defer the pain that brought until later. Even if nothing in her past could ever occur again, she still had to come to terms with it like anyone else.

"Do I scare you?" Aperio asked. "Or do you simply do not perform well under stress?"

"No, my Goddess," Caethya said, vigorously shaking her head in reply. "I-it's just that whenever I look at you, or you focus your attention on me, I can't think straight. I… I don't know why. It's not panic that hinders me, but a twisting feeling in my stomach. My thoughts run wild, trying to to predict outcomes I somehow know won't happen. I can also feel what you feel, somehow. Right now, you are like a beacon in the dark that guides me to calm waters through the storming thoughts in my head."

She paused and took a deep breath, seemingly steeling herself for what she was about to say. "I do not know where any of this comes from and yes, it scares me. I know it's not something you do on purpose, and yet you are the cause. Your presence alone brings me joy. It also fills me with worries I know are not true but that I still cannot banish from my mind."

Aperio cocked her head to the other side. She had not really experienced any emotion that was in any way similar to what her blessed had described. The only thing she could think of was the inexplicable joy she had felt when her memories of Ferio's youth had returned. There was a feeling lingering at the back of her mind, however, one that told her she knew what this was and how she should respond, but it remained out of reach.

With a sigh, she lowered her head. "You are free to leave if you believe it to be best for you. There is nothing you owe me and I will not force you to follow me." She did not like the idea of sending Caethya away, but neither did she want to be the source of her discomfort. Aperio had hoped she could find a friend in the Elf, someone of her kind. At least, what I used to be. And, perhaps, someone who would treat her like a person instead of worshipping her as the Creator of all they knew.

"Her leaving won't solve this problem," Ferio said, her mouth turning upwards in a smirk. "And no, I will not tell you what I think is causing it. That's something you have to work out yourself."

The outright refusal of answers accompanied by a smirk caused a wave of rage to sweep through Aperio, her Void cloaking everything in darkness for a breath in response. "Fine. The decision is yours Caethya, just know that you are welcome at my side should you choose to stay."

"I don't want to leave," Caethya mumbled.

"Then you stay," Aperio said, startling the Elf. Did she think I did not hear her?

"Yes, I will stay. I want to learn from you, grow stronger. Who could be a better teacher than the one who made everything?"

Aperio gave a wry smile and a brief nod at Caethya's response. I can think of a few. I hope she can figure out why my presence does that to her. The winged Goddess herself could only think of a handful of things that could be the cause, most of which she would rather not like to be true.

"May we enter your Dominion then, Ferio? I still would like to see it before I waste my time on an experiment that is doomed to fail."

"Of course!" Her daughter's words were accompanied by a notification that invited her to Ferio's Dominion. She promptly accepted. Once she had, she saw the same message she had gotten before entering Natio's Dominion. Am I that far beyond the other Gods and Goddesses? The obvious answer was yes, a fact she knew to be true but still was not sure she fully liked.

After a few more moments, Aperio heard Caethya gasp and found herself standing on a red carpet in a brightly lit plaza. What she noticed right after the unnatural softness of the carpet below her bare feet was the warm summer breeze that flowed through her daughter's Dominion, and the fact that the sky was an ever-shifting mirage of yellow, orange, and red. Almost like the sun, she mused.

It was what she had hoped would be the case. If her daughter's Dominion was somehow bound to the place the mortals associated her with, Aperio had little doubt that she could find a way from that location into the Dominion. Never thought I would visit the moons.

She felt no hesitation or trepidation at the thought of leaving the planet to fly to a celestial body, her instincts instead rejoicing at the idea. Perhaps what is beyond will be similar to my Void? Looking at the night's sky certainly revealed a similar image.

"Thank you, Ferio. This is most insightful."

Ferio raised an eyebrow at her statement. "Already done? What were you looking to find anyway?"

"I wanted to know if your Dominion is somehow bound to what the mortals associate you with," Aperio said, gesturing at the sky. "You are known to some as the Goddess of the Sun, are you not?"

Ferio gave a light nod. "Yes; it is a source of light and life, both of my Domains." There was a moment of silence before her daughter's eyes widened a little. "Are you sure my Dominion is somehow bound to this sun? I am known in more worlds than just one."

"Perhaps not," Aperio admitted, ignoring the disgusting feeling rising up in her throat. "But to me it feels like the correct solution. Or at least an idea worth investigating."

"You want to go to the moons?" Caethya asked. "I have heard that Vigil and Inanis built temples for their most devout followers there. I never believed those rumours, though."

Aperio held out her hands to both Ferio and Caethya. "Why do we not go and see for ourselves?"

Crusade - Chapter 59: A Most Peculiar Journey

Aperio knew where she wanted to go, and a thought was all she needed to bend reality to her will. She spread her wings as she felt Ferio's Dominion shift around her, saw how her mana separated the threads that held reality together and wove them back together in new ways to bring her where she wanted.

A moment later, she appeared above the ruined city she had first returned to. Neither her daughter nor Caethya fell, as both were being held aloft by a touch of Aperio's magic. The young Elf averted her gaze before making use of her own flying skill while Ferio seemed content to rely on her mother's magic.

Aperio took a deep breath of the cold air, letting it fill her lungs. She knew that she did not need to breathe, but found the familiar sensation to be soothing to her mind. Visiting the moons was never something she thought she would do, much less on her own power. Perhaps it is an insane idea after all?

There was a small bit of doubt in her mind, one that said she could not simply fly to her destination. She was certain that she could, however. The small part of her mind that claimed otherwise? Just a remnant that still did not accept what she had become. What do I have to fear from space? My Void is filled with nothing as well.

She could feel what was beyond the clouds; a vast expanse of emptiness that was wholly devoid of air and warmth. Aperio tilted her head the sensation, not quite knowing what to make of it. That her aura's reach encompassed the vast nothing that existed outside the world did not surprise her, a part of her having already known that it was without bounds.

The countless lights that filled the night sky twinkled playfully, almost as if they were vying for Aperio's attention; as if they were alive. They reminded her of the souls drifting through her void. Two sets of lights, linked. One was comprised of the seeds from which life could sprout; the other, the givers of warmth that would sustain them once they had.

"Beautiful, is it not?" Ferio asked, ripping her mother out of her reverie.

"Yes," Aperio replied. "It is." How did I make all of this? Besides the glimpses of the universe coming into existence and the feeling of her mana spreading through it all, Aperio did not know how she had done so. There was no planning she could see in her memories, just a rapid explosion of her mana that set in motion machination she could not remember. Only that it created all of this.

"Caethya, can you traverse the nothingness beyond on your own, or do you require my aid?" Aperio could feel that the space beyond the planet was filled with a myriad of things that made no sense to her. Calling it a 'nothingness' was technically wrong, but for most people it would undoubtedly appear as empty.

The Elf directed her gaze at the sky, a sliver of her mana reaching out past the reaches of the planet's atmosphere. "I could survive for a while, but not long enough to reach either of the moons. I fear that I will require your help if you wish me to accompany you."

Aperio waved her off. "Helping you will not be a problem. Having you come against your will, however, would be. You do not have to come if you do not want to."

Caethya focused on her feet at the words. "I want to come, but I also do not want to be a burden. I have spent my entire adult life searching for you. On my own terms, through my own strength. Despite all my years of effort, despite all that I have learned, this is something I cannot overcome on my own. Asking for help – especially from you, my Goddess – does not sit well with me."

"I understand that asking for help can be hard," Aperio said, glancing at her daughter. "But know that you are not a burden to me. You wanted to learn from me, did you not?" After the winged Goddess had received a hesitant nod in reply she continued, ignoring the vile taste at the back of her throat. "Then see this as your first lesson. Asking for help is not a bad thing. If someone has offered to help you, they will not see you as a burden if you choose to accept."

"Something you should take to heart yourself, mother," Ferio mumbled, looking at Aperio with what she assumed to be concern.

"Yes, I should." The reply took more effort to push past her lips than most other things she had said since she had returned. Perhaps having a disciple will help with this?

There was a spark of joy that surfaced whenever she thought about teaching Caethya, bringing her closer to godhood. It felt similar to what she now remembered from Ferio's official ascension. Her daughter might have come into the world a Goddess, but neither the pantheon nor the System had recognised her as such until she had proven herself. It had been an event that had filled Aperio with a joy and happiness that she had only felt once before. At least that I can remember.

Only the creation of everything there was had given her a similar feeling, the fact that she would no longer be alone a relief that she had not known before. For Aperio, the seeming similarity in the current situation simply meant that it was something important. She would do her damnedest to ensure that it would work.

She took another breath of the cool night air and closed her eyes, focusing on the rhythmic beat of her wings that kept her aloft. A thought was all she needed to send her senses racing towards the bright white moon that hung above them. Aperio had no intention to teleport her group to their destination like she had done in the dungeon — something about the nothingness intrigued her, as though it were calling to her. She wanted to experience it for herself, as well as to slowly approach what the traitorous God had built to see it for herself.

It did not take her long to spot the large dome of mana that separated lush green fields and flower beds from the grey and white rock of the moon. Pushing past the barrier caused Aperio to briefly pause, the mana comprising it feeling somehow familiar. She creased her brows as she extended her senses deeper into the sprawling complex Vigil had built.

The people inside paid no attention to her mana brushing past them, most of them busy with other things. Some were on their knees in front of altars or statues, obviously praying to their God; while others were out in the open, sparring against one another. There were more people in a building to the side, but Aperio had no desire to see more than the passive trickle of information her aura had already provided.

Ferio's voice reached her ears, a most peculiar experience when Aperio felt like she was standing on the moon already. She ignored the words, however, as they were directed at Caethya and not herself. Instead, she focused her attention towards a collection of mana that floated in the centre of the complex.

It was clear that it was the source of the barrier that allowed the mortals to live on the hostile moon. What intrigued Aperio was the fact that it felt familiar to her; not like the dungeon cores — this was not made from her mana — but still from something she felt she should know.

It felt …important.

The finely-woven golden lattice that surrounded the cloud of mana only furthered her belief that it was important, as did the fact that everything in the complex pointed towards it. Underneath the cloud, a giant circle spread out which, in turn, was inside a star with sixteen points, each one pointing to a tower at the outside of the complex.

Aperio could feel mana running along unseen lines from the cloud towards each tower, all clearly part of what kept the barrier alive. And yet, she knew that the mana was doing more than simply powering the protective dome. The familiarity she felt from it told her that there was so much more it could do.

She opened her eyes and drew a bit more mana from her well. The action caused both Ferio and Caethya to quiet down, the latter also moving a little further away. It hurt a little to see her disciple retreat, but she probably saw the amount of mana she could so casually draw from her well as something extraordinary. Something to be feared.

"Are both of you ready?" Aperio inquired, extending her hand to Caethya.

Ferio responded with a nod as fiery wings sprouted from her back, propelling her towards the stars with a single beat. Caethya, on the other hand, very slowly took the offered hand, letting her own magic fade as Aperio's mana spread around her. For a brief moment, Aperio considered the simpler solution of putting Caethya in her Void for the journey and retrieving her once she and Ferio had reached the moon. Then she discarded the thought, gently pulling Caethya closer in order to very carefully pick the young Elf up in her arms.

She could have simply used a touch of her magic to have Caethya float behind her, but doing so felt wrong to Aperio. She is not a thing. Carrying her disciple like a groom would their bride might not be the most appropriate, but Caethya did not seem to mind. With a beat of her wings, Aperio shot upwards.

A small stream of mana constantly flowed from Goddess to Elf, keeping her alive and healthy. For her comfort, Aperio also wrapped Caethya in a thin cocoon of mana which provided air for her to breathe. She had a feeling that her mana coursing through the Elf would, in itself, be sufficient to keep her alive, but felt that it might be distressing to suddenly lack the ability to breathe. The fact that she herself sometimes forgot to breathe since her return was relegated to the back of her mind. Most people don't simply forget to do that, do they?

Another beat of her wings sent her flying past Ferio and into the nothingness that surrounded Verenier. She soared through the inky black, not a sound reaching her ears. There was no resistance to her flight, nothing her wings should be able to find purchase on to propel her forwards — and yet, they did.

It did not give her the same feeling of home as her Void did, but neither did it feel as cold and unwelcoming as she had imagined it to be. There was something beneath the endless expanse of nothing that thrummed with joy at her passing, the threads of reality shining ever so slightly brighter. Aperio could feel something move with her; not her daughter who was swaying from side to side as she flew behind her, but something else.

It was like a shadow that hid itself in the dark spots between the bright stars that filled the nothing — somehow unfathomably big and yet inconsequential to her. A presence that felt no shame to show its joy at her presence but could not give voice to its desires.

It played with the tiny wisps of her mana that danced around her being, cloaking them in shadows to try and hide them from her; chasing them as they drifted around her form.

Aperio spoke, but not a sound left her lips. A giggle from her daughter entered her mind, telling her that there was no speaking in space, nothing to carry the sound. The winged Goddess only tilted her head and asked the question that floated in her mind. What is this thing?

Sadly, Ferio could not supply an answer. She could not feel the liveliness around them, only the cold nothing of an empty void. The reply caused Aperio to crease her brows. What she felt was real. She knew it to be. What is it, then?

She focused on her aura as she beat her wings again, trying to spot something her eyes could not see. The only thing she could perceive, however, was a weave of mana that seemed to flow through every bit of the nothingness. It was so minuscule in her aura that Aperio would have missed it had she not been looking so closely for anything out of the ordinary.

It was easy for her to identify the weave of mana to be responsible for what she had felt, Aperio just failed to see who it belonged to. Or is it like the threads binding everything? It felt similar – not a thin thread that held reality together, but a broader patch that had been sewn on to fix a hole. Is the universe… happy?

The notion felt weird to her. How could the universe itself feel emotions? It's not alive, is it? What did I do? She shook her head as she beat her wings again, shooting towards the moon with even more speed and causing Caethya to wrap her arms tightly around her. It was something she would investigate once she had dealt with Vigil and his ilk. Once I have more time.

There was another reason for her to discard the thought of investigation for now. She had felt something shift within the complex Vigil had supposedly built. She could not find any obvious changes, just a feeling at the back of her mind that something had been altered. With another strong beat of her wings, Aperio shot towards what she knew to be an inevitable confrontation.

Crusade - Chapter 60: One Small Step

Aperio slowed down as she got closer to the moon, the celestial rock far larger than she had thought it would be. She knew how big it was as she had observed it through her aura, but seeing it with her own eyes from up close gave her a better understanding of its true scale.

She turned her head to glance at the planet behind her, but her wings obscured her vision with every beat. Stopping for a moment and letting Caethya down onto a small pane of mana she had created, Aperio fully turned around in order to properly appreciate the view. The young Elf shuffled herself closer to the Goddess, either seeking the warmth she gave off in their cold and unwelcoming surroundings or not fully trusting a thin sheet of mana to carry her despite its origin.

Aperio did not give much mind to such matters as she, too, stepped onto the pane of mana, and extended the air-filled bubble to encompass her and Ferio as well. She draped a wing over both her disciple and her daughter. It was perhaps an unneeded motion, but Aperio felt it was the right thing to do, even if only to invoke the idea of a comfortable blanket offering up its warmth. Caethya briefly tensed up at the motion, as whenever the blue-black feathers brushed against her, the tiny wisps of mana darting around them seemed to melt into her skin. Her breath quickened with every bit of mana that joined her, the sensation undoubtedly foreign for the Elf. She let herself fall back, resting her back against her Goddess’ wing as she took a couple of deliberate, deep breaths.

"Beautiful, is it not?" Aperio said, and once her voice reached Caethya's ears the Elf seemed to relax a little, carefully wrapping her arms around the Goddess’ waist. Despite still feeling the shift in her aura on the moon's surface, she would take this moment to revel in the sight of her apparent creation.

The world that hung before them in the nothingness of space was unlike anything Aperio could remember seeing. Seas of blue and green stretched across its surface, intermittently parted by the yellow line of a desert or the grey and white of mountain tops.

That she instinctively knew the names of each continent was relegated to the back of her mind. She had probably read them on a map somewhere during her time as a slave; a circumstance of her distressingly sharp memory. Not something I should complain about.

"Yes," Caethya murmured, still holding on tightly to Aperio. Perhaps taking her with me was not the right choice? If space scared the young Elf, Aperio would not force her to stay there. That her disciple also physically clung to her was another reason to perhaps consider other modes of transportation. Is it frightening to get carried through space?

While Aperio might not want to remove her right this instant, the prospect of having someone hug her every hour of the day was not one she enjoyed. Today is an exception. She had taken Caethya here, and whatever consequences that brought were hers to bear. The question of her suitability for such affection also flashed through her mind. If seemingly very sharp swords did nothing to her, and she could effortlessly punch through a wall, wouldn't she be harder than both? Even my body doesn't make sense anymore.

As nobody else seemed to want to make a comment, Aperio lingered for another moment to look at the marble of life hanging in front of them, then lifted her wings from Ferio and Caethya and turned around; Caethya ending the hug with a start as soon as the Goddess started to move. Whatever was happening on the moon had started to fade again, the shifting of mana she felt in her aura more subdued.

Neither of her two companions had even seemed to notice that something was happening, a fact that Aperio was unsure should make her happy or be a source for concern. If a Goddess doesn't notice it, does that mean it's not worthy of my attention? Or is it something that she could never feel anyway? That she shared a rather special relationship with all of existence was obvious, but how to interpret the things she felt from the universe around her? Not so much.

"Are you ready to pay Vigil's temple a visit?" Aperio asked, once again offering her hand to Caethya.

Ferio gave a brief nod, her face unreadable to her mother. Is she concerned? Or does she not like how I treat Caethya? Aperio discarded the latter thought. Thus far, Ferio had approved of her conduct with her disciple; even if the way in which she had done so struck the winged Goddess as mischievous.

The young Elf swallowed slightly before she nodded and took the offered hand. Aperio, again, picked up her disciple and beat her wings to carry her through the nothing. She knew that it was a useless motion, that she could simply push herself along with her mana, but Aperio enjoyed the feeling of her wings propelling her forward; liked going through the physical motions.

Much like before, the nothingness around her reacted to her passing; tiny shadows chasing after the wisps of mana that danced around her form. Aperio took a breath of the nothing that surrounded her, finding it unable to calm the bubbling feeling of doubt that had started to surface in her mind.

She wasn't sure what she would do if she managed to get into Vigil's Dominion. On the one hand, a part of her was already screaming for his death — wanting to kill him for his insolence, for his insubordination. On the other, however, Aperio wasn't sure if she was even the same person anymore. She knew the memories she had retrieved from the Crystal were hers, but they felt more like distant echoes of childhood than a memory she had consciously taken part in.

One thing she knew for certain was that she would remove Vigil from the pantheon. While she wasn't quite sure why there was a cadre of Gods and Goddesses under her, she did not doubt that they existed for a reason. Having a group sow dissent was not something she wanted. That's how empires fall. The Inaru Empire had used that tactic more than once.

Split your opponent, have them battle each other, then promise to help one side to take over the other and simply take both. Aperio was sure there was more planning to it than that, but the general idea should be pretty close. Divide and conquer. It did not explain how she had died in the first place, but highlighted the possibility of outside influence. But who?

She knew she had made all there is, that everything in some way got their strength from her. So who could turn people against me? The easiest answer was that there was no one, that either Vigil or Inanis had been fed up with the way she had presumably loomed over them, or done whatever she had done at the time, and one — or both — of them had decided a change of leadership was in order. Can they do it again?

Not knowing how she had died in the first place was the main reason for the anxiety and doubt in her mind. What if they could do it again? Aperio did not want to die. She liked what she had become. Returned to be? She wanted to see the worlds she had made, wanted to spend time with her family.

Wanted to have a life.

Aperio closed her eyes as she descended towards the moon's surface and drew more mana from her well. She felt Caethya shift in her arms in response, felt her breath quicken and her muscle tense up ever so slightly. Did I scare her again? She was fairly certain that drawing on more mana than most mortals could ever dream of commanding with every breath she took would be a frightening experience. It was, however, something she would have to get used to if she wanted to stay at Aperio's side. Restraint was not something the winged Goddess was particularly fond of. Or good at. Admitting that, of course, brought with it a wave of disgust that she pointedly ignored.

The coarse, almost sand-like dust that covered the moon's surface scratched against Aperio's bare feet as she set down. Before her was the barrier that kept Vigil's followers alive and breathing, shimmering slightly as it reflected the light of the sun.

Aperio stepped forward, pushing past the slight resistance the barrier offered. A ripple spread from her point of entry, shortly followed by another as her daughter passed behind her. None of the people inside seemed to have noticed their entry, as all of them still went about their business as usual, unperturbed by the presence of two Goddesses who were on less than amicable terms with their God.

The lack of reaction was not unwelcome, however. Aperio had no desire to kill people simply because they followed another God. I don't even want followers; I just want to live.

Carefully, she set down Caethya, briefly letting her mana flow through her to see if her disciple had incurred any injuries from their move through space. Aperio was unable to find anything wrong besides the rather frantic beat of Caethya's heart, but she chalked that up to being either excited or scared by the vast expanse of nothing. I wish they could see what I do.

Having ensured that she was fine, Aperio set off towards the centre of the complex; the familiarity of what resided there having piqued her interest. There was also a tiny voice in the back of her mind that told her that whatever it was that sat there, it would be helpful in her goal of finding Vigil's Dominion.

"Lady Aperio?" Caethya asked quietly. "What exactly are we doing here?"

"We are here to find a way into Vigil's Dominion so that I may deliver his punishment."

The reply caused the Elf to shift her eyes to Ferio, who simply shrugged in response. "I may be a Goddess, but I do not know how Dominions interact with this realm. Mother has never explained that to me."

"I am quite certain that the words required for such an explanation do not exist." Or that I would know them if they do… or could even explain how I know this.

"Couldn't you simply transfer the knowledge to someone's mind like you did with me?" Caethya asked.

Aperio tilted her head at the question. It should work, she knew as much, but a part of her mind was screaming at her to not do it. That it would end badly for the one she tried it on. "I could do that, yes. It would not end well for whoever received the knowledge, however."

"Oh..." Caethya said, lowering her head slightly. "I am sorry for asking."

"There is no need to be sorry," Aperio replied. "You wanted to learn, did you not? You just did. Knowing how the universe works is complex, and can be damaging to a mind of insufficient strength." Does that even make sense to her?

Further conversation was cut short as Aperio felt another shift in her aura, causing her to raise her hand to postpone any potential discussion. The mana in the centre of complex was growing denser, drawing from somewhere she could not see but still recognized on instinct.

Aperio's next step was accompanied by the sound of shattering glass as reality broke in front of her, her stride never faltering as her foot landed on the floor of the central room that held the cloud of mana that had piqued her interest. Her daughter quickly followed, nudging a wide-eyed Caethya along as she did so.

As soon as she was in the room, Aperio focused on the mass of mana. She could see the threads of mana that jutted outwards from it, slowly intertwining with the ones that stitched reality together. A wave of her hand caused the threads to unravel, an action she had done on instinct to investigate something she perceived as wrong.

Behind the reality Aperio had known for most of her remembered life, she now saw an ever-changing swirl of colours and energies she instinctively knew but could never hope to name or describe. All the innumerable parts that kept reality alive seemed to pause at her inspection before slowly parting to show her the single thread that ran from the cloud of mana to a place previously unseen.

The winged Goddess took a step towards the newest tear in her creation, tilting her head as she slowly extended her arm to grab the offending thread of mana. It did not belong here, she knew that. But why? What is that?

It was the source of the shifts she had felt in her aura. An unsanctioned addition to her creation. Did Vigil do this? Not knowing what the traitor could do infuriated her, but it did not stop her from summoning her weapon to cut the out-of-place thread.

As soon as her blade had severed the strand of mana, a shudder ran through the fabric of space, not unlike the one she had felt after she had destroyed the first core. There was no influx of mana or returning memories this time, however. Only a sense of wrongness that slowly faded away, the universe returning to what Aperio deemed natural. What was that?

She let her senses expand, following the fading thread through the indescribable expanse of shifting colours and noises. Aperio ignored the happy hum that came from her surroundings, focused on following whatever had soiled her creation to its source.

It wasn't long before she could feel a presence coming closer, obviously the one who had woven the string. Aperio sent her senses racing ahead, so she could see who had dared to defile her creation.

What she saw on the other end of the thread was not what she had expected.

Before her aura's sight, a vast hall expanded. White marble floor with gold inlays covered every bit of the ground and large, gold accented pillars held up a high roof that depicted a man in his prime wearing a tunic made from white and gold fabric as he pulled a world from the blade of a weapon.

My weapon, Aperio realised a moment later. She spread her senses inside of what she was now sure was Vigil's Dominion, trying to find the traitorous God. It only took her a moment to find the man that was depicted on the ceiling, leaning over a large atlas of what Aperio knew to be different worlds.

His head snapped up, his eyes seemingly meeting hers despite the fact that she was not physically present. Aperio's lips curled into a smile as she saw him stagger backwards, the colour draining from his face. He made a motion with his hand and Aperio felt something futilely push against her aura.

Her smile spread further as she extended her hand and, with a grinding screech, tore reality apart like a discarded piece of paper. She took a deep breath of the warm air that flowed from Vigil's Dominion, and drew more mana from her well.

The weapon in her hand thrummed in anticipation as her mana flowed through it, the floor beneath her feet breaking as it struggled against her might. With slightly flared wings, Aperio stepped into the traitor’s realm, ignoring the arcs of mana that danced across her feathers and skin.

"The time for Judgement has come."

Crusade - Chapter 61: Judgement Day

Aperio took a step towards the man she knew to be Vigil, noting in the back of her mind that neither Ferio nor Caethya had followed her into the traitor's Dominion. It was perhaps for the best, as neither of them would be able to fight a God in their own realm. Aperio herself was not burdened by such frivolous limitations.

She watched the traitorous God in front of her, her smile growing larger as she saw him stagger back a few more steps. A small flex of her mental muscles caused the man to freeze, held in place by the invisible hands of her mana.

He paled further as he found himself unable to move, his feeble attempt at breaking free fruitless in the face of Aperio's might. The winged Goddess took another step towards the downed man, a web of cracks spreading through the polished marble floor. With a wave of her hand she caused him to float in the air.

"You have proven yourself a traitor," Aperio said, her voice echoing through his Dominion. "You have spread lies — tried to erase all memory of me. But, you failed."

With a thought, she brought the man in front of her. "You sent me into a lifetime of slavery, expecting me to never return. You were wrong."

"You have nobody but yourself to blame for that," Vigil said, his voice raspy. "If you hadn't hidden yourself we would have reached our goal."

"And what would that be?" Aperio asked, shifting her weapon in her hand to point square at his chest. A part of her wanted to end the man right now, kill him for what he had done to her. Get her revenge. But another part wanted to know what they had wanted to accomplish in the first place, why they would make the literal creator of everything they knew their enemy.

"As if I would tell you that." His words were accompanied by a sliver of mana that tried to pierce the fabric of reality but failed to push past Aperio's aura. Is he trying to call for help? For the briefest of moments she considered letting him do so, but quickly decided against it. She did not know how they had managed to kill her before, and was not eager to find out if they could do so again.

"Then I have nothing left for you but your punishment." Though she was still curious about what had caused him to turn against her, she was not keen on the idea of torturing him for information. Neither did she truly want to kill him, though a part of her hungered for the act. Aperio did not want to simply execute what was likely the God of millions of people. Though, their God will die either way. Vigil won't leave with his divinity intact. But why is he putting up less of a fight than Natio?

The obvious answer would be that Vigil actually knew who she was and therefore knew that a fight would be useless, but that did not seem right to Aperio. They have killed me before, so they know it can be done.

As if to answer her question, Aperio felt something shift in her aura that caused her to whip her head around. Coming out of a portal of her own was an Elven woman in a midnight blue dress that Aperio immediately knew to be Inanis.

What was more interesting than the traitorous Goddess was the weapon she held. It was a bow, made from the same silver material as her swordstaff. It, too, had a web of lines running all over the main body of the weapon, but those on the bow held by Inanis were dormant and did not pulse with the wielder's power.

The same was true for the arrow she nocked; the blue edge of the black tip was there but lacking the sheen her swordstaff had. Aperio did not feel threatened by the weapon, the feeling in the back of her mind not classifying it as any more dangerous than the weapons people had already used against her. The distance between herself and Inanis was also adding to her calm. Should she fail to stop the arrow through other means she could always dodge, or simply return to her Void.

There was a moment of hesitation as Inanis took aim, seemingly unsure of her actions. Aperio simply drew more mana from her well, using it to further increase the rate of her body's improvement. Just because the tiny voice in her mind told her the weapon would be useless did not mean Aperio would not take precautions.

"And again your hubris will be your downfall," Vigil managed to croak out.

Aperio moved him closer in reply, physically grabbing him by the throat. His face paled further as the blood failed to push past her grip, the man's eyes slowly starting to turn milky white. Why does a God even need blood?

It was true that she had it too, but it did not seem to serve any purpose as her mana took care of everything that mattered. Aperio shook her head and focused on Inanis instead. Before the winged Goddess had a chance to address her, she let loose the arrow she had nocked.

Aperio tried to stop the projectile with a touch of her magic but found it to be strangely slippery. She grappled with it like a wet bar of soap, and though she eventually managed to stop it the arrow still felt like it would fall from her mana's grasp at any moment. How does it do that?

She could not see or feel the traitorous Goddess use any magic, she had simply nocked the arrow and let it loose. That Aperio had managed to stop the projectile seemed to surprise her as her eyes widened and she quickly produced another black-tipped arrow.

Much like before, it slipped past Aperio's first few attempts before it simply stopped in the air, held aloft by her magic. When Inanis produced a third arrow Aperio had had enough. She let go of Vigil, causing him to float helplessly in the air again and bent reality so that the single step she took allowed her to appear in front of the other Goddess.

As soon as they were face to face the woman tried to leave, an inky black portal starting to form behind her. Unlike the previous attempts to stop the arrows, only a single thought was needed to close the passage Inanis had tried to create.

Aperio let go of her swordstaff, letting it float beside her as she reached out and ripped the bow from Inanis' hands. The Goddess tried to hold on to the weapon, but failed to fight Aperio's overwhelming strength.

As soon as the bow was firmly in her grasp, the web of lines lit up in a familiar blue as her mana flowed through it. Much like her swordstaff, the bow seemingly hummed with joy as it rested in Aperio's hand; eager to be used.

There were no arrows to go with the weapon. Where the other Goddess had gotten hers from, Aperio did not know. Neither did it matter, however. She simply stored the bow in her Void for future inspection and grabbed her swordstaff once more.

The same touch of her magic that she had used to hold Vigil in place now closed its invisible hand around Inanis, the Goddess' face starting to show the first signs of fear as she realised her escape would not be forthcoming.

Aperio could not help but smile. That the other traitor had chosen to show herself so soon was a nice turn of events. She had expected that her search for the other Goddess would have involved going to the other moon and searching for something similar to the thread of mana she had found here. How exactly a Dominion was bound to the mortal realm was something she would have to investigate — after she had taken care of the two traitors.

An unnecessary wave of her hand caused Inanis to lift off of the floor and float next to Vigil. "Perhaps you can tell me what you two tried to achieve. Your compatriot was not very forthcoming."

The Goddess simply glared at Aperio, struggling against her magic in a futile attempt to break free. Aperio could not help but sigh. She had no desire to torture them, but not knowing what they had tried to accomplish in the first place was starting to nag at her in ways she had not expected. Her desire to simply know was a lot more pronounced than she had ever thought possible. With another sigh, she flicked her wrist, letting Vigil float next to his accomplice.

"And you call yourself Gods," she said, the disappointment evident in her voice. Why exactly she felt so disappointed was something she also did not know. Am I blaming myself for picking these two as God and Goddess? "Natio put up more of a fight than either of you."

With an unneeded breath, Aperio focused on her aura. She followed the tiny bits of mana that flowed through Vigil's body, trying to find something similar to the System's seed she had taken from Natio.

Aperio did not quite find what she was expecting. At the core of this traitorous God was not a seed made from the System's mana, but one made from her own. She creased her brows as she reached out to grab hold of it, ignoring the hiss of pain that came through Vigil's clenched teeth.

As she pulled the tiny speck of her mana free from the man, he let out a piercing yell. Threads of mana which still connected him to his source of divinity were methodically severed, one by one. The pain he was experiencing as she removed what she had undoubtedly once given him was pointedly ignored. Not even when Vigil fell unconscious did Aperio's mind stray from the task at hand. He had turned against her and any pain he would feel from her taking back the gifts he had enjoyed were his alone to bear.

Inanis was muttering curses — some of which Aperio even understood — but none of them would change what she would do. With a flex of her mental muscles, the winged Goddess severed the final threads of mana that bound Vigil to his divinity.

As soon as the tiny bit of her mana became unbound, it returned to her. That was what she had expected. What she had not expected was the veritable flood of memories that came with it. How she had given Vigil a blessing, setting him on the path of eventual godhood. How, after Inanis had saved Vigil when he was still a mortal, she had done the same for the woman.

She could remember how they had chosen their new names; had built their fellowship. But she could now also recall how both Vigil and Inanis became more reserved around her, no longer talking with her. At the time, she had not minded. She had been busy with something else, she now remembered, but the specifics of that which had so occupied her still remained out of reach. Taunting her with their presence.

Despite having regained a part of her lost memory, Apero felt nothing but rage bubbling up inside her. How dare they take her memories? How could they even do so? Her hand shifted, unbidden, pressing her weapon against Vigil's neck until a sliver of blood began to trickle down. The System's notification that undoubtedly wanted to inform her about the fall of Vigil was ignored as she turned to Inanis, scouring her for the tiny bit of her mana she was sure the Goddess had to have.

Severing the seed of divinity from Inanis was as easy as it had been the first time. Another wave of long lost memories flooded her mind, tiny flashes of the life she did not remember. Most were simply a continuation of what she had gotten from Vigil. A few more bits and pieces on the ceremony that had actually made them into a God and Goddess.

The mortals at the time were happy, bright laughs and smiles resounding through the halls as those invited celebrated the ascension of the people they knew. Aperio herself had been there, hidden from sight through means that did not want to reveal themselves to her now.

Sucking in a breath, trying to hold back tears that wanted to burst forth for reasons unknown to Aperio's conscious mind, she moved her hand sharply to the left, severing Vigil's head from his body. In a smooth motion that came too easily to her, she shifted the course of her blade and, just as Inanis' expression was starting to show shock and surprise at the decapitation of her partner she, too, was divested of her head.

"No one steals my memories."

With those words, Aperio turned to leave, dismissing the notification that informed her about the eradication of both Vigil's and Inanis' Dominions. They would never need them again. Now, she would destroy what the defiler had built on her moon. On her creation. Her memory.

Crusade - Chapter 62: Unhinged

Caethya took a step back as her Goddess emerged from the portal she had created to Vigil's Dominion. The reflected anger she felt was no longer a tiny buzzing at the back of her mind but a palpable aura that seemed to emanate from Aperio. That her Goddess had executed two of what Caethya would have called major deities was already not a good sign, but feeling the seething anger was another thing entirely.

"We are leaving," Aperio declared, a wave of mana following her words. "And so is everyone else."

Her Goddess' words caused Caethya to turn around, and only now did she notice the people that had entered the central hall. All of them looked confused, some as if they had woken up from some weird dream while others shifted their eyes from Aperio's bloodied weapon to something only they could see.

Caethya knew what they were looking at. The System notifications still lingered in her own vision, waiting to be read.

Vigil, God of Justice and Light, has fallen from grace.

All blessings and curses given by this deity will lose their effect.

Inanis, Goddess of Freedom and Darkness, has fallen from grace.

All blessings and curses given by this deity will lose their effect.

Neither of the notifications came as a surprise to the young Elf. She had watched her Goddess execute the two other deities, after all. From a safe distance. She wanted to know what, after what was likely millennia of peaceful relations, had resulted in them deserving death, but this was nowhere near the right place to do so. Even if it was, she didn't currently have the courage to ask Aperio in the first place. Will she send me away if I ask?

She did not want to be forced to leave. There was so much she could still learn; about magic, about the nature of life, and even about herself. Caethya had started to have an inkling as to why she felt what she did in the presence of her Goddess, and if it was correct then revealing it would probably get her sent away rather quickly. If not executed.

It was out of the question to talk to Aperio now about any of the things on Caethya's mind as she had little doubt that, in her current state, the winged Goddess would not refrain from the use of excessive force. What made her this angry?

Before any more questions could form in her mind, another wave of mana emanated from her Goddess. A moment later she saw the mass of people disappear, replaced by a faint blue mist that intermittently sparkled with a faint silver sheen that Caethya could not quite identify.

What she had no trouble figuring out, however, was that her Goddess had just displaced over a hundred people in the blink of an eye. I should probably expect things like this, shouldn't I? Aperio was the All-Mother after all; something like teleporting people was probably trivial for her. ...Or did she kill them? Caethya hoped Aperio wouldn't do that, but she had just killed two Gods and was still radiating anger from the experience.

A gentle nudge from Ferio ripped Caethya from her thoughts. The Goddess had offered her hand and, after a moment's hesitation, the young Elf took it. A moment later Caethya found herself above the moon, floating in the black abyss of space next to Ferio. Much like Aperio had done before, her daughter had created a small bubble of air around them, something the Elf was infinitely thankful for. While she might be able to survive without air for a long time, she did not necessarily like it.

"What is Aperio going to do?" Caethya asked quietly.

Ferio sighed in response, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "I honestly don't know. I have not seen her this angry in a long time. She just told me to leave the moon, and to take you with me."

Before Caethya could ask another question a wave of mana rolled over them, sending a shudder down Caethya's spine. A moment later, she briefly saw a twinkle of blue on the moon's surface before a blinding flash of silver caused her to avert her gaze.

The luminous assault only lasted a moment, and once it was gone the Elf blinked to clear her eyes. Then she blinked a few more times, trying to understand what had just happened. A part of the moon had simply ceased to exist, a giant new crater taking its place. As if someone took a bite of it. Of course, she knew Aperio was responsible for it; why else would she send her daughter and disciple away?

"Oh, mother," Ferio muttered. "Despite all the change, you still don't do things quietly, do you?"

"She has done something like this before?" Caethya asked, not quite believing the notion. So far, her Goddess had only gotten angry at things that the Elf would argue had been justified. A dungeon made from her mana that was taken against her will would make her angry as well, after all. Did Vigil and Inanis make the dungeons?

She wasn't sure about that. There was a bit of her mind that was certain she had heard the claim that the ex-deities had created them, but she was also quite sure that they had also explicitly said that they had not made them. I'll have to ask her, won't I?

"Yes, she has done things like this before. Though last time someone made her this angry, she simply removed the entire world they called home." Before Caethya could properly react, Ferio smiled in a comforting manner. "You don't have to worry, they lived alone on a moon. Despite what it might appear like at the moment, she does care about most people."

Caethya wasn't questioning that point; if her Goddess had no regard for the mortals that lived in her world, she would have probably killed a lot more people for not showing her the respect she deserves. Though, how people would even fail to pay their respects was not something she understood. Just being in her presence was a joy that few other things could match.

"You should have really picked someone else to crush on, Caethya. Mother doesn't really care for such things. At least, she never used to."

The words of the Goddess of Life and Light caused Caethya to turn her head and stare at her. She had not really known what was the cause of her tumultuous emotions, but having it spelled out by Ferio caused the gears in the Elf's head to slowly start turning.

As realisation set in, Caethya felt her cheeks and ear-tips flush red in embarrassment. Why her? She had held no real interest in such things for the longest time. Anything more than a night of fun was just a hindrance to her, most people vying for her affection too weak to be a suitable partner. Is that it?

She returned her attention to the newest crater on the moon, trying to make sense of the swirling thoughts that had surfaced in her mind. Whether or not she should pursue her feelings was a decision she would not make lightly.

Aperio let out a breath, a faint bit of smoke flowing from her lips. Removing what Vigil had built had calmed her down, but it also raised a question. Did I overdo it? She had just removed a part of a moon. A feat that had been shockingly easy, all things considered.

All she had done was focus on her aura and then, with a tiny nudge of her mind, commanded her mana to remove what had offended her. That was almost too easy. The absence of sound was perhaps a blessing, as something in the back of Aperio's mind told her that what she had done would have been quite loud as well as blinding.

A brief check through her aura confirmed that both Ferio and Caethya were fine, though the latter looked a bit red in the face. Did I hurt her? A thought was all Aperio needed to appear behind her disciple, gently laying her hand on her shoulder and letting some of her mana flow through her.

Caethya stiffened at the touch but relaxed as soon as she noticed who it was that had appeared behind her. Teleporting without her Void as an intermediary was an oddly satisfying feeling, something she had also not expected. Testing her theory on unsuspecting followers of Vigil might not have been the best choice, but at the time she had not cared.

She had informed Laelia that she would dump a few hundred people on her lap before immediately doing so. Aperio had little doubt that her paladin could deal with the group of confused followers of a dead God. Not that she will be alone with them for long.

As she could find nothing wrong with Caethya, the winged Goddess removed her hand from her disciple's shoulder. While she still felt there was something off, Aperio chose to not dig deeper. Already upset the lives of enough people today.

"Feeling better?" Ferio asked. "Taking out a bit of moon has to lift your spirits, no?"

While her daughter's tone was not exactly to Aperio's liking, she was correct. Letting loose a little had helped with her anger. That blowing up part of a celestial body only constituted 'a little' did show, however, that she would have to find something else to actually help with relaxation. Perhaps making something?

"Yes, it did," Aperio replied eventually. "What they did was unacceptable, however. Death might have been too lenient." The knowledge that their souls would eventually live a new life did not sit well with her, their crime feeling too big to be punished in only one lifetime. The only thing staying her hand from removing their souls completely was that they were, like every other soul, doomed to forget. They would not remember anything.

"What could be worse than death?" Caethya mumbled quietly, more to herself than anyone else.

"Killing them just sent their souls back to her Dominion," Ferio replied. "She could have annihilated their very soul, removing any trace of their existence. Or she could have tortured them for all eternity."

Aperio face twisted into a grimace at the mention of torture: she did not the like that idea one bit. Neither did the complete annihilation of a soul sit right with her, the very idea upsetting something deep within her. Such measures are not to be taken lightly. The only thing that had managed to incite a bigger reaction from her was the discovery that both Vigil and Inanis had taken a part of her memory.

For what purpose they had done so, Aperio had yet to find out, but she doubted it would be anything good. Perhaps it gave them more strength? She shook her head at the thought. Much like herself, the deities should be able to grow stronger by simply existing, or at least through proper training. There was no reason why they could not. Perhaps they got lazy?

It was something she would have to investigate, now that the two biggest nuisances were removed. The others — the ones that had appeared on the System restoration notification — were still alive, of course, but none of them were deities she knew or particularly cared about at the moment.

"I did what I thought adequate at the time," Aperio finally said. "What I think of that decision now matters little. Our stay here has also come to an end, as I would hate for the ex-followers of Vigil to be left alone much longer." Who knows what Laelia might do with them.

Of course, Aperio knew full well, as she had been keeping a proverbial eye on her paladin through her aura. A feat that should, perhaps, garner more of a reaction from her than it did. But this is normal for me, isn't it? Magic had become second nature to her. In some respects it had become even easier than remembering to breathe. Ridiculous.

"Lady Aperio?" Caethya asked, turning around to face her Goddess. "What will happen to the people that lived here?"

The winged Goddess shrugged in response, her wings mirroring the motion. "I have nothing planned for them. They are free to live their life how they see fit."

"Don't you fear that they will turn against you?"

"Turn?" Aperio asked, tiling her head slightly to the side. "They served a God that wanted to kill me; I would say that they have always been against me. Even if they attempt to do something; what exactly are they supposed to achieve if their God has already failed?"

Caethya did not reply, instead averting her gaze to look at her feet. Perhaps she thought that her question was a stupid one yet again. The embarrassment was, at least to Aperio, clear in her behavior.

"I think it is time we find out," Aperio said, offering a hand each to Caethya and Ferio. She might not need to physically touch someone to teleport them, but it felt like the proper thing to do. Once her disciple and daughter had taken the offered hands, Aperio twisted reality apart and brought them to the house of healing where they had left Laelia.

Crusade - Chapter 63: Down the Rabbit Hole

Aperio and her group appeared right outside the house of healing, in front of the group she had recently displaced from Vigil's lunar hideaway. Laelia was rubbing the bridge of her nose, trying to keep the sizable group of people calm, as she noticed her Goddess' arrival.

The followers of the dead God also noticed, murmurs spreading as they eyed Aperio. Her attempt at venting had seemingly not gone unnoticed. She paid them no mind, however, instead focusing on her paladin.

That Laelia now had to look up to meet her eyes was a strange but oddly pleasant experience. Sadly, she could not say the same for the slight step her paladin took as she laid her eyes upon Aperio. It would seem that being taller and wreathed in her own mana also intimidated what she would have thought of as a veteran. Still, Aperio would not stop her continuous draw on her well.

While it might not calm her as much as being in her Void or blowing up part of a moon, it still did a good job of bringing a measure of tranquillity to her mind. That it also further enhanced her strength was just a nice bonus. The only bad thing is that I now practically scream Goddess at anyone who is looking at me.

"I hope you did not have too much trouble dealing with them," Aperio said, pushing her thoughts away for the moment.

Laelia hesitated for a moment before she spoke, seemingly unsure of what she should say. "Not really, most confused; not know where are or what year it is."

"They do not know what year it is?" The statement seemed weird to Aperio. How would someone not know the current year? Unless, of course, they spent a few millennia in a Void like I have. She doubted that they did that, though.

"Yes," her paladin replied with a nod. "They know their God fallen, however."

"They have more than just fallen. Both Vigil and Inanis are dead."

Aperio's statement caused the surroundings to quiet down, the last murmurs of the group stopping. Did the System not inform them of their deaths? Upon further reflection, it made sense. Why would the System provide a notification to everyone when a normal mortal died?

She clenched her fist as realisation set in. Aperio did not regret what she had done, as she still thought that death was perhaps too lenient for taking her memories, but the fact that she could cast down a God on her whim was not something she had truly considered before. That also means I could make one, no?

That Laelia, Caethya, and Maria could become Goddesses in the future was without a doubt. But, Aperio was also fairly certain she could pick any mortal and make them into a deity in a matter of moments, if she so chose. But why even have them? The purpose of the pantheon was not something that had revealed itself to her just yet.

"He is… dead?" Laelia asked, seemingly not caring that Inanis had also perished. "Really?"

"Yes," Aperio replied. Did she still believe in him? Or is she relieved? That her paladin questioned what she had said did anger her to an extent, but it was ignored. Quite easily so, if she considered the usual effort something like that took.

"Thank you," Laelia mumbled, her eyes glassy as she stared at nothing in particular. "...Thank you."

Aperio ignored the chatter springing anew within the group in front of them, asking her daughter to take care of it with a small mental request as she stepped closer to her paladin. That a few people in familiar red clothing and wearing various sun-themed ornaments were already present furthered Aperio's confidence in delegating the task.

Laelia flinched as Aperio touched her, relaxing shortly afterwards as the mana of the Goddess spread through her. Aperio could not find anything wrong with the Human. Not that she expected to. Still, probing the mind of someone else was not something she wanted to try until it was absolutely necessary.

"Are you well?" Aperio asked as gently as she could, lowering herself enough to meet the paladin's eyes.

The Human just nodded absentmindedly, still staring at nothing. Aperio retracted her hand from Laelia's shoulder and tilted her head as she tried to find what Laelia was looking at.

Unsurprisingly, the winged Goddess did not manage to find anything in the direction the Human was looking in. An idea surfaced in her mind and, with a small mental nudge, her aura flared briefly, drowning everyone in her mana.

Aperio ignored the crowd's reaction, and how her daughter's followers tried to stem the rising tide of anger and renewed confusion, instead focusing on the trace of mana she found floating in front of Laelia. Then she found a similar one floating in front of multiple people in the crowd and some others spread around the city itself. She knew it to be mana from the System; from her.

In front of Laelia hung what Aperio guessed was her [Status], though it only showed her titles. There was the one she knew of — was responsible for — but there was also one that she did not expect, one that seemed to be the reason for the Human's stare.

[Sovereignty of the Mind]

The final shackles on your mind have been broken, set free from the influence of others; never to be conquered again.

I did not remove all of Vigil's blessings? How? Aperio was very sure she had purged all traces of the now-dead God’s mana from Laelia. ...Unless. There was something she had not checked, but would explain why his influence would still remain even if his mana was removed.

How she was supposed to check the soul of a living being without killing them was something she was not entirely sure about. A part of her wanted to simply act — go with her gut — but another part called for caution. While she had been willing to trust her instincts a lot more recently, she was not quite as ready to do so when it came to matters of the soul. If a simple touch can bring such change… She had an idea on how she could observe what she wanted without causing undue harm — Or give her even more of my mana — but she would only do so with Laelia's permission.

"Laelia," Aperio said, gently laying her hand on the Humans cheek. A tiny spark of mana jumped over from the Goddess. "May I inspect your soul?"

The tiny arc of mana and frankly weird request caused Laelia to wake from her stupor and set her eyes on the winged Goddess. "Inspect my …soul?"

"Yes, your newest title warrants my attention," Aperio said. "Should you not be comfortable with this, however, I will not force you."

Very slowly, Laelia nodded. "Do I need do something?"

"No, just stay calm."

With those words, Aperio stood up to her full height again and closed her eyes. A moment later she felt the calming presence of her Void settle around the two of them. After taking an unnecessary but calming breath, she brought forth a tiny thread of mana in the palm of her hand. Ever so slowly, it began to drift towards Laelia; sinking into her skin as soon as it touched her.

Aperio pushed aside the influx of information that wanted to tell her everything about the physical health of her paladin's body and, instead, guided her mana towards Laelia's heart to keep it beating, no matter what. A part of the tendril split with a thought, heading towards what Aperio could only describe as a passage of sorts. It was a small opening, carefully framed by the tiny threads of her mana that made up everything surrounding them.

The winged Goddess knew that behind this wilful imperfection in the fabric of reality was Laelia's well. She did not truly know if she would be able to find her soul there too, but it was the only place she could think of that would make sense. Or at least give me a clue.

Guiding her mana through the tiny hole was harder than she was expecting, but, in the end, it only required a fraction more concentration than it had before. Once she passed the threshold, Aperio was presented with a tiny pool of mana that flowed out of a tiny red and white pearl. Nothing like my well… She had no source of mana, just a bottomless bit of energy that begged for her to use it.

...I don't have a soul?

That's what the pearl was: Laelia's soul. Why don't I have one? It was possible that, given the vastness of her well, she had simply not searched enough to find her own. Or, something Aperio considered more likely, she truly did not have one. Why would she? She did not belong to the normal cycle of life and death; she had created it herself. Still, despite knowing the likely answer — that a soul was something she had made so that others could live — she could not shake the cold dread that slowly spread through her mind.

With a firm shake of her head, Aperio focused on Laelia's soul again, ignoring the gasping breaths of the woman herself. How exactly the Human managed to be short of breath in a space that had no air whatsoever eluded even Aperio, but she didn't take the time to question it. The most recent shocking revelations took much more precedence in her mind.

As carefully as she could, Aperio guided her mana towards the lightly glowing pearl. Even now she could already sense the small cracks on its surface, and a closer inspection showed them to be tiny markings — Runes — that had been etched into Laelia's very soul. It only took her a moment to recognize some of her most hated words. Servitude. Obedience. How could he do this? How could he do this?

The anger she had felt on the moon was incomparable to the rage that was starting to form inside her. She wanted nothing more than to find Vigil's soul and tear it apart; remove any trace of its existence. The mere fact that he had dared to mar a single soul was already reason enough, but from what little she had seen of the people that had resided in his temple, Aperio suspected that Laelia was not the only one whose soul the dead God had defiled.

She took another breath of the calming nothing that filled her Void as she, very gently, wrapped the red and white pearl in her mana. Aperio no longer cared if Laelia would gain more of her mana in the process; she wanted to fix the damage done to her soul. Something that only happened because I was gone.

She was under no illusion that her absence played no part in this — if she had been around, she was certain that neither Vigil nor Inanis would have done such a thing. Someone messing with the souls of mortals was something she knew to be wrong. And yet, I did it myself; I am doing it now.

Much like the time she had healed Laelia's foster children, Aperio let her magic follow the guidance the other provided. She did not truly know what she had to do to heal a soul, something the glowing orb luckily seemed to have an innate knowledge of. All she needed to do was to supply it with enough mana to carry out its repairs. How many people will I have to heal this way?

Even if only Vigil had done this — something she heavily doubted — there could be millions of victims of soul tampering. Did he have followers on other worlds? ...How many worlds are there? The questions kept piling up in her mind as she watched the scars on her paladin's soul slowly fade.

Aperio could already feel, and see, the change in the Human's soul her mana brought. The dance of red and white turned more and more to a dance of silver and red, the glow radiating from the orb growing stronger with each passing moment. Even the mana that endlessly poured from Laelia's soul into her well took on a silver sheen, one Aperio was intimately familiar with.

There was no longer a pool of mana for the Human to draw on but a sea, one that only continued to grow as Aperio provided more of her own to heal the damaged soul. In the back of her mind there was a tiny voice, asking if she was doing the right thing; if Laelia even wanted this. Aperio did not know if the Human desired any of this, but once the knowledge of the soul runes was acquired there was no way the Goddess could let Laelia's soul remain as it was. Doing so would be an affront to everything she had ever done, ever created. That, she knew.

If Laelia wanted to hate her for what she had done, she would live with it. But Aperio would not — could not — let her soul remain damaged like that; even if it meant breaking her rule of not forcing her will on people.

With grim determination, Aperio urged more of her mana to aid in the soul’s reconstruction, ignoring the ever-expanding ocean of mana residing in Laelia's well. Ignoring how Laelia was grinding her teeth as her body broke and rebuilt itself over and over again to accommodate the strength Aperio forced on her.

Crusade - Chapter 64: Forced Ascension

Laelia gritted her teeth as she felt the white-hot mana of her Goddess flow through her. She could feel her bones breaking and her muscles tearing, but she could also feel a comforting warmth spread through her as Aperio did something to her soul.

It was almost the exact opposite of the induction ceremony she had partaken in to become a true paladin of Vigil. That one had only been filled with pain. Not from her body or mind as she felt now, but from the unseen part of her that held her mana. She could feel her reserves deepening, more and more mana becoming available to her. Laelia could also feel the comforting touch of warmth starting to soothe her from without as well as within. It slowly spread from her mana reserves to encompass her entire being, pushing away the pain of her changing form.

By now, she was certain that whatever her Goddess was doing had gone far beyond an inspection. But what is she doing? Aperio had been apologetic after she had stripped Vigil's blessing and replaced it with her own. That the winged Goddess also always seemed to emphasize that Laelia was free to choose had led her to believe that she would not do anything too drastic without warning.

And yet, here she was, feeling every part of her body being broken and reforged; feeling her well of mana deepen to levels she had not thought possible. What was most confusing for Laelia, however, was the feeling of wholeness the changes brought. In the beginning it had felt strange. Foreign, as though someone had been trying to graft parts of someone else onto her person. Now, all she could conclude was that when she had been inducted into Vigil's order, they had taken something from her. Taken something that she had never known she had.

A small, familiar pull on her mind caught Laelia's attention. The pain she had felt in the beginning had, without her notice, already dwindled to nothingness. Replacing it was a feeling of serenity, one which allowed her mind to focus with a sharpness she had never previously known.

You have been awarded the [Demigod] title!

[Demigod]

You had already taken the first steps on your path to divinity. Now, with the help of the All-Mother herself, you have shed your mortal flesh and purged the last vestiges of a fallen God from your soul.

Your title [Sovereignty of the Mind] has been changed to [Sovereignty of the Self]!

[Sovereignty of the Self]

Not only has your mind been freed from foreign influence, but your very soul. Such violations of the self will no longer be permitted.

Demigod? Already took the first steps? She had not taken any conscious steps towards divinity; she had simply found a new Goddess. One far more worthy of her devotion. The last part of the title's description made a lot more sense to her. The pain she had gone through had to have been the ‘shedding of her mortal flesh’, as the System had put it.

Despite the claims it made, Laelia herself did not feel any more like a Goddess than she had before. Aperio's presence was still as overwhelming as it had ever been. The only difference Laelia could notice was the strange web. Where before there had been nothing to see in the spaces between people and things, now there were tiny threads present, crisscrossing through everything. The more she observed these things, the more she realized that they were made of mana, and they connected everything and everyone to her Goddess. The fact that she could see the world around her while her eyes were closed took a moment longer to sink in.

Like every other paladin, Laelia had learned to use every skill at her disposal. This included an active development of her awareness, until she had learned how to sense the world around her through her aura alone. Actually being able to see with her aura, though, was a feat she had thought reserved for accomplished mages. Or Gods.

Her mind was ripped from her reverie as a new wave of pain and warmth spread through her. The conflicting feelings caused Laelia to open her eyes, searching for something to keep her mind distracted as she was unable — and unwilling — to stop the change.

Aperio's hand brushing over her cheek and the pained expression on her face brought the distraction Laelia had desired, even if they did that in a way she would rather not see. Her Goddess did not need to speak for Laelia to know the reason for her sadness. Aperio had made it quite clear that she did not like to force her will on people. Something she had just done.

"I am sorry, Laelia," the winged Goddess said, her eyes darting around as if they were looking for something only she could see. "I could not leave the mark on your soul; it had to be purged."

Laelia wanted to reply but found herself unable to as her body convulsed, bending in ways she would have thought impossible. Her sudden motion caused Aperio to quickly retract her hand, a gentle warmth spreading around her instead. It only took the Human a moment to recognise the gentle touch of her Goddess' magic as it held her aloft and slowly eased the pain.

The way she could feel her flesh writhing beneath her skin, how she was able to perceive the threads of her Goddess' magic wash over her caused Laelia to shiver involuntarily. She had not known — or would have believed — that she was able to notice such things. How had she been so blind all her life? Mana had always surrounded her, how could she never have noticed it before?

Laelia took a deep breath as her muscles relaxed. Whatever Aperio had done was finished, that she knew. Taking mental stock of herself and her new state, she was surprised to find that she didn't feel all that different. The only thing that was immediately obvious was the frankly ridiculous amount of mana she now had access to.

She was about to draw from her well to cast a simple spell when another notification surfaced at the edge of her mind.

You have been awarded the [Scion of the All-Mother] title!

[Scion of the All-Mother]

The All-Mother has given you a fraction of her might; beyond what others of your kind may carry. Beware your power.

The System's message was accompanied by yet another wave of mana. While this one did not cause pain, it still managed to elicit a yelp from the Human woman as the world around her suddenly took on a sharpness that caused her to squint her eyes. What?

She blinked a few times, and the sharpness of the world seemed to resolve into something she could tolerate looking at. Everything seemed so much more detailed than before, but some details in particular seemed odd enough for prolonged pondering. Tiny imperfections in Aperio's dress were now visible to her, scattered about the fabric in what seemed to be a random fashion. The bulk of her Goddess' attire was made from something other than cloth — mana woven by Aperio herself, if the Human had to guess.

A second, and more perplexing detail than just the strange inconsistencies of the fabric of her Goddess' dress was the presence of tiny strands of mana reaching out from the Goddess herself. They were not always visible, darting in and out of her enhanced vision in a way that made her truly curious about what they were. They were not the same as the countless strands that moved toward her Goddess, connecting everything to her, but something else. While Laelia could not quite grasp what they were, she instinctively knew that they were important, and that messing with them would be a very good way to head to an early grave.

Aperio watched with bemusement as Laelia spun in circles. Her Paladin's eyes darted around, sometimes lingering for a suspicious fraction of a second on the threads that bound reality together. Can she see them?

The winged Goddess lightly shook her head, dismissing the notification that Laelia had ascended to become a Demigod. It was not what she had intended, but with how much mana she had used, it would have been strange for nothing to happen. She had been expecting something as a result of her actions.

What surprised Aperio more was that Laelia had not gotten the [Touched by the All-Mother] title, but a different one. Why Scion? She wasn't training a replacement for herself. In fact, Aperio was very sure she could not — could never — be replaced.

Vigil and Inanis had killed her, but she had still came back. It just took a while. Her absence also did not appear to have been beneficial to the world. The System was broken, and some of the Gods had seen it fit to use the mortals as pawns for their pleasure. What happened on the other worlds?

The likely answer was that what happened on Verenier was not the exception, but the rule. That begged the question of how many worlds — Or Realms? — there were. How many deities she had made.

With a shake of her head, Aperio pushed the line of thought from her mind. She had something much more important to deal with. "Laelia."

The mention of her name caused the Human to stop her turning and focus on the winged Goddess. Healing her soul and dumping more mana than was in any way reasonable into her paladin had brought changes that Aperio was fairly sure anyone would notice.

Despite physically not having changed much, Laelia now seemed to demand more attention. She had not grown taller or gained more definition as Aperio herself had, rather she seemed to have acquired a certain something that made others take heed of her presence. How does that work? ...Do I do this to people? It would certainly explain why people always reacted rather decisively to her.

"You are free to leave if you so choose," Aperio said, "but I had to remove the mark on your soul, even if I had not been given your consent to do so. There is not a world in which I would let someone's soul be marred with runes that strip their will. Even if it requires me to force the matter." How am I supposed to know if they don't want my help? Whoever made the mark could just command them to deny it.

Laelia hesitated for a moment, her brows fluttering in what Aperio guessed was confusion. "Runes on my soul?"

"Yes. Servitude, Obedience, the same as you would find on a slave collar."

"Is that why I feel… whole now?" Laelia asked, and Aperio noted with mild surprise that the choppiness of the woman's speech was gone. Did she learn the language from my mana, or was the mark on her soul somehow stopping her from using her full linguistic abilities?

That her paladin did not seem concerned with her blatant violation of everything she wanted to stand for did irk the All-Mother. Does it not matter to her? Or does she think she cannot question me?

"Perhaps," Aperio replied. "But, do you not mind that I tampered with your soul? Though you might not have been able to stop me, it does not mean that you should simply accept the matter. You are allowed to be angry at me."

Laelia did not reply, simply staring at Aperio. The winged Goddess tilted her head at the lack of an answer. She does hate me, doesn't she? It was what she had expected; what was supposed to happen.

"I am angry, but not at you," her paladin said, briefly pausing at her own words. "Why do I know how to speak this language now? I could never remember the right words, no matter how hard I tried."

Perhaps it was the mark, then. Why? It did not really make sense to Aperio. Preventing someone from learning a language did not accomplish much, especially if they were still able to speak it anyway. Broken as it may have been.

The runes that had been carved into Laelia's soul were still fresh in Aperio's mind but, despite being able to recall all of them perfectly, she did not actually know if any one of them pertained to the use of language.

"Perhaps Vigil had not wished for you to speak another language properly. Why he would do such a thing I would not know." Admitting her lack of knowledge had been surprisingly easy, the usual feeling of disgust nowhere to be seen.

Laelia simply shook her head, likely dismissing the rather magical acquisition of a language for later thought. "I am not angry at you. Not because I fear you might kill me, but because I trust your judgement to do what is best. Yes, the change hurt, but it was worth it in my mind. Though, declaring me as a Scion of yours might be a burden I am not ready to carry."

"Do you want me to rescind the title?" Once I figure out how.

"No!" Laelia exclaimed, taking a step towards the winged Goddess. "I will give it my all, I just ask that you are patient as I adjust. Perceiving the world as I do now is something I was not prepared for."

"What do you perceive now?"

"Details I have never known existed. I can feel your mana brush over my skin, can feel every part of my body with a clarity I had not thought possible. And I can sometimes see tiny strands of mana that run through everything."

So she can see them. "Do not touch the threads. They are not something one should play with."

"I did not intend to, nor do I think I can," Laelia quickly said. "They feel… important, in a way. Beyond my reach."

Aperio nodded at that. It was good her paladin understood their importance. "Are you certain that you are fine as you are? That what I did to you was the right thing?" It stung a little to ask such questions; a minor annoyance Aperio would gladly bear to be sure her paladin, her Scion, was indeed all right.

Laelia looked at her hands at the question, balling them into fists as if to test them. "I feel better — stronger — than ever. I can finally speak the language I spent over a decade learning, and all of that for less pain than the induction as a paladin of Vigil. I think I am fine."

She hesitated for a moment, taking a step to what Aperio assumed would be a respectful distance before she continued speaking. "You care for those that follow you, acting in ways most would think unbecoming of the All-Mother. All because you want to make sure a random mortal will be free again, even if that requires a brief subversion of their will.

"I have not known you for long, but I trust you more than anyone else I know. You saved my children and asked for nothing. You saved me from Vigil, healed my soul, and the first thing you did was ask for forgiveness for not asking my permission first. I cannot think of anything that would make a Goddess more worthy of my devotion."

She took a knee in a graceful movement, holding her hands palm up towards Aperio. "I, Laelia Whytegaard, daughter of nobody, pledge my life and fealty to Aperio, the All-Mother; creator of all there is. I swear that I will be true and faithful, that I will be your sword and shield to bring your word and values to the world below so that they may live free from the reins of tyrants."

Her words were accompanied by a wave of mana, the universe itself seemingly welcoming the impromptu pledge Laelia had made. Aperio looked at her paladin's upturned but empty hands and summoned the bow she had retrieved from Inanis.

Just as she had seen the Emperor do countless times, she gently laid the weapon in the grasp of her paladin and spoke: "Rise, my Scion."

Crusade - Chapter 65: Souls and Solutions

Aperio watched with interest as Laelia rose to her feet, testing the weight of the bow in her hands. As her Scion didn't seem quite able to carry it with the same ease, it seemed that the weapon was heavier than expected. Or does she think it could break?

She knew that the weapon could take a bit of punishment from herself, and Aperio was very certain her strength vastly eclipsed that of her Scion. "It will not break. Feel free to handle it as such."

Laelia directed her eyes towards the winged Goddess, an awkward smile on her face. "I know it won't break, it's just a lot heavier than I thought a bow would ever be. I don't think I will be able to use this anytime soon."

Oh… Can I make the weapon lighter? She probably could, she just did not know how. How did I make them, anyway? From observation, she knew that they were made of a material that could withstand her strength, to a degree. She was certain that, if she wanted to, she could break her weapon, but she would much prefer to keep it intact. Unlike any normal weapon, hers would allow her to fight properly.

A thought was all that was required for Aperio's swordstaff to appear in her hand — free of the traitor's blood, of course. She spun the weapon, a motion that came frighteningly easy to her. Using a bit more force to grip the weapon did not bend it, just as she had thought. Still, she could feel that there was a limit to the material's resilience, one that she knew she would hit far sooner than the limits of her own strength. If there even is a limit.

That was something she wasn't quite so sure about yet. There had to be one for her physical self, but whatever her body could not do on its own, a touch of her magic should solve. Do I even need a body? It was an interesting thought, but Aperio had no current desire to do any testing of the theory.

"Are you ready to return?" Aperio asked, resting the butt of her staff on the invisible ground. That she could stand on the nothing in her Void still felt surreal, but considering that her home would reflect any change she wanted to, it was most likely not the most outlandish thing she could do here.

"Yes," Laelia replied. She slung the bow over her, an action that garnered a raised eyebrow from the winged Goddess.

"Do you not have a storage skill?"

"I do, but I would rather carry the weapon with me. It feels wrong not to."

She does that because I gave it to her, doesn't she? "You do not have to treat it with reverence simply because it was me who gave it to you. It is a weapon; use it as such."

"Then I shall keep it at the ready," Laelia said, a small smile gracing her features. "Just in case I need it."

Aperio shook her head at the reply. Does she have a skill that lets her make arrows? The answer to that was most likely yes; making an arrow from mana should not be that much harder than making a fireball. They won't be as good as what Inanis used, though. The now-dead Goddess had to have used arrows that Aperio herself had made once upon a time, seeing how they managed to evade even her grasp for a moment.

With another thought, reality rearranged itself and the two of them reappeared just outside of the house of healing, where they had been just moments ago. The first to react was Laelia’s adoptive daughter. Brenia ran towards her foster mother, hugging her as soon as she was able to. Aperio noted with mild amusement that the girl was wearing the feather she had given her, fastened to her head with a matching black strip of cloth.

"It would seem your daughter missed you quite dearly," Aperio said, a warm smile on her face.

"Yes," Laelia replied, shifting the girl in her arms to better hold her. "It would seem so."

"I think congratulations are in order," Ferio said as she stepped closer to the newly minted Scion, interrupting further talk. "It has been quite a while since I saw someone with that title."

Aperio tilted her head at the statement. I had Scions before? What happened to them? It was hopefully something she could find an answer to sooner rather than later. Then again, do I even want to know? What she had learned about her previous self did not exactly inspire confidence in what else she might uncover. I wasn't really nice, was I?

With a shake of her head, Aperio focused on the surroundings, leaving her daughter and her Scion alone for the moment. She still needed to deal with a mass of people that no longer had a place to call home. Or a purpose in life. She also had to check how many of them had been marred by Vigil. Aperio was certain that at least a few of his moon-based followers would bear similar runic soul scarring to that of Laelia. All his paladins have it, according to her.

Taking a step towards the group caused a few of them to shuffle backwards, trying to keep their distance from the winged Goddess. Aperio tried her best to ignore them. That they were scared was to be expected. I did kill their God. It did not matter how easy the deed had been for her, it still resulted in a fundamental change in these people's lives. And for some, perhaps, freedom.

"Who here was a paladin of Vigil?" Her voice echoed through the street, easily reaching everyone in the crowd before her. And I did not even raise my voice.

Nobody answered her question. In fact, most of the people cowered instead, some of them even attempting to hide behind her daughter's followers. "I have not come to judge what you may have done; may have been forced to do. I merely wish to make sure that everyone here is free from the traitor's influence."

There was a moment of silence following her statement, but soon a man wearing a white robe with intricate gold ornaments stepped forward. "Who, exactly, are you?"

Aperio tilted her head at the question. Natio's fanatic knew who I was, but they don't? Despite knowing that Vigil and Inanis had tried to erase all memory of her from existence, she had expected their followers to know how she looked. Perhaps not what I am, exactly, but at least a name and an image. Something that would at least imply that I am a danger so that they would know if I was found again.

The lack of an immediate reply caused the robed man to take a step back, seemingly taking the silence as a threat. His actions had also caused the last stragglers of the group that had not paid attention to Aperio to cease their intermittent talks and focus on the winged Goddess.

"Aperio," she finally said.

The reveal of her name did not garner much of a reaction from the crowds — only a few sporadic murmurs and confused looks. They have no idea, do they? Shifting the swordstaff she still held in her hand got more of a reaction, most trying to further distance themselves.

With a sigh, Aperio shook her head and let her weapon return to her Void. "This will only take a moment."

A wave of mana followed her words, tearing innumerable tiny holes in the fabric of reality. She had no desire to bring the entire group into her Void, but bringing a fraction of her Dominion into the mortal realm? That she could do. It only requires a thought, after all.

Aperio ignored the panicked yells of the people as they were cast in darkness, the homely feeling she got from even the tiny bit of her Void obviously not spreading to the mortals in front of her. The tendrils of mana that spread from her to each individual in the group garnered no reaction, the mortals either unable to see them or too concerned about the darkness of her Void to notice.

Perhaps it was somewhat cruel on her part, but Aperio found she cared little for the people in front of her. She was certain most of these mortals were following Vigil of their own free will, and as such were undeserving of the level of care she had given in healing Laelia. She expected to only find the soul-marring marks on a few.

Weaving the countless threads of her mana through tiny passageways to the soul of each mortal was a surprisingly easy task. It still required a far greater amount of her concentration than most anything so far had done, but concentration was something she had plenty of. All in all, it was still a surprisingly negligible strain on her abilities. What have I become?

Knowing what she could do and actually taking advantage of her abilities were vastly different things. She knew she could check on every single one of them, but actually doing it — with what felt like too little effort — was something else. Aperio might not have cared much for them, but she still did not want to kill them. It would only take a slight mishap on her part for a mortal to perish. Shockingly easy.

It only took a moment longer for Aperio to realise that, out of the group of over a hundred, only four other people had markings on their soul. Having found what she was looking for, she brought the four that had been marred to her Void, letting her Dominion fade from the mortal realm.

While she most likely could have done what she needed to do while they were standing out in the open, Aperio felt a lot safer doing it in her Void. She tried to ignore the shaky breath and darting eyes of the four people she had brought with her, but could not.

"Calm… I brought you here so I can help you." No-one replied to her, all of them simply continuing to peer off into different regions of empty blackness, clearly trying to look for a way out of her Void.

With a silent sigh, Aperio focused on the souls of the people in front of her. Each person seemed to have a different assortment of runes carved onto the core of their very being, most of which she could not yet decipher. The only ones present on every one of them were Servitude and Obedience. Disgusting.

Even if she herself was currently acting against the will of the mortals, Aperio would not stop until their souls were whole again. But how do I do that without blessing them? It wasn't like healing a body where she could just let her mana be guided by the person's own. Their soul saw no reason to repair itself, seemingly thinking the runes engraved upon it were supposed to be there. There was only one thing she could think of that would heal a soul and not imbue it with her power.

A thought later, Aperio and the four marred mortals were floating above the river of souls that flowed through her Dominion. Wanting to avoid another potential fiasco similar to the one she had set in motion when she had carelessly approached the river upon her first remembered arrival in the Void, she had chosen a section that had far fewer orbs flowing through it. Another small flex of her mental muscles provided a large bath house made of marble, into which a part of the soul river was diverted.

As soon as the invisible flow touched the marble, a silvery liquid became visible. Its radiance coiled and shimmered beneath the surface as it quickly filled the bath Aperio had made. She knew that the river returned a soul to its original state; to how she had first made it. Now I just have to stop them from forgetting who they are.

Aperio did not know exactly how she would do so, but a warm, reassuring feeling at the back of her mind spurred her onwards. "Please, step inside."

The mortals simply stared at her, not moving a single step towards the silvery liquid. Seeing that her words would do little to persuade them, Aperio herself stepped into the shallow liquid. She spread her wings and gently let herself fall backwards, landing surprisingly softly on the soul-water.

A tingle ran up her spine as she drifted on the surface, whatever it was that flowed through her Dominion clearly reacting to her. Why didn't it do that when I touched the souls? She pushed the thought from her mind for the moment, righting herself and gesturing towards the mortals.

Nothing happened for a long moment. Then, after exchanging glances with the others, an older man tentatively stepped forwards. First to try his luck, he very slowly stepped into the liquid, then stopped briefly to stare at his reflection. When nothing dire seemed to happen, he continued onwards, further immersing himself in the liquid that still contained surges and shimmers of silver. He stood there for a moment, staring at nothing in particular before he slowly lowered himself into the river’s water and said something that Aperio did not understand. The other three people then reacted, moving to join the old man in the pool. Did they not understand a thing I said? ...They probably didn't.

Aperio still kept watch over their souls, waiting to see how the river's water would heal them. It was not as obvious or fast as her more direct intervention, but she could see the marks on their souls fade. That was, however, the only change she could see. Nothing inside the soul changed, the lightly glowing and swirling mist within remained untouched by the river's water. Does it only heal them because I want it to, or because they have a body?

Watching their souls slowly heal brought a calm and happiness to Aperio's mind that she had not expected. A large part of her felt she should not be happy that people who had worshipped the God that had killed her were getting healed. But, did they have a choice? It was a question she would likely never get an answer to, but neither did she truly care. Knowing that she could remove the filth Vigil had brought into the world was good enough for now.

Time seemed to pass slowly. How long they floated in the silvery waters of the soul river, waiting for the last vestiges of the runes to vanish, Aperio did not know. At last, when all four of the people received the [Sovereignty of the Self] title, it was time for them to leave her Void. Aperio stood up, and the movement seemed to startle the mortals. Perhaps they had forgotten that she had been there, floating on the shimmering liquid next to them.

Her dress was not wet, a fact that went ignored as she brought them back to the house of healing with a thought. Now I just have to find a way to do this without bringing people into my Void.

Crusade - Chapter 66: Family Talk

Aperio raised an eyebrow at the empty street in front of her. The only sign that she had returned to the right place was the house of healing. It was still there, and Aperio could sense the people inside — including Laelia and Ferio — but the large crowd outside had disappeared. How long was I gone?

Time might not truly matter for her, but the four mortals would have had to eat and sleep at some point. Unless my Void takes away that requirement? ...Or did bathing in that soul-water change them after all?

A quick check on the mortals that currently accompanied her revealed nothing of note. They were just as normal and fragile as before. That she now saw a group of mortals that could have probably killed her in her previous life as something weak and fragile brought her an odd mixture of happiness and apprehension. I will have to be very careful with them, won't I?

She wasn't going to get weaker anytime soon; quite the opposite in fact. If her encounter with the first dungeon core was any indication, her power increase would get a sharp uptick every time she retrieved a set of memories and mana held captive by a core. Permanently drawing on my well is also not helping, is it? …Still not going to stop, though.

With a slight shake of her head, Aperio sent a small mental nudge to her daughter, asking where everybody went. She did not receive a mental reply. Instead, her daughter appeared before her and hugged Aperio in a rather ungodly display of affection.

"Don't just disappear for a week!" Ferio's muffled voice was easier to understand for Aperio than it should; the realisation also brought with it the noise of the city surrounding them, something Aperio could have done without. "At least warn me before you do."

"A week?" the winged Goddess asked, lightly patting her daughter's head. "It most certainly did not feel that long." What would happen if I went to my Void and started fiddling with the System? Would I just disappear for a millennia and not notice?

Ferio simply sighed and separated herself from her mother, just in time to preserve her dignity as Caethya, Laelia and a few workers left the house of healing. "Your perception of time is off at the best of times, mother. Staying in your Void only makes it worse."

But I like my Void… Staying in the black nothing was something she would likely do a lot more once she had retrieved all her memories. How long will that take? Aperio also still felt uneasy about retrieving all the memories pertaining to her former self.

The first set she had reclaimed had brought her untold happiness, as very little could compare to being able to actually remember raising her daughter. What she had gotten from Vigil and Inanis, however, was something she could have done without. It did answer some questions she had, but it also only underlined the betrayal of the two deities; a fact that did not need reminding. Now that she had the memories back, they would stay with her. Until the next set of Gods decide to kill me.

That was something she would make sure would not happen again. But to do that, I need to remember. With a sigh, Aperio pushed the never-ending circle of thoughts down, focusing on the group that had stepped outside to join her and her daughter.

Laelia still had the bow slung over her shoulder with no arrows in sight. She had, however, changed the rest of her attire. Besides no longer having her hair in a braid, she was now wearing a set of black and blue leather armour that, to Aperio, looked suspiciously similar to what a few of Ferio's followers wore. Did she give her that to show her allegiance to me?

The likely answer was yes as Caethya, too, now wore a dress that sported Aperio's preferred colours of silver, blue, and black. All they need is an emblem… Should I make one? She had not really intended on founding a new religion — Or is it reviving an old one? — but, like her daughter had said, one would form regardless unless she actively prevented it. I'd rather they know what I want instead of wildly interpreting anything I say.

"Where did the others move to?" Aperio asked again, this time addressing everyone present. She could have gone and used her aura to search for everyone she had brought from the moon, but asking the people in front of her felt like the right thing to do. That the four people she had healed in her Void were frantically looking around was ignored; she had healed them, what they did now was their business. Why do I even want to know where the others went?

She had been irritated that the people she had brought here had disappeared, but thinking about it for even a bit longer showed that she honestly did not care. That it had been a gut reaction to someone undoing what she had made. Like someone took my clothes. She had teleported them there and someone had had the audacity to take them away without asking for her permission.

The idea of recognising people as a thing — something to be placed where she wanted and used for what she wanted — on an instinctual level was something she did not like. Is that really me? It had been her gut reaction, the first thing that had come to her mind without thinking. She shook her head in an attempt to clear it. Just another thing to overcome.

It was a part of her, yes, but she could change. Already had changed. Much of what she knew of her old self was far outside of what she would consider proper or even reasonable. I wouldn't have liked myself, would I?

"Mother?" Ferio asked, lightly touching Aperio's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"I am fine," Aperio replied, not wanting to elaborate further. Her reply did not seem to convince either her daughter or the small group that had come outside. Ferio retracted her hand but lingered for a second longer in front of her mother before stepping aside, seemingly unsure if she should have said something more.

"A few of them stayed here," Ferio said as she fell into step next to her mother. "We sent the rest to the [Guides]. O'lymni was more than happy to offer her help."

That's good, is it not? As far as Aperio knew, the [Guides] were devoted to the collection and distribution of knowledge, something she had nothing against. The fact that they were close to Roots, however, did unnerve her a little. It was rather fond of her, and Aperio was starting to believe that it may have led the [Guides] to view her in a more favourable light. But that was the old me, someone I am not even close to becoming. ...Or want to become.

Her daughter did not seem to mind anything she had done in the past, never having voiced any critique of it. The reactions she had, what she felt when people did not follow her word exactly, was something that had led Aperio to believe she had not previously been much of a pleasant person. Did I just hide it from her? And what about Roots? She would soon have to ask Ferio about her former self.

"Did anything else happen in my absence that you would like to inform me about?" Aperio asked, pointedly looking at Caethya and Laelia. She wanted to say that a dress was perhaps not the best working attire but, considering what she herself chose to wear, Aperio elected to keep that comment to herself. But then, I also don't need armour.

Unlike her Elven disciple, she would not get injured by anything less than the weapon of a God. Though, even that would need more testing now, Aperio thought as she looked at the tiny wisps of mana that were floating around her, melting into her skin whenever they touched it.

"I got your two most prominent followers something more fitting to wear," her daughter replied. Her next words were whispered, accompanied a small ripple of mana that flowed around them as she leaned closer to her mother. "Are you sure you want her to have one of your weapons? The last time you gave one away, the mortals almost destroyed their world with it."

Aperio stopped at the words. Her gaze, which had been slipping towards the cautiously approaching members of the house of healing, zipped back to the weapon she still held firmly in her hand. "How?"

It's a bow, how would she destroy a planet with that? She knew her weapons were powerful, but only in the sense that they enabled her to fight properly, not because they had inherent abilities of their own. Or do they?

"Because of it, might have been a better way to put it. But, what matters is that it did not end well," Ferio said, slightly shaking her head. "At the time I had not paid it much mind — and I still wouldn't now — but you seem to care for the mortals now and until you can remember on your own… I feel like not telling you would be wrong."

"Why would you not care for them?" Why did I not care for them? I made them.

"You misunderstand, mother. I care for those who follow me, but not in what world they do so. You made more than enough for them to choose from, after all."

"So anyone that does not follow is worthless to you?" The idea stung. That her own daughter thought that way hurt more than she would have expected, even if she should have seen it coming. She was never a mortal… Why would she care? It also begged the question of why she herself should care. Nearly every mortal she had dealt with in her previous life had been detestable, and even her first encounter with them after returning had been less than stellar.

Ferio did not reply immediately. She simply stared at her mother for a moment, then sighed. "It's not that they are worthless, but that I don't really care what happens to them. I take after you in that regard; the old you, at least. And, if I am being honest, I don't understand why you would like them now. They enslaved you, treated you like their plaything."

Her daughter was right, to a degree at least. There was no real reason for her to care about all of them. And she didn't. Aperio only really cared about her daughter, and the few mortals that were close to her, but still she found the idea of simply letting millions die to be abhorrent. That she had apparently done that in the past was just another thing she wished she did not know.

"Some mortals did that, yes," Aperio said after a brief pause. She was having trouble finding the right words to express her thoughts, something she usually had no problems with. "But they are long dead, and these ones have done nothing wrong yet. I would even go as far as to say that I enjoy their company." She took an extra moment to double-check her spoken statement, and the emotions in it rang true. Simply spending time with Caethya and Laelia, being in their presence and feeling comfortable, was something that brought a tiny bit of happiness to the winged Goddess. The brief time she had spent with Maria had been fun for her as well, even if she had severely misunderstood the little girl's father. I should visit her again.

Her mother's words brought a small smile to Ferio's face, something Aperio had not really expected. "So you care for the ones that follow you, just like I do about those that follow me. But, in the end, what I think of them doesn't really matter.

"I just wanted you to know the dangers of giving one of your weapons to a mortal. Anything given by a deity is polarising for them. And, considering you are the one that reigns above the rest of us, having a weapon that was made to work with your strength is something that appeals to more than just mortals," Ferio said. "I doubt your Scion would do anything stupid like giving it away, but at the moment she is far from capable of defending that bow. Vigil and Inanis weren't the only ones that benefited from your absence."

"No, they were not." The names of the other deities that had tried to usurp control of the System were still in Aperio’s mind, the memory just as clear as when she had first seen it. "I do not intend to leave her alone, however. At least, not for a while yet."

"Oh? What do you want to do now, mother?"

"I want to find more dungeons; remember who I was," she replied. "But I also want to live. I have never had the freedom to do what I wanted, to go somewhere simply because I felt like it. Even now I do not have that luxury. Not really. I do not know how many more souls have been marred by Vigil; do not know if he was the only one doing it. Simply knowing that there might be others capable of such a thing is making me sick."

Ferio directed her gaze downwards at the words. "I wish I could help you there, but souls are something I do not wish to tamper with."

"Nor do I wish you to," Aperio said, gently lifting her daughter's head. "You are already helping me enough." Just talking to her daughter was helping more than Aperio had expected, and all she could ask for. Now, if only the others could treat me like a normal person as well.

With a slight shake of her head, she gave Ferio a brief hug before stepping through the thin veil of magic that had kept their conversation silent.

Crusade - Chapter 67: Piercing Truth

Aperio noted with mild annoyance how everyone seemed to stand just a little bit straighter as she drew closer; as if they somehow expected her to perform an inspection. Or is it because of the weapon? Holding it felt natural to her, making it easy to forget that she was currently grasping something out of the ordinary in the eyes of the mortals in front of her. But then, Laelia also has a weapon I made and that doesn't seem to influence them.

Though, it had to be noted that the bow she had given her Scion lacked the blue lines that flowed along the haft of her swordstaff. It had been the same when Inanis had wielded it, as though the weapon itself was not wanting to be used by anyone but Aperio. They only really work for me, don't they? Perhaps it would work for her Scion with enough time — the woman did carry a large amount of her mana, after all. But is it really still my mana?

The obvious answer was yes. Everything was technically hers, even if only in a very literal sense. She had made the universe, but Aperio wouldn't claim she was the creator of every piece of art or anything of the sort. To claim that the blessing given to Laelia still belonged to Aperio wasn't quite right either. Yes, she could control the mana she had given away, but that was true for every bit of magic that existed. Probably.

Even if she could wrest control of the mana away from the one who had used it before, Aperio no longer considered it hers. She did not receive information from it like she did with her aura, and neither did it call to her to be used like the mana residing in her well. For all intents and purposes it was not hers, something she was more than fine with. Not that I would ever need to draw mana from someone else. I have more than enough.

She pushed the thoughts away as she arrived in front of the small group, letting go of her weapon and returning it to the Void. "Is there a reason everyone present is so… tense?"

The first to respond was Laelia who, after adjusting the bow slung across her shoulder, took a step forward. "You disappeared for a week, and answered neither Caethya's prayers nor my own. We were worried, my Goddess."

Aperio turned her head to face Ferio at the words, sending her a mental query with perhaps a bit too much force. Laelia's choice of words had struck a chord of panic in Aperio's mind. Did she tell them?

Her daughter was quick to deny Aperio's rather accusatory question, telling her mother that she had not revealed Aperio's history. The answer caused Aperio's wings to twitch in irritation. If they are unaware of my previous disappearance, why, then, did they worry? Do they think I am weak?

As silly as the notion was, it still managed to cause a bit of anger to bubble up inside her. I am not weak. Nor would she let anyone else think she was. She was no longer a helpless slave.

The voice of her daughter echoed through her mind, urging her to remain calm. Without Ferio's prompting, Aperio would never have noticed how the wisps of mana floating around her had started to increase, or how tiny arcs of energy had started to jump between the feathers of her slightly flared wings.

Aperio took a deep breath, the slightly sour smell of the city air not doing a great job of helping her maintain a grip on her sense of calm. They had been worried for her, not because she was weak and could not look out for herself, but because they cared. It was what she had wanted — that someone cared — and here she was completely ignoring that. She could blame it on the fact that nobody had cared before, but that felt like a cheap excuse; something she did not want.

"Thank you," Aperio finally said, her voice a lot softer than usual. "But there was no reason to worry. Healing them merely took a bit of time."

The hand of her daughter gently slipping past her wings and resting on her back caused Aperio to turn her head. Ferio's eyes were cast slightly downwards, the smile that usually graced her features somehow looking sad.

"Don't always assume the worst, mother," Ferio said, her words barely audible. "You might not see it just yet, but there are people that care. About you, not just because you are the All-Mother and they want your favour."

Laelia nodded at Ferio's words, the motion so subtle that Aperio barely noticed it. She heard her? It shouldn't have been a surprise; with the power her Scion had, she should be able to hear a few more things than a regular mortal. Probably could've done so before, too.

"Perhaps," Aperio replied. Though what her daughter had said was likely true, she still had trouble fully accepting the idea of people caring about her person and not just wanting to use the favor of the All-Mother for their own gain. The only one she could fully trust at the moment was her daughter, which perhaps meant that Aperio should take the words to heart a little more. But why should they care?

"What do you intend to do now, my Goddess?" Caethya asked, her gaze shifting rapidly between Aperio and the floor. Did I scare her?

Given that her disciple seemed to have shrugged off the way her Goddess had disappeared for a week, Aperio was led to believe that it was her small outburst that had scared the young Elf. The question Caethya had asked did cause Aperio to think, however. She had told Ferio about the things she wanted to do, but most of them had been grander goals that would take a while to accomplish.

What Aperio wanted to do right this moment was something she was still unsure about. She wanted to visit Maria, but the continued silence of the girl was a sign to the Goddess that her youngest follower did not want to see her. But what if something happened?

"I wanted to visit Maria again," Aperio replied, having made up her mind. "She is much like you, Caethya."

"Like me?"

"She, too, had her soul touched by me," Aperio replied.

Caethya remained silent for a brief moment, her eyes fixed on her feet, before she spoke again. "Are there more?"

The winged Goddess lightly shook her head in reply. "Laelia carries a different blessing. Maria and you are the only ones whose soul I personally touched."

"May I join you?" Caethya asked. "I would very much like to meet the other one you have blessed."

"Of course you are free to join," Aperio said, a smile settling on her lips — a reaction far outside of her usual composed demeanour. "I would also like Laelia to join us. Introducing you three to one another is something I should have done sooner." Not that I could have done so before...

It was something her followers did not need to know, however. They could think of her as the somewhat mysterious All-Mother for a little while longer. That she had no idea what she was doing half the time was something she would not tell them until she actually did know what she was doing.

"Shouldn't you address the world, my Goddess? Or, at least, this city?" Laelia asked. "You removed two of the most prominent Gods. The people still have questions."

Aperio remained silent for a moment, thinking of an answer. She had hoped that she would not have to address anyone, that her accidental week-long disappearance would have been long enough to allow people to forget, or at least move on. That was a silly belief, wasn't it?

"And what do you expect me to tell them? That I killed their Gods for transgressions they would not understand?" Aperio sighed and shook her head. "I do not like taking an overly active role in the happenings of the worlds. I want to be left alone and not need to run after rebellious deities that think the rules do not apply to them.

"So I think, unless it becomes absolutely necessary, that I will not address everyone. The people will figure out who it was that killed their Gods soon enough on their own, anyway." Who she was and what she could do was not exactly a secret in the city, it was simply a matter of the people not yet choosing to believe that she could do what the rumours said she could.

Laelia offered a hesitant nod in reply. "I understand… I think. You don't want to orchestrate a public crusade against the deities that… rebelled? I am not quite sure what they have done, just that you are supremely angry at their actions."

Aperio's eyes narrowed her Scion's words and she took a step closer, the stone cracking beneath her feet. "Do you think what Vigil did to your soul was in any way acceptable?” Laelia blinked, startled, which brought further words to the Goddess' reprimand. "Did you think he was alone in his actions? That he was the only one who could do it?"

After she received a rather hesitant shake of the head from Laelia, Aperio continued. "He etched runes into your very soul. Servitude, Obedience and the like. I do not tolerate slavery in any form, and it would seem that some members of the pantheon need reminding.

"That said, I have no interest in involving legions of mortals. Only a few of you would be strong enough to be of use, and it is not your fight to begin with." Nor do I know how I would even rally people to my cause… Or if I would want to do that in the first place.

Aperio was fine with having a grand total of three followers. She did not need them to gain power, nor did she want their undying loyalty because they thought she would give them something if they prayed hard enough. If I ever bless anyone again, it will be because I like them.

It was perhaps a luxury the other deities did not have, but Aperio truly had no need for a legion to fight her battles. At least, I don't think so. The excitement that swelled within her at the idea of fighting an entire army on her own, the self-surety of the certain victory to follow, only furthered her belief. And if I ever did need help, I can ask Ferio, or Laelia and Caethya.

Maria was too young for a battle of any form, but her other two followers were stronger than most anyone she herself had seen. Though, how can Laelia only be level 230 and feel more powerful than Caethya? ...Is the level part of the System also broken? Once the question had been so clearly formed in her mind, a part of her instantly knew for certain that the levels were, indeed, not working as they should. As by now expected, this newfound knowledge did not come with an ability to fix the problem.

"Oh mother," Ferio mumbled beside her, removing the hand that had rested on Aperio’s back the entire time. "When will you learn to accept help?"

"How exactly are they supposed to help me?" Aperio asked, the irritation apparent in her voice. "You yourself were unable to fight another God in their Dominion."

Her daughter rubbed the bridge of her nose at Aperio's words. "Yes, they can't help you with the fight, but that is not the only thing they could do. Take Laelia here. She is a capable fighter, yes, but she also knows firsthand about Vigil's church. How it functioned. What it expected. She would be the perfect choice to help those who lost their God. Let her tell them what he did.

"You don't want to involve yourself too much, and I understand why, but someone has to be involved at this juncture. If not you, then someone that could at least ask you for clarification on issues they themselves can't answer."

Aperio's wings twitched slightly, a good part of her not liking that her daughter was giving her a lecture. She had no real reason to be angry of course, as what Ferio said was very much valid — good advice, even. It was just her inherent dislike of someone being better or knowing more than she did acting up again. Can't I just cut that part out?

"And what if something happens to her when she goes out and does something I told her to do? I am responsible for enough already, I do not want to be the one that sent someone on a trivial mission only for them to be killed by a vengeful lunatic."

"I doubt anyone in this city — besides your two followers themselves — could injure them, much less kill them. They might appear weak and fragile to you, but so does everything else," Ferio said with a sigh. "I know you don't want to depend on others, but haven't you done enough already? If you continue to do everything on your own, it will just play out like before."

A multitude of blue and silver arcs danced across Aperio's skin and wings as she turned to face her daughter. The world surrounding the two had darkened, Aperio's Void starting to leak into the mortal realm. "Nothing will be like before. I will not be a slave."

Ferio took a slight step back as the arcs of mana lashed out at their surroundings. "Calm, mother. I never meant to imply that. It’s just that you are starting to behave like you did before. You never let yourself be helped, would not even accept advice, even from me. I fear that if you do the same again, you will just turn three potential new Goddesses against you."

"If they are against me, they will not ascend," Aperio spat, her voice causing Ferio to wince slightly. "I will not be bound to anyone; to anything."

Ferio took another step back as the fury in her mother's eyes did not relent. "And I did not say that. Accepting help or delegating tasks does not bind you to them. I understand that the life you lived as a mortal was not pleasant, but that is finished. You are free now."

The winged Goddess remained unmoved, her eyes fixed on Ferio as the arcs of mana jumped between the feathers of her flared wings. The stone beneath her feet suddenly cracked as Aperio kicked off of it, rocketing into the sky.

As soon as she had pierced the dome of darkness, her Void retreated from the mortal realm. Aperio did not look down as she darted through the sky, only stopping when she was high above the city. She took a deep breath of the cold air, closing her eyes as she felt the world itself resonate with the rage that still flowed through her.

She did not know why, but the words of Laelia and Ferio had set something in motion, causing a looping chain of her most unpleasant memories to surface in her mind. How the nobles that had forced themselves on her had always told her how dependable she was, how they could not think of a world where they did not have such an obedient puppet.

She had left before she could do anything that she might regret. She couldn't help but recall the way she had felt her mana react to her emotional state, growing somehow sharper in the air. Recall how she could feel it spreading to Laelia, and to Caethya. They had told her before that they could feel her anger, but now that she had clearly witnessed it happening she could no longer shrug their concerns off. Why am I like this?

Why did she make the world depend on her? Everything connected to her, in one way or another. And yet, it still worked when I was gone? She shook her head, trying to free her mind from the train of thought that had started to form. It was not important right now. First she would need to calm herself.

Aperio flew upwards, soaring higher and farther until she reached the vast nothing beyond Verenier. Though she could have returned to her Void, and she sorely missed the calming effect it surely would have had, she did not want to become reliant on it. Running to her Dominion every time she got worked up about something didn't seem like a good idea. Not that this is much better.

She stopped beating her wings, simply spreading them out as she let herself drift through the nothing with a touch of magic. Her awareness of things other than herself opened up, and she noticed that the presence that had played with the wisps of her mana was back. This time it seemed more reserved, somehow managing to not approach her despite being woven into every bit of the inky black.

With a silent sigh Aperio closed her eyes again. While her body might have forgotten how to get tired, the same could not be said for her mind. Making sense of what her old instincts were telling her and what she actually remembered took quite a toll on her.

She had wanted to visit Maria, introduce the girl to the other two she had blessed so that they might be able to help one another should the need arise. But, instead, she had failed not only her daughter but the two followers she had.

Aperio did not like failure.

Despite the absence of sound, there was a silent whispering creeping up on the edges of her hearing. Immediately, Aperio opened her eyes and summoned her weapon. Against all logic, a formless shadow was taking shape in front of her. It was clearly the source of the whispering, as it grew louder as the entity coalesced.

It only took a little while longer before the countless voices called out as one, addressing the only person in the black nothing. "Welcome, Mistress."

Crusade - Chapter 68: The Formless

"Two visits so shortly after millennia of silence," the ever-shifting cloud of shadows said. Its voices overlapped one another, never staying in the same cadence or pace. "Have I upset you, Mistress? Are you here to punish me?"

"Punish?" Aperio did not even know what the being really was, nor why it spoke to her now when it did not do so before. "I came here to think; to clear my head."

The darkness seemed to be happy at her words, a few of the mana wisps that floated around Aperio's form disappearing as the shadows chased them. "Space is silent and uncaring; perfect to shield yourself from the annoying voices of the mortals."

Annoying voices? She had to be honest with herself, she had gotten fairly irritated with them. Over nothing, too… Why was I angry when they cared about me? Upon further reflection, the rage that had previously bubbled inside her had mostly subsided, with only a small portion still remaining. Perhaps space is more like my Void than I had previously thought?

She laid down on the nothing that surrounded her, the shadows that inhabited it gently embracing her, and closed her eyes, allowing her weapon to vanish. Breathing in space was a weird sensation. No air filled her lungs, but neither did the motion bring comfort as it did in her Void. Somehow, there was even less… nothing present here.

Another thing Aperio noticed was the calm she felt now; not quite on the level of her Void, but close enough. So they are related. ...Or is it something else? She wasn't quite willing to believe that her Dominion and plain old space had much in common, but that meant something else had to have helped her regain her calm. The shadow?

"What are you?" she asked, more to herself than anyone else. Aperio sat up straight as she realised she had been able to hear her own voice. Does the shadow speak too, then? She had presumed it to be a mind-to-mind communication, just in a form she had not previously encountered. "How?"

"You have never been bound by the same rules as the rest of us; why would you now?" the shadow asked, the chorus of voices laced with a few slight giggles. Then the timbre of the voice changed, and quiet sobs replaced the laughter. "But... You do not remember me, Mistress? I have dutifully kept watch over your creations, guiding the emergence of the new worlds, just like you had asked."

Aperio tilted her head, trying to remember something about the formless darkness in front of her despite already knowing it would not work. The winged Goddess was only able to retrieve a mild headache, just as she had expected.

"I do not know who, or even what you are… I cannot remember much of anything," Aperio said, her last words a quiet murmur.

She could feel the darkness flow away from her, the ever-shifting cloud gaining more shape and substance until it had coalesced into a shadowy form of an Elf. Aperio looked at the reflection of herself, and was reminded of the other imitation of herself the dungeon had created before she destroyed it.

The lack of anger rising up at the sight of something that imitated her likeness caused no small amount of confusion. Aperio had long resigned herself to dealing with random bouts of anger, and was expecting to have to put up with it for an extended period of time. Until I get my memories back, at least.

The lack of such emotions now, however, caused her to shift her gaze to the planet below. She could sense how the shadowy Elf took a seat on the nothing next to her, seemingly wanting to comfort her. It did not answer the question she had asked, something that did cause a good bit of angered irritation to stir inside Aperio, but the feeling was nothing compared to the seething rage she had felt at her followers’ rather innocent questions.

"Why?" Aperio mumbled to herself. It made no sense to her. She knew that her Void was one of a kind, that nothing could compare. Does Verenier make me… angry? She doubted that the shadow was doing anything to calm her, as a quick glance revealed nothing traveling along the mana threads that connected them.

But how does that work? It was obvious that the world reacted to her, and why wouldn't it? She had made it. Do I... react to the world? But, it doesn't feel; it's a rock. Then again, I am an Elf with wings — the All-Mother — that can kill Gods like it's nothing… Perhaps a feeling piece of rock is not that far-fetched?

"What is your name?" Aperio asked, not taking her eyes off the continent she knew to be Vetus. So small. Knowing that she only needed to use a tiny fraction of her might to remove it from existence was a frightening, yet intoxicating experience.

"Diskrye," the shadow replied, not a trace of the playful note in its voices left. "That is the name you have given me."

Hearing what the shadow was called had sadly not helped Aperio remember. Not that it should have. How could she recall something that wasn't there? But… something is there. She wasn't sure if it was the memories she had retrieved from the Ebenlowe dungeon slowly integrating themselves, or if she was somehow starting to remember things on her own.

Nor does it tell me if being on Verenier makes me angry. She could, of course, just go back down and see what happened, but as it stood, she had no desire to meet anyone. The only reason she had not asked Diskrye to leave her alone was because she knew that it couldn't; it was the space that surrounded her. It had taken her longer than she wanted to admit to realise it, but now that she did, it was obvious. What else have I missed?

Had she been blinded by the anger she had felt? Could she even live on a world that did this to her? Do all the worlds do that? ...Why do they do that? She knew that, to an extent at least, the world reacted to how she felt. It had especially been reactive since...

Aperio shuddered, pulling her wings in around herself at the memory. She had forced herself upon Laelia when she had healed her, irrevocably changing who — what — the woman was. It had been a needed action, yes, but as she now was painfully aware, she could have done it much differently. Without forcing my way. Without going against all that I want to stand for. Remembering the scope of the impact she had on people was more difficult than she wanted to admit, and the lingering instincts of her mortal life as a slave did not help matters.

"Mistress?"

The echoing voice of Diskrye brought Aperio out of her trance, causing her to turn her head and face the shadowy figure. The title it had chosen for her was questionable at best, but Aperio could not find a reason to change it aside from her dislike for its connotations. "Yes?"

"Do you intend to stay here?"

Aperio did not reply immediately, instead shifting her gaze back to the world below. She didn't want to just leave everything behind and become some sort of space-faring hermit. She liked the people she had met and, perhaps most importantly, she wanted to spend more time with her daughter. Though, after what I just did to them I should probably not expect the same level of goodwill they once had.

Her reaction had by, all accounts, been irrational — almost hysterical, even. Definitely not something becoming of a Goddess, much less of the All-Mother.

"No," she whispered, shifting her wings around herself to better hide from the world surrounding her. "I like the people I met and I promised Maria I would visit her again… I just want a life."

"It is weird, seeing you like this, Mistress. What happened?"

Aperio wrapped her wings tighter around herself at the question, the soft warmth of her feathered appendages bringing her a comfort little else could. "A lot."

She could feel the shifting in space as the shadow drew some mana to itself. If it was for an attack, Aperio did not know, and neither did she care, for the amount Diskrye was summoning up was insignificant to the winged Goddess.

The bit of mana the presumed deity of space had sent against its maker faded before it even managed to touch its target. The only response the winged Goddess gave was the slight lowering of her wing to set her gaze on the shadowy being.

Diskrye dissolved a little under Aperio's stare, a gesture the winged Goddess assumed to mean embarrassment. "I did not mean to offend you. It is just that you are nothing like the Creator I remember.

“She wouldn't cower like that, or willingly subject herself to the anger of a world. No, she would remove that world. Or simply go elsewhere. But despite all of this, you look like her, sound like her; feel like her."

Aperio narrowed her eyes at the shadow. "People change."

Diskrye slithered closer, the motion somehow easily recognisable despite the formless nature of the being. "They do," it said, the echoes in its voice more pronounced than before. "But you can hardly compare yourself to them, now can you?

"I can feel the vastness of your being hidden inside that shell. I can see how you are constantly reinforcing it so it may one day be able to hold the true extent of your might. That is not something people do."

Aperio tilted her head, absentmindedly brushing her hand over the feathers of her wings as she pondered the words. It was, perhaps, meant as an insult, but she didn't think that it was, nor did she perceive it as such. There was a kernel of truth in it, after all. She was no longer a normal mortal, something Aperio thought she had already accepted and internalised. Apparently not.

Having it so bluntly pointed out to her that she was more than met the eye did drive the point home. That she could feel the anger of an entire world, and it could feel hers, was definitely something extraordinary; even for the other Gods and Goddesses. It's like my aura, isn't it? Just, bigger.

If her aura caused pain because she had not accepted who she was on a personal level, why should the world — something that was still made from her mana — not react to her own less than complete self-acceptance. Or is it because I killed Vigil and Inanis?

Aperio's hand stopped brushing over her feathers as something clicked in her mind. It's the mortals. It made much more sense than the world itself doing anything that she did not tell it to do. She knew that her mood affected the people around her; had seen how her mana brought her feelings to the ones she had blessed. It only made sense that a small portion of the mortals' feelings would find their way back to her.

And I'm connected to everything.

Enough drops would cause even the largest barrel to overflow. And I killed three deities, two of which had a very large following. The number of people stricken with grief or thrown into a rage surely numbered in the millions. And it's not just Verenier.

If her daughter had followers on other worlds, Vigil and Inanis would have had some too. What have I done? She hadn't stopped to think before she executed the two of them; the memory she had reclaimed underlined their betrayal with inescapable truth.

A defeated sigh escaped Aperio's lips as she stood up to her full height, the tiny wisps that floated around her glowing slightly brighter as she drew a bit more mana from her well. That really became second nature fast, didn't it?

She had not directly thought about drawing more from her well, having simply sighed and taken a breath of the nothing. Now, how do I calm millions of mortals that lost their God or Goddess? Aperio asked herself, ignoring that Diskrye had started to play with her mana wisps again. Reveal myself as the one true Goddess? No, that would be stupid. Once they figured things out, it would direct their anger more squarely at me.

Why can't I feel their emotions up here? Mana doesn't care if it is in space or not. So many things did not make sense to her, things that seemed like contradictions to how she perceived the world to work. Aperio started to pace back and forth, her feet somehow finding purchase on the nothing of space even without a conscious use of her magic.

An inspection revealed nothing to her. The threads that connected Verenier to her were devoid of any emotion, just a steady stream of mana that informed her about the world itself. Aperio, however, had no use for the information it provided. Why do I need to know how hot a specific spot is? The world gave off more information than anyone would ever need to know, but still somehow lacked the specific thing she was looking for.

She could not exactly cut herself off from the world and simply ignore what came from it. Nor did she want to force anything on the mortals below; they were not responsible for what their Gods did and had every right to be upset. Aperio was also still angry with herself for what she had done to Laelia, even if the woman herself did not seem to mind it.

So, the best I can do is to just ignore it? She did not like the idea, for it came too close to taking away her freedom to do as she pleased. But forcing the issue could make it worse… Perhaps Ferio could help? Or one of the others? Aperio did think that at least one of them would know about shielding themselves from outside influence. But then, what they deal with is most likely very different.

The only thing she could do to find out was go and ask them. The thought of doing that brought forth the feeling of disgust that had already become a companion to her. A rather annoying one. At least it's getting better. She was no longer feeling like her nonexistent breakfast would leave her any time she wanted to ask a question.

"Thank you," Aperio said to the formless shadow.

The entity seemed cheery again, appearing to have forgotten their rather heavy talk from just moments ago. "I do hope you visit me again soon, Mistress. At least within the next century, yes?"

A century is not soon by any stretch. While that might be true for most everyone, Aperio had to remind herself that she did spend a week floating in a bath of soul-water without even noticing the passage of time. Do I just turn off? She had not done much at the time, simply concentrating on healing the mortals.

With a slight shake of her head, Aperio focused on the planet below her. It was an easy task to find her little group of friends, all of them still in the house of healing. They seemed to be consoling a very distraught-looking Ferio, her daughter seemingly unable to deal with what had transpired much better than Aperio herself. I'm not a good mother, am I?

"Farewell, Diskrye," Aperio said, offering a small wave at nothing in particular before she vanished.

Crusade - Chapter 69: Regret

Aperio cautiously appeared above Ebenlowe, her wings holding her aloft. She did not want to appear in front of her daughter and succumb to the anger the same way she had before. No, first she had to actually know how the world affected her. And after that, I have to apologise.

Now that she was back in the reach of the planet and its inhabitants, she could already feel the anger rising within her. Since she now knew that the emotion wasn't her own, she could tell that it had a distinct alien feeling to it. Looking at the countless network of mana threads that linked all of creation to herself, she could see the emotional qualities — which had been absent in space — interwoven within.

That she had not noticed them before was not something that surprised Aperio. Every thread only carried a minuscule amount of what she would identify as emotion through the subtle differences in the mana that reached her. Each thread alone would not be much of a problem, barely noticeable and definitely not able to influence her. But, with millions of them feeding her the collective anger of the people, it became a tide that dragged her along and threatened to drown her in seething rage. How do I even know these bits are emotions?

The answer was likely that, since she had created all that there was, her body simply remembered what everything meant on a base level. It was just that her mind had to ask the right question first. But, can I simply ignore this? Aperio was no longer angry like she had been before; the emotions she felt from the threads of reality were somehow distant, removed from the rest of her feelings.

Only one way to find out, no? With those thoughts, Aperio vanished from the skies of Ebenlowe and appeared next to her daughter in the house of healing. For the briefest of moments the thought of using her teleport ability in a fight crossed her mind before she pushed it down and, instead, wrapped her wings around Ferio as she pulled her daughter into a hug.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, gently stroking the back of Ferio's head. Aperio had seen how distraught her daughter had been, how she had been on the verge of tears. Something that was very much unbecoming of a Goddess, especially so in front of mortals.

Ferio did not say anything, simply holding onto her mother tightly. That Aperio could feel an ever-so-slight discomfort from her daughter's hug spoke volumes about how much strength the Goddess of Light and Life was putting into it. And yet, I still have to be careful to not use too much. Her daughter's embrace had also strained Aperio's dress to the point of being pulled apart — nothing a little repairing wouldn't fix.

"It's okay," she whispered as she felt tiny drops of wetness stain her shoulder. Aperio also spread more of her mana in the room, creating a small barrier that visually and physically separated Ferio and herself from others who were nearby. She enjoyed their company, and she still had to deliver an apology to them, but it felt wrong to let them freely witness Ferio in her current state.

Her daughter mumbled something that Aperio did not understand as she gripped her mother a little tighter still. The All-Mother gently stroked her daughter's back as she asked herself how her actions could have resulted in this.

She had been angry, unreasonably so, but what Ferio displayed now was not only unbecoming of a Goddess but wildly out of proportion for what had transpired. ...Or was my previous self always so mercurial, and she fears that I will become so once more?

Very carefully, Aperio separated herself from her daughter, setting her down on a chair made from her mana. "Did something happen after I left?" Aperio inquired, no longer so sure that the reaction of her daughter was entirely her fault.

"No," Ferio said with a shaking voice, wiping away a few remaining tears. "It's just too much. Trying to act all right and proper like you taught me to, only for you to still get angry and then disappear.

"I know this is not 'befitting of a Goddess' and surely not something someone my age should do," she said, "but I don't care anymore. I had hoped I would finally have a family, that you had changed. Then you disappeared again, dashing my hopes. But now you are back, hugging me in front of mortals. Trying to comfort me. I understand you now even less than I did before."

Aperio cast her gaze towards the floor at her daughter's words; she was also confused with herself. Though she now knew the source of her anger, telling her daughter that the world itself was the reason felt like a cheap excuse. She could have done more to control herself. She was the All-Mother, older than everything – surely she should have mastered her own emotions by now? Even as a slave I was able to control them better.

"I do not understand myself either," Aperio said as softly as she could. "I do not know why I can feel the anger of the world, nor why it would influence me to such a degree. It is not an excuse for my actions — cannot be one – but you deserve to know the reason for my current state. I did not mean to cause you distress, Ferio. I care about you." More than I ever thought I would.

The only thing in her mortal life that had come vaguely close to the notion of family had been Moria, but that paled in comparison to what she was feeling now. Even before she had retrieved the memories of Ferio's childhood she had known the Goddess was her daughter, something she could not say about the other Gods or Goddesses.

Ferio sighed at her mother's words. "This is what I mean. It's like you are flipping between the old you and some new you, but can't decide which one you truly are. I had hoped that, perhaps, I would have someone who cares now. Who doesn't expect the impossible from me simply because I am your daughter. I am not you; nor will I ever be."

I am not 'me' either. The thought was kept to herself, her daughter having already pointed out the occasional dissonance of her actions and words. "I am doing my best," Aperio said with a sigh, pointedly ignoring the disgust that was already making itself known. "But I do not know how anything is supposed to work. I have to fight with myself to even say these words. The bits and pieces that I can recall are not of much help."

"I understand that, but it still hurts when you get angry for no reason, when you don't let me help you. I am not the only one, either. Laelia and Caethya want to help you too. For different reasons, perhaps, but nonetheless they do care."

"Did you tell them what had happened to me? Why I disappeared?"

"I did not, mother," Ferio said, lifting her gaze from the floor. "I wouldn't reveal that unless you were gone for years again. But, you have to understand that you aren't alone."

Aperio looked over her shoulder at the words, seeing Laelia and Caethya kneeling in front of the barrier she had erected; her magic only blocking sight from their direction. With only a little focus necessary on the bond they shared, she could sense their emotions. She knew that they both were worried. Not the cause, but only that they were.

I am not good at being a Goddess, am I? While she had never wanted to be one, Aperio still felt that she should, at the very least, bring her followers surety and comfort in the world. Causing them to fret certainly didn't fall under either of those two categories.

"Please mother," Ferio said, standing up from the chair Aperio had made. "I can't bear the thought of you disappearing for ages at a time, or the idea of you becoming your old, cold and distant self. I don't want to lose you again."

Aperio found that something in her daughter's statement didn't quite make sense. "If you don't want me to become who I was, why are you helping me to retrieve my memories?" Why, indeed, should her daughter help to retrieve what her mother had once been? Aperio doubted she would ever be the same as her old self, but the more she learned about her past, the less eager she became to track down the next piece of her history.

"Because it would be wrong to deny you the knowledge of who you were," Ferio said after a moment's hesitation. "And it wasn't like I hated you. I simply wished you would have continued to care like you had in the beginning. But, perhaps, the novelty of having a child simply wore off for you."

Aperio scrunched her brows at the words. If you decide to have a child, it's not something you can just discard when they annoy you. …Was I like my own mother? Did I, too, get bored of my child, and simply throw them away? She suppressed a shudder at the thought, turning her mind in a slightly different direction. There was also the question of whether her remembered mortal mother was actually her biological mother. Perhaps I simply appeared in the world and she found me?

Considering what she was, Aperio somehow doubted that she had been a normal child. But then, at the time I had no powers, or anything of the like. I was just a normal Elf. She shook her head, dismissing the thoughts.

"I do not think of you as a novelty. You are my daughter, and I care for you more than I am able to show," Aperio said, stepping in front of Ferio. "I am sorry for what I have done in the past; even if I cannot remember it. But, I am afraid that my best is currently not enough.

"Admitting even my tiniest flaw fills me with disgust and I do not know why. Knowing your weaknesses should be the first step towards improvement, and yet I can seldom bring myself to say what I want aloud."

She blinked. What she just said had revealed to her a new level of wrongness she could not quite believe existed. Aperio sunk to the floor with a sigh, uncaring of how the wood broke below her. Where are these feelings coming from? A glimmer of hope rose within her, and she began examining her connections with the world. No matter how hard she looked, she could not find a source for the fallacious feelings. Her heart sank further. So it does come from me.

A hand brushed over Aperio's cheek, stopping her thoughts. Ferio, face full of what looked to be concern, had knelt down in front of her. "Just... let yourself be helped, mother," her daughter said. "I do not expect that you tell Laelia and Caethya everything, but you should at least let them know that you are not as perfect as they think."

Being portrayed as anything less than perfect was not something she enjoyed, but as both of them had pointed out, her behaviour did not make sense. "I will try."

"Your aura is feeling a lot more serene, now. You are already feeling better than before, are you not?"

Aperio tilted her head as she directed her senses inward. She could not find a change; everything looked as it had before. The anger still flowed to her on the threads of reality, the mana in her body was still dutifully improving her physical self, and the wisps that danced around her shone in their usual faint bluish-silver.

She did, however, feel like some weight had been lifted off of her. But all I did was go against my instincts. The same instincts that had, thus far, always been right about her abilities. Not trusting those instincts did not last long, now did it?

Aperio had been back in the world of the living for... well, she did not know how long it had been, exactly. A few months, at least. But in that stretch of time, she had undergone more changes than in her entire life as a slave. However long that life was.

She had told herself that she would not trust instincts that weren't her own, and yet she had done so. In matters of physicality it had been the right choice most of the time, as her body seemed to know more about what it could do than she herself did. But when it came to matters of the mind, her old instincts had continually been nothing but a hindrance.

"I do feel better, yes," Aperio said. "But I do not think I am ready to tell Laelia and Caethya."

"Then wait a little while longer. Just, try to accept their help when they offer it. You might be able to solve it on your own, but having others lend a hand is not a bad thing.

"Please, promise me."

"I promise," Aperio said, her words accompanied by a slight pulse of her mana as she dismissed the barrier she had created. Her two followers rose to their feet as they saw the magic of their Goddess vanish.

Crusade - Chapter 70: Forging Bonds

As soon as the barrier Aperio had previously created had fully dissipated, Caethya stepped closer, the concern clear on her face. "Is everything alright?" she asked.

Before she could continue, Laelia took a step forward and spoke. "We could feel your anger; your grief. It was not as pronounced as before, but your emotions are still quite strong."

That's my theme, is it not? Aperio thought. Too much strength. That her emotions still affected the ones she had blessed was not to her liking but, nonetheless, she had expected it. It isn't as though realizing where the emotions come from would have changed much.

"I apologise," Aperio said, the vile taste in her mouth an annoying reminder at her own inadequacy. "The discussion we had was required, however."

Caethya looked at Aperio for a moment longer before she cast her gaze down. "I just hope you share more of yourself in the future."

"Mother is not the most sociable of people," Ferio said, taking the surprisingly heavy burden of an answer off Aperio's shoulders. "You will need to give her some time. It's not like either of you will have a shortage of that."

Laelia's eyebrows scrunched as Ferio's words washed over her. "What do you mean?"

"Your age. Time's clock no longer holds as strong a sway over you." Aperio knew that the mana she had given was more than enough to keep their bodies going for as long as they needed. They were functionally immortal, if they didn't do anything foolhardy to get themselves killed by other causes. And if they manage to ascend, they wouldn't age anymore either.

As neither of the two replied, Ferio took a step towards them. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it. Besides, both of you would have lived a lot longer than normal, even without mother's blessing."

I don't think I have gotten used to the idea of living forever yet. Aperio doubted her two followers would easily accept the reality either. Though, do normal people even think about death as much as I did? She had once spent a good part of her days simply trying to come up with ways to end her life, always knowing just how fragile she was but never quite able to actually end it.

She somehow doubted that that was normal behaviour. Most mortals seemingly believed they were immortal anyway, something she had seen a few times in the dungeon below. They went into impossible fights thinking that they would win, and then struggled until she killed the monster for them. Why would they do that? They can't possibly be that foolhardy. Do they, perhaps, have no other choice?

Aperio couldn't claim to know how life worked in the city. She did not know how much it would cost for a mortal to stay alive and healthy, not having needed to know such things in either of her lives. "If you want to talk, I will gladly listen," the winged Goddess said as the pair continued their silence. "Though I might not be the best to ask about such things." Perhaps I should try talking to Mayeia? She was once a mortal.

Of course, she could also go and ask Natio — he was in the same building after all — but Aperio felt no need to ask for advice from someone who had not only tried to kill her but also insulted her while doing so. She was also fairly certain that the fallen God would not speak to her on his own accord, and to force the conversation would most likely result in him saying what he thought she wanted to hear, and not any actual truth.

"Yes, you wouldn't be a good source for any of this," Ferio agreed. "But neither would I."

Despite having said it herself, Aperio still felt a bit of anger at her daughter's words. It was easily dismissed, of course, but its continued appearance only annoyed her. Just focus on something else. Luckily for her, that was an easy task. All she had to do was to remind herself that she could hear everything that happened in the city at once which, while distracting, was probably not the best thing to allow her to regain a sense of calm. I will learn how to deal with this someday.

She could simply live in ignorance, but that would only work if she somehow never focused on the act of hearing. How can I even ignore all of this? she thought as her ears twitched a little at a particular grinding sound. Someone, somewhere, had not taken proper care of their equipment. It wasn't like the sound hurt her, but it was still uncomfortable to listen to. That the people around her now had even less privacy than before just added to the discomfort that spread through her. I understand why I did not like cities before.

"I think we can manage on our own," Laelia said, glancing at Caethya who nodded her consent shortly afterwards.

A small smile briefly settled on Aperio's face at the words. Even if it was only a small matter, she liked that her two followers chose to deal with the situation themselves and not depend on her aid. Even if I would enjoy helping them. In fact, upon further reflection she was not quite sure which way she would prefer.

On the one hand, she wanted to be useful in a way; show that she could do things besides break reality wherever she went. On the other, however, she wished for the people to not depend on the Gods, and specifically on her. Once the masses figured out who and what she was, Aperio had no doubts that they would seek her favour in order to use her might for their own goals.

Her brows furrowed ever so slightly at the thought. What should I do when random people start seeking me out? The best choice was probably to ignore them, but she also had little doubts that some would simply claim to do things under her guidance; no matter how silly their claimed notion might be. What she would do with those she knew already.

"Still, should you wish to talk, I am willing to listen. And, should I not be able to, find someone that can help you if necessary," Aperio replied, directing her thoughts away from potential mortal troublemakers.

That she only got hesitant nods in reply hurt Aperio, but should not have been unexpected. I did just leave after becoming unreasonably angry, after all. It was still better than outright refusal or no answer at all. Though, perhaps they only did so because they were scared?

With a slight sigh, Aperio moved towards the door. "I plan to visit Maria; you are free to accompany me."

Just as she had expected, Ferio joined her immediately while Laelia and Caethya took a moment longer to follow her. Stepping out of the room required Aperio to duck slightly to avoid ramming her head into the wooden frame. Aside from the mild discomfort she might have potentially felt, she had little doubts that the wood would lose that encounter. Ridiculous.

The hallway outside was devoid of people, all of them scattered throughout the building; either in conversational groups, or occupied with taking care of those that could not do so themselves. Aperio had to note that those she had healed the first time she had come here were mostly gone, replaced more injured and sick. Should I heal them too?

Aperio did feel like she owed the people here something. She had left them with a rather large group of very confused people, after all. And they take care of Laelia's children. A small flex of her mental muscles caused her aura to briefly flare, her mana quickly spreading into the sick and injured.

Compared to what she could do now, her first attempt at healing a large group of people had been clumsy at best. Guiding her mana to aid in the healing of the bodies of the sick had become an easy task, something that required no more thought than breathing had before her sacrifice. The thought of having her aura simply heal everyone within its reach briefly crossed her mind, but was swiftly followed by the fact that, technically, her aura had no limit as it was comprised of the same threads that made up reality itself. Probably not the best idea.

She also did not want to solve everyone's problems simply because she could. As the people who actually ran this house of healing had previously helped her, and helped those she cared about, lending a hand to tend to the patients here was something Aperio felt no issues with. The same couldn't be said about the rest of all creation. Most of them would probably welcome her as a one-stop solution to their problems, but that was decidedly not what she wanted to do.

Can't really hide myself either… Not without losing what I like, at least. She could let her wings disappear and stop drawing on her well, but she would still be someone that could, quite literally, talk someone into the ground. Or break something by simply existing. She was still grateful that Ebenlowe made no use of wards. Whatever the [Guides] had set up was a much better solution.

Before leaving, Aperio made a small detour, ducking into the room that appeared to be the home of Laelia's children. Brenia was the only one to approach, running at the winged Goddess as soon as she caught sight of her. Aperio caught the girl as she jumped into her arms, using a touch of her magic to properly slow her. While she did not know if Brenia would have injured herself with her action, Aperio had no desire to find out.

The girl bombarded her with questions, the rapid babbling in a language Aperio did not know. "She does not understand me, correct?" Aperio asked, gently stroking the girl’s back.

"You’re right," Laelia replied with a small smile. "She does not speak anything besides Common. The new Common, I mean. But, can you understand her?"

Aperio shook her head lightly, and her ears twitched at a particularly high-pitched noise outside. She tilted her head away from Brenia, who was now reaching for her ears with interest. "Don't."

It was, perhaps, a bit of an overreaction, as the mortal child would be unable to hurt her in any meaningful way. But, Aperio did not want anyone touching her ears when she had only just gotten them back. She had no need for a reminder of the scarred mess that the Empire had given her.

"I cannot understand her, no," Aperio said once Brenia had stopped trying to go for her ears, having settled on simply watching the pointed tips move ever so slightly whenever Aperio heard something loud or grating. "I do not speak your new Common. Something I should, perhaps, fix sometime soon."

"I can teach you," Caethya exclaimed, the enthusiasm apparent in her voice before it faltered a little as she continued, "if you even require any help with that."

"Your help is appreciated," Aperio said, gently setting Brenia down. "I would like to acquire a book on the language first, however. And it will also have to wait until after we have visited Maria, which brings me to something else I wanted to ask." With those words she turned and settled her gaze on Laelia who, perhaps fearing a reprimand of some form, shrunk a little.

"Maria has been isolated for most of her life," Aperio explained. "I thought that, perhaps, she could meet with your children. If you are fine with that, of course."

"I don't see a reason why not," Laelia replied after a moment, standing up straight again. "But, do you think her parents will agree to that? It sounds like there was a reason for her isolation."

Aperio watched Brenia wander over to her disciple, carefully tugging at her dress to get her attention. "The reasons for her isolation are gone. I would also keep an eye on her, just in case someone seeks misguided retribution."

Aperio paused briefly as she watched Caethya pick up the girl and tilt her head so Brenia might touch her ear, answering the question Brenia had asked at the same time. "I think your daughter is fascinated with Elves."

"What did you expect, mother?" Ferio asked. "You are the first one she has actually met, at least as far as I can tell. That had led her to believe that all Elves are of divine origin. Something your disciple has just told her is not the case."

"Oh." There will be a group of supremacist Elves that think they are better because I look like them, won't there? She could only sigh at the thought. Even if she would not be the target of their hostilities, the last thing she desired was for another incarnation of the Inaru Empire to arise. It would be the opposite of what she wanted to stand for.

"There is also another thing, mother. Why don't you just bring all of us to the Terenyk estate? I doubt they would complain."

Her daughter certainly had a point, but Aperio disliked the idea of popping in unannounced with a large entourage. Then again, even if I were to be the only one showing up, it would still cause a stir. "Perhaps you are correct."

With those words, and a small flex of her mental muscles, Aperio twisted reality apart and formed a portal that led to the Terenyk estate. "Please, follow me."

Crusade - Chapter 71: Off On A Visit

While Caethya and Ferio had no qualms of stepping through her portal, Aperio still had to wait on Laelia and her family. Brenia looked quite eager to step into the portal, but the same could not be said of the twins.

Neither of them looked particularly happy at the prospect of leaving their home, saying something that caused Laelia to lower herself in front of the two to better talk to them.

"They do not have to come if they do not want to," Aperio said, her voice easily crossing the threshold of her passageway. "And if you wish to stay with them, you are of course free to do so."

Her Scion hesitated for a moment, asking the twins a question before she nodded slightly. A few more words caused Brenia to run through the portal and try to sneak under one of Aperio's wings. She lifted the feathered limb slightly, smiling at the happy giggle the Human girl made.

"I assume this means you will stay with your sons?" Aperio asked.

"Yes," Laelia replied, as she properly sat herself down on the floor. "They need more time."

How long did they live with that curse? Aperio thought, the smile vanishing from her face. She would not call the Rage a disease, as it really wasn't. It was something much worse and its existence only told the All-Mother that something was definitely not working as intended. Another thing I have to look into. …Once I figure out how.

While she might know how to heal a soul, Aperio had no clue what might possibly cause multiple souls to try to inhabit a single body. She knew that each soul would get its chance at reincarnation in time. Where exactly they would go, she had not yet figured out, but there should be enough bodies for them to inhabit. Do the undead have souls?

Aperio herself had never met an undead, but she had read about them once. The book had claimed that a Lich was only distinguishable from a normal person by its bony nature, something that did not really indicate if it had a soul or not. Perhaps I should seek one out?

The undead, she had learned in that book, were usually hated by the living. Or at least, feared. She herself found the idea of a skeleton walking around to be somewhat unnerving. But, unlike the mess of souls the Rage created, she felt no overwhelming desire to remove them. So it's not wrong, per se. Or my old instincts are spotty.

With a light shake of her head she very carefully directed a small mental query towards her Scion, letting her know that she only needed to ask for her and she would come. Once she got a confirmation from Laelia, she closed the portal.

The gate to the Terenyk estate now loomed before them, staffed by a guard who had, despite his shock, managed to grab hold of his weapon. By no means did he look like he wanted to fight, a notion Aperio understood.

It had taken longer than it should have, but the effect she had on people had largely remained the same. Most still seemed scared of her — and why wouldn't they? She towered over most of them, tiny wisps of her mana floating around in a casual display that probably eclipsed the power of many that would observe her. On top of that she also had wings, and that her mere presence seemed to command respect from most mortals was also something she had to consider. Do they, deep down, know what I am?

She pushed the thoughts from her mind and focused on the guard behind the gate, causing him to take a step back and grab his sword a little tighter.

"I have come to visit Maria," she said. "If you would be so kind and inform her that Aperio is here, I would be much obliged."

The guard did not react, simply staring at her. Even when Aperio waved a hand and a wing in front of his face, he did not react. For a moment she considered simply teleporting herself and the others inside, but then she would be ignoring rules and conventions simply because she could, something she did not want to do. If this is the norm, I might have to reconsider that stance.

"Did he not understand me?" Aperio asked, looking at her daughter. "Or is he simply scared?"

"Of course he is scared," Ferio sighed. "You should really consider your impact on the mortals if you plan on living amongst them."

"I know that my presence has an impact on them. But why do they react that way? Is it because of the wings? My general appearance? The mana?" The fact that my dress is a bit too tight now? ...I will need to fix that.

While she had not previously been bothered by the way her dress had not adjusted to her new size, it did irk her now that she had noticed the issue. But, overall, it was not that important of a thing. I needed to make myself a proper dress at some point, anyhow.

She had no doubt that anything she could purchase or otherwise acquire from mortals would not withstand even a fraction of her power. The only real option was to make something herself. Like I did with my weapons… But how did I do that?

Aperio knew how to sew, of course, but it couldn't be as easy as simply replacing the thread with her mana, could it? While that approach had worked for her current dress, it did not mean it would for more. But why wouldn't it? Aperio resolved herself to at least try, once she had dealt with the situation at hand.

"Lady Aperio?" Caethya asked, only continuing once the winged Goddess had turned to face her. "Couldn't you just ask Maria to let us in?"

"I could, yes," Aperio replied. "But talking in that way caused you pain and Maria is a child, not an almost level four-hundred Adventurer." Not that the levels seem to mean much. I should really figure out how to fix that…

The amount of things Aperio wanted to fix was growing larger faster and faster, the System alone having so many components that seemed to be broken that she could probably spend the next few millennia just trying to understand them. Why did I not make a manual?

With a shake of her head, Aperio looked back at the guard. He still seemed to be frozen in place, his hand on his weapon. She waved at him again, but got no reaction.

"Just go in, mother," Ferio said, the annoyance at her mother's reluctance clear in her voice. "They wouldn't exist without you; a bit of lenience for breaking their silly rules should be expected." That she would extract that lenience with force should it not be given was left unsaid.

"Fine," Aperio sighed, lifting her wing slightly to not tip over Brenia as she stepped into the gate, reality rippling slightly before she reappeared before the closed front door. Her daughter had a point, one that many mortals would probably agree with even if Aperio herself did not really like it.

Brenia was the first to follow, running through the portal the winged Goddess had created just in front of the closed gate. The girl either had no sense of danger or was supremely trusting. Or she just wants to stay under my wings, the Goddess thought as Brenia attempted to hide under her feathered limbs again.

This time, however, the girl was out of luck. Aperio held her wings firmly, and when Brenia began to be confused at her inability to move them the Goddess bent down to pick the child up. "Why are you so fixated on my wings?"

Brenia did not understand, of course, simply tilting her head at the words and looking for Caethya, probably so that she might translate. I really need to learn that language. How hard can it be? She was able to do a great many things with little to no effort; learning a language should not be much different. I hope.

She had been able to learn the language of her own people fairly quickly. If she was able to do it in the past, she should definitely be able to do it now. Perhaps I should acquire a dictionary.

She pushed the thoughts from her mind as she, very carefully, knocked on the door, not trusting the runes on the bell to withstand her touch. They were already glowing quite brightly, seemingly etching themselves deeper into the metal. Couldn't they have stuck with the rest of the city and not use runes for things?

Her thoughts were interrupted as the door opened and a maid looked out with confusion at their group. Much like the guard, she did not speak, simply staring at Aperio with unbelieving eyes. "I would be much obliged if you could inform Lord Terenyk that his daughter has guests," Aperio said, already annoyed at the mortal’s reaction.

Despite her reaction, the maid quickly nodded and scurried off, forgetting to invite them in as propriety stated she should. Or at least, what was proper. Aperio simply stepped inside, adjusting her hold on Brenia ever so slightly so as to not accidentally hurt the girl. Is this even comfortable for her? Aperio couldn’t really believe that it was, even when Brenia seemed to be quite happy to be where she was.

"Caethya," Aperio said. "Could you ask Brenia why she is so fixated on my wings?" Brenia had not yet asked the Elf to translate, and her disciple had seemingly not heard the question Aperio had asked the girl.

Caethya hesitated for a moment, either not knowing the proper words or not wanting to ask the question. Or does she like them, too, and is embarrassed again? That seemed to be the trend with her disciple, after all. In the end, Caethya did ask the girl, exchanging a few more words that Aperio also did not understand but was sure were about her as well.

"Because they are nice and soft," Caethya mumbled, her gaze directed at the floor. "And you make her feel safe."

They are soft, yes. But, safe? Aperio looked over at the girl who had started to play with her hair. Perhaps that is because she doesn't know what a Goddess can do yet? Or because Laelia is my follower? "I get the feeling she is the only one that feels safe in my presence."

"That's not true!" Caethya objected. "The others simply don't know you. They only see a winged Goddess, wreathed in power, looking down at them. They don't know that you can be gentle, that you do your best to tolerate the antics of us mortals."

Aperio just gave an almost silent sigh in reply. Did she already forget that I lost it over nothing because I failed to control myself? "I believe she is simply innocent; lacks the knowledge. Of what I am. Of what I could do to everyone, should I so choose. ...But those living here have already seen me, and the last time I was here it became painfully obvious what I was."

"I have told you numerous times that you will have an effect on people, mother," Ferio said. "You practically scream Goddess currently."

"Ah, yes. The winged Goddess has come to claim their souls. Is that what they think?"

With a shake of her head, Aperio started to walk further into the building. She knew where Maria was, and could not sense anyone approaching them. Do they just let everyone wait? She somehow doubted that was the case, as the last time she came to visit they had been expecting her and had promptly escorted them to the Lord of the house. Why are they so scared now?

The only thing that had changed was that they now knew she was the All-Mother, but that revelation had not seemed to phase them at the moment it had happened. Telling them I fixed something in the System did nothing, but now coming here scares them half to death. Am I just not able to understand a normal person anymore?

"Do you happen to have any books that could help me learn this new Common?" Aperio asked, turning her head slightly towards Caethya. She directed the same question at her daughter with a small mental nudge, but only got a shrug back. Ferio did not have any but should be able procure something if Caethya could not provide.

"I have some," the Elf replied, sticking her hand into an inky black hole that formed in front of her. "But, do you really need them?"

Aperio just gave a slight shrug with her wings. She did not know if she needed books to learn a language or if she could dig through the System to find something. Considering that the System was understood by all, it should know every language. It has to have a translation function. "It certainly would not do any harm, no?"

"No, I guess not," Caethya said, offering the book to Aperio.

The winged Goddess took the offered tome, turning it in her hand to see the title: A Comprehensive Guide to the New Common - 3rd Edition. The language it assumed you to know was already something that was obviously a newer version of what Aperio herself spoke, but still close enough for her to understand it without issue. "Thank you."

Aperio let her senses wander. To her disappointment, the Lord of the house had not yet been informed of her arrival, nor had he even noticed their presence in his home. With a sigh, Aperio grabbed hold of a pen and paper in the man's office with a touch of her magic. If his staff was unable to relay the information, she would do it herself.

Humming quietly as she stroked the back of Brenia's head, Aperio moved the pen across the page in front of a rather stunned-looking Lord Terenyk, informing him that she had come to speak to his daughter. Once that task had been completed, and the paper signed with a flourish, she placed the pen gently down atop the Lord's desk and turned her attention to Maria, who was, unsurprisingly, in her room.

The girl was trying her best to get past the maid – Amelia? – that always accompanied her, leading Aperio to believe that the girl somehow already knew of her presence. A smile spread across her lips as she walked a little faster towards her youngest disciple.

Crusade - Chapter 72: An Overdue Visit (and Art)

Maria pouted at her unmoving maid, letting herself fall to the floor in manner definitely not befitting of the lady she would one day be. She could feel her Goddess; knew that she was close. Why won't she let me see her?

The girl could see no reason why she shouldn't meet her Goddess. It made no sense. Aperio had removed both Vigil and Inanis, solving the problem of their existence. She had removed that particular obstacle. Perhaps it was because someone had bought one of the less-than-perfect paintings she had made? It was the only event in recent memory that stuck out in any way.

Luckily, she would not have to wait much longer as she could feel her Goddess drawing closer; the veritable tidal wave of mana that emanated from the All-Mother at all times hard to miss. Maria could not quite put her finger on it, but something about Aperio's presence had changed since the last time she had met her.

It wasn't anger, she knew that, but the memory of her unanswered prayers did resurface in her mind. She could understand that Aperio would not reply to prayers when fighting other Gods, but she had prayed a lot both before and after the notifications had appeared before her. Maria wanted to know why she had never gotten a reply and her maid was — for some reason — stopping her from making that happen sooner.

A knock shook the door and caused Amelia to take a step away. One of her maid's hands vanished beneath her apron, undoubtedly readying the weapon Maria knew she carried at all times. The girl doubted the weapon would do anything to her Goddess, but she did not want Amelia to die because of a false assumption of who lay beyond the door. Or does she not trust Aperio?

Maria could not think of many other reasons for her maid’s behaviour. It was highly unlikely to be an intruder, as they would have had to have made their way past multiple sets of guards, as well as other members of staff. And why would they knock?

"Come in!" Maria called, ignoring the glare she received from Amelia. She knew the identity of the one who knocked, knew that it was her Goddess.

A moment later the door swung open and Aperio stepped into the room, ducking slightly as she passed through the doorway. For a brief moment, Maria questioned the validity of her memories of her Goddess. She could not recall Aperio being of such intimidating stature, nor could she remember seeing countless wisps of mana floating around her.

The girl she held up on one arm was also something Maria had not expected, quite unlike the fiery-haired woman and the Elf that entered the room following her Goddess. Those she had expected; a Goddess should have a following after all. Is she like me?

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Aperio asked as she set the girl down. "I thought it was your duty to protect Maria? How can you do that if you do not recognise her Goddess? Or do you think I have come to end her?"

Amelia stood straighter at the words, her hand no longer hidden under her apron. "My apologies." That was all she said, retreating to the corner of the room she always occupied if she had nothing else to do.

Maria's eyes lingered on her maid for a moment. The idea that, perhaps, her closest friend and her Goddess did not get along was not a pleasant one. She had hoped that her life would take a turn for the better now that the reason for her isolation had disappeared.

Her father had finally told her what had happened to her family. How her mother had been killed because of the blessing she herself had received; how the priests of Vigil and Inanis had tried to convince Geshton to kill his own daughter. It had been a few weeks since that revelation, the pain mostly held at bay by new dreams of her Goddess. They weren't answers to her prayers, but they at least showed her that Aperio had not fully abandoned her, even if the idea still managed to weasel its way into her head every now and then.

"Maria." The voice of her Goddess caused the girl to raise her head, finding the All-Mother crouching down in front of her; her wings spread slightly behind her. "Why have you been quiet all this time? Did they not allow you to pray?"

"I prayed," Maria mumbled. "But I never got an answer."

Her Goddess hesitated at the words, lowering the hand she had begun to outstretch. Maria could feel the uncertainty in Aperio, an emotion she found did not really fit the woman. She did not quite know why she felt that way, but in her mind a Goddess was always in control. So far that had been true for Aperio. The All-Mother appeared to always know what to do; was always in control.

The Elven woman that had accompanied her Goddess seemed surprised at the revelation as well, her eyes widening a bit as she tried to take a step forward. She did not get far, however, as the fiery-haired woman placed a hand on her shoulder that stopped her from moving.

"Could you pray to me now?" Aperio asked, breaking the silence that had settled over the room.

Maria nodded slowly, getting onto her knees and clasping her hands in front of her chest. She focused on the mana flowing through her body, drawing a tiny fraction of it away to imbue it with her intent and the message she wanted her Goddess to receive. The task required more effort than any other magic she could use. Even imbuing her paintings with the required magic to give them the proper quality and look was easier to accomplish.

A final mental effort caused the tiny drop of mana to leave Maria and vanish to a place she could not begin to understand. She could only catch a glimpse of the world behind the reality she knew; the ever-changing nature of it giving her a headache whenever she even thought of it.

Aperio watched the minuscule droplet of mana race along one of the threads of reality. Nothing about its behavior felt wrong, as it seemed to be doing what it was supposed to do. Following Maria's mana was an easy task, the threads almost eagerly telling her where the speck of mana was at any given time. That was, until it entered her well and disappeared, joining the bottomless sea without leaving a trace. It was… too weak?

When Laelia or Caethya had prayed to her she could feel their mana in her well, the subtle variant in form calling, in a way, for her attention. Maria's mana did not. It simply vanished into the infinite ocean of mana and, try as she might, Aperio was unable to locate the drop. Being the wellspring of what she by now guessed was all the mana in existence made that specific task rather impossible. Unless I figure out how to tell each drop of mana apart from the rest.

Aperio doubted that she could do that any time soon. If that is even possible. With a sigh, she focused on the little girl again. She could see the apprehension in her eyes, the days in which she had been unable to even guess at the slightest hint of emotion gone. A small part of her wished for the blissful ignorance to return, but she knew that was neither possible nor desirable.

How she was supposed to tell Maria that she was too weak was not something Aperio knew, however. She could be blunt, of course, but the girl already looked like she was on the verge of tears. She did not relish that idea.

A small tug on the feathers of one of her wings caused Aperio to raise the limb and turn her head to properly face Brenia. The girl could not talk to her, nor would she have understood anything Aperio had said, so why would she interrupt now? Or does she just want to be close?

Her question was answered when the girl gestured to herself and then to Maria, obviously asking Aperio's permission to approach. The winged Goddess raised an eyebrow but let Brenia through regardless. Having the two meet was, after all, part of her reason for being here. It also allowed her to think about the issue at hand for a moment longer, an offer Aperio was not about to refuse.

The winged Goddess sent a small mental nudge to her daughter as she watched Brenia carefully approach Maria. Sadly, Ferio was not able to offer any insight as to why the prayer of the girl would not reach Aperio. Maria had more than enough mana to make a simple prayer. In fact, Aperio was fairly certain that the girl could draw on more than many adults she had seen so far.

It shouldn't have been a surprise. Everything she did was excessive in some form, and her blessings were no exception. How is Arden doing now? She had not really spared the Adventurer much thought, his blessing an accident that was not as impactful as that of Caethya or Maria. At least, she assumed that that was the case. I should check up on him at some point.

With a slight shake of her head, Aperio focused her aura on Maria, trying to find some fault that would explain why the prayer just fizzled out and joined the mana in her well. Unable to detect anything wrong, Aperio steeled herself and, as Maria was distracted with Brenia, she started to very carefully examine the painter's soul.

It was free of runes — a relief to the Goddess — but was not undamaged. Aperio could sense tiny hairline fractures running all along the surface of the tiny orb, the mist contained within already starting to escape in a few places. It wasn't much, but the fact that it was happening at all caused a panic to spread through Aperio that she had not experienced before.

Whatever was happening here was definitely not supposed to be, but she could not determine the reason for the damage. What Aperio did know, however, was that she could fix it. The question just remained if she should. After what had happened to Laelia she was a bit more hesitant to simply go ahead and do what felt right. Leaving whatever was happening to Maria be, however, was also not an option. While Aperio might not be able to properly identify the manner of soul damage she was observing, or even how it had come to pass, she knew with certainty that it would not end well.

"Maria," Aperio said, interrupting the conversation the girl was having with Brenia. "May I speak to you for a moment?"

The girl gave a brief nod after she had said a few more words to Brenia, causing the girl to take a few steps away to give the Goddess and her new friend — hopefully — some space.

"Are you feeling unwell, Maria?" Aperio asked, keeping watch over her young follower's souls.

"No?" the girl replied, seemingly not sure why her Goddess had even asked such a thing.

Very carefully, Aperio opened a tear in reality and let a tiny bit of the soul-river water flow around Maria's soul. As soon as the orb had been fully submerged, Maria let out a small yelp and pressed her hands against her chest.

Aperio watched for a moment, observing how the cracks began to recede — a fraction of a hair's worth. "Do you feel better now?"

Maria did not reply with words, but with an almost imperceptible nod of her head. Her maid on the other hand was ready to draw her weapon again, only held at bay by an angry glare from Ferio. Aperio did not pay them much mind, instead focusing on the steady flow of the Void’s water around Maria's soul.

The act of healing the tiny orbs of light was becoming distressingly familiar to Aperio, something she had never expected to happen. Not that any of this makes sense. Try as she might, Aperio could not figure out why Maria's soul would be damaged in the way that it was. A mental query directed at her daughter did not reveal anything, Ferio not knowing much about souls to begin with.

Aperio could only heave a silent sigh as she invited both Maria and Brenia under her wings, keeping the constant stream from her Void up in the hope that more direct intervention would not be required.

A small flex of her mental muscles caused a pen from Lord Terenyk's office to lift itself off the table and start to pen a message for the man. As soon as she was done, Aperio let the note appear before him, briefly interrupting his journey towards them. He quickly scanned the words on the paper, his eyes noticeably widening as he read the part about his daughter's soul. As soon as he was done, he balled his hands into fists and resumed his journey, faster than before.

Crusade - Chapter 73: Broken Magic

Geshton quickened his pace yet again as his eyes flew over the most recent note his daughter's Goddess had written. First she had told him that she would visit Maria and that he was welcome to join them in her room. He was fine with that; a Goddess was not really beholden to the same rules as they were. Making a high ranking priest wait would often already result in unpleasant scenarios, he had no desire to see what would happen if he did that to a Goddess.

What he was not so fine with was the news the second note had brought. He was not sure how, but apparently the soul of his daughter had been damaged. While he may not know how such a thing was even possible, he was willing to trust the word of the winged Goddess. She did fix the System, after all… And it identifies her as the All-Mother.

Still, when it came to his daughter, he did not really care who he had to go against. If it was somehow the fault of the All-Mother… Geshton did not know what he would do. He balled his fists, crumpling the piece of paper he still held in the process. Why does it never end?

Life had begun to look a bit brighter again. Vigil and Inanis were gone for good, their goons no longer trying to get into their home as they tried to internalise the fact that their Gods were dead. He had already written a letter to Jace, letting his son know that his sister was finally able to start living a normal life. Now he would have to pen another, taking back the good news he had sent — Maria was still in danger. Perhaps even more than before.

Geshton's steps faltered a little as he saw the open door to his daughter's room. The knowledge of what lay waiting inside splashed over him, quelling a good deal of the rage he was feeling. No matter how much he might want to blame Aperio for what had happened, she was not responsible for the actions of others. Even if she claims to be.

He wasn't exactly sure what her exact role in the pantheon was, but he assumed it was something above the rest. Given that the System identified her as the All-Mother, Geshton would guess she was some kind of adviser to, or progenitor of, the current deities. But she could have stopped this.

Even if he was willing to actually blame the Goddess for what the churches of Vigil and Inanis had done, he wouldn't be able to do anything. He couldn't fight her. I probably can't even injure her. He was, after all, a mortal. Not even particularly strong, as he had not yet reached level two hundred.

Having to spend more and more time managing the estate and the companies the family owned, as well as taking care of Maria's and Jace's safety, had not left him with much free time. Adding to that was the fact that, even after all this time, he still had days on which he simply could not find a reason to leave his bed; days where he just wanted to do nothing but cry over what he had lost. Geshton simply had little opportunity and drive to go out and raise his level. Not that it actually means much.

Maria might have a high level for her age, but her actual abilities were beyond what one would guess from looking at the number. But then, she was blessed by the All-Mother…

Geshton tightened his fists further at the thought and took the last few steps to the doorway of his daughter's room. The first thing he saw was Aperio sitting on the floor, seemingly uncaring for any propriety as she had the last time he saw her. Her wings were swept forwards, wrapping around Maria — and someone else, if the giggles were anything to go by.

The sight of the Elf sitting on the floor, her long hair pooling messily on the ground, and the happy giggle of Maria caused Geshton to pause. For a brief moment the wisps of mana floating around the All-Mother disappeared from his vision, the woman herself replaced by his long-dead wife as she played with their daughter. She had spent most of her time here, taking care of their miraculous little girl that somehow could already access and use her mana.

"Lord Terenyk," Aperio said, her words sending a shiver down his spine that ripped him out of his reverie. Despite the voice at the back of his back mind screaming at him to run, he stood firm; unwilling to abandon his daughter.

The Goddess remained quiet, seemingly content to continue working whatever magic she had conjured. While Geshton could not figure out what she was doing, he had no trouble telling that she was doing something. Is she already healing Maria? Answering prayers? ...Repairing the moon?

A part of it had disappeared in a blinding flash shortly after the fall of Vigil and Inanis, after all. Does it even need replacement? He pushed the thought from his mind as quickly as it came, quite unnerved at the unusual wandering of his mind. What's happening to me?

"There is no need to panic, Lord Terenyk. No-one here means you or your daughter any harm."

Geshton did not reply immediately. The fact that she knew how he felt without even looking at him was not something he questioned. She is a Goddess, after all. An important one, if my guess is correct. Why she didn't have her own church set up was beyond him, but he wouldn't judge a deity for wanting some peace and quiet. But, why did she bless Maria?

Instead of talking to her back, he slowly circled around the winged Goddess as she did not seem inclined to turn and face him. The reason became apparent as soon as he had made his way around: his daughter and another girl he did not recognise were sitting under her wings, playing with a more solid-looking wisp of the Goddess' mana. Something that did not fit with the image he had had of the Goddess up until now.

Aperio kept her eyes closed, her aura's perception more than enough to sense the world. Lord Terenyk's rapidly beating heart did not even require her to use her aura at all, her ears more than enough to pick it up. Focusing her senses on the man was preferable to hearing the city outside ramping up to midday busyness, even if she found herself slightly disgusted at all the subtle sounds a Human body made. My own body doesn't sound so… disgusting. Why are they like that?

She had a heart, one that pumped blood through her veins, just like everyone else. It's just that I don't really need them, do I? Diskrye had described her body as a shell that was struggling to contain her; a statement that would at least start to explain why she continuously applied her mana to get stronger without even thinking about it. Doesn't tell me why I wasn't like this before, though.

Ferio had said that her strength eclipsed that of her old self already, something that did not really make sense if she considered the fact that she was the creator of everything. Or did dying change something? It was just another thing she would have to figure out once she retrieved more of her memories.

With a mental sigh, Aperio directed her attention back to the head of the house, waiting for him to speak up. She had informed him of Maria's state and expected a torrent of questions and, perhaps, blame. None of it came as the man seemed to be too panicked to speak. Or is it fright? I told him that he has nothing to fear, though.

That Maria wasn't scared of her was to be expected, the girl did carry her blessing after all. The same could not be said for Brenia, but her mother was Aperio's Scion and the girl herself seemed to lack any sense of danger. Though, the first thing she knew about me was that I had saved her brothers. ...And I gifted her one of my feathers.

"Why is this happening to her?" Lord Terenyk finally asked.

Aperio opened her eyes at the words, casting her gaze on the man. He seemed to shrink slightly under her attention, obviously uncomfortable. "I do not know yet, and I do not wish to share the thoughts I have without being certain."

That her main theory resolved around the fact that she had thrown Maria's soul with all she had to escape her Void was also a reason for why she did not want to reveal any possible cause just yet. There was another potential theory as to why Maria's soul was damaged, one that — if true — would be much more problematic.

The girl had access to a lot of mana, much more than someone her age should reasonably have and, as far as Aperio could tell, had had no training on how to control it. She was by no means an expert on magic, or even knowledgeable about what kind of training a mortal usually underwent, but the difference between everyone else's mana and that of Maria was as clear as day to the All-Mother.

It behaved much closer to her own, simply flowing along the body of its host in what she would consider a natural manner. When Maria laughed, the flow quickened, happily bubbling at the joy the girl felt. In a way, it was much like her relationship with the world itself, just that Maria's mana did not seem to influence her as it did Aperio.

The others present had an almost erratic flow of mana in their bodies — Caethya less so, but Aperio assumed that that was because she carried her blessing. The flow of her own daughter's mana also resembled what Aperio would call natural — much more than those of Lord Terenyk and Amelia.

Her growing fear was simple enough to state. Mortals, perhaps, could not withstand the normal flow of mana, and especially not the amounts Maria had access to. The source of it was the soul, after all, and the rate at which mana entered and exited it was much higher in everyone she had blessed. What if her soul can't handle that yet?

"Caethya." Her disciple stood a little straighter at the words, having seemingly not expected the attention of her Goddess. "What kind of education did you receive on magic as a child?"

"Just the basics everyone should be taught, my Lady," she replied with a frown. "How to restrict your mana and not let your emotions influence it. After that I proceeded on my own, as what the tutors suggested did not work well for me."

"And you, Maria?"

The girl looked at her father briefly before casting her gaze downwards. "None… Nothing the teachers tried worked. When I want to use magic, I just... do. Chants or Skills don't work."

"Could you cast a simple spell for me?"

Maria nodded after looking to her father for confirmation. A moment later, Aperio could feel — see — the mana moving through the girl’s body. One of the cracks in the girl's soul deepened, and her mana slithered out from it. It slunk heavily down her arms, until it finally reached her hand and was able to leave her body. Above the girl's palm a small ball flickered into existence, bathing the room in a surprisingly bright light.

"That is enough, Maria," Aperio said, gently pushing the girl’s hand down, thereby extinguishing the ball of light. "Thank you." She can't use magic for a while.

"And? Did you find anything?" Lord Terenyk asked, his worry for his daughter easily overshadowing the fear he had felt previously.

"I did, yes. Maria should not use magic until I have healed her completely. It would be counterproductive."

"Heal me?" Maria asked. "Is that why I feel so warm and… light?"

"Yes," Aperio replied, even if she herself had no idea what being healed by her magic would actually feel like. "Something I did not expect has happened to you. I must fix it." Because it is my fault. There was no other possible way to understand it. A thrown soul was an unhealthy soul. And she had thrown this one as hard as she had been able to manage at the time...

"But what is wrong with me? I don't feel sick."

The All-Mother took an unneeded breath at the question. She had not wanted Maria to ask, but it was obvious that she would once she had been told that something was wrong. Telling someone their soul was slowly breaking apart was not something she ever wanted to get used to.

"Your soul. It is damaged."

"How?"

Aperio remained silent for a moment. Should I tell her the truth? The thought alone caused a mixture of pain and disgust to flow through her, despite her knowing that it was the right thing to do. With a sigh, the All-Mother lowered her head and spoke.

"Because I was careless."

Crusade - Chapter 74: Cruel Reminder

"You were careless?!" Lord Terenyk barked, a small trail of mist following his balled fists as he took what Aperio would consider a fighting stance. "What did you do?!"

Aperio did not reply immediately, instead telling her daughter to let the man be with a small mental nudge. Lord Terenyk had every right to be angry, after all. Throwing Maria's soul had undoubtedly damaged what lay within, the blessing she received from that unthinking action only furthering the damage to her soul every time the girl used magic.

"Caethya," Aperio said, gently lifting her wing and pushing Laelia's daughter towards her disciple. "Please watch over Brenia for a moment."

"What did you do to my daughter?!" Lord Terenyk demanded, the magic around him growing in intensity.

The All-Mother tried her best to ignore the rising anger at the back of her mind, the words of the Human making it quite hard to retain her calm. There was no reason for her to feel this way, it was her fault that Maria's soul had been damaged. Because I was scared of my Void…

"I…" Aperio's voice trailed off, her mind struggling to find the right words. "I expected her soul to be a bit sturdier than it was. I would like to claim that there was a grand plan for this, that I chose her to replace one of the fallen deities."

Aperio paused again as she slowly ran her hand through Maria's hair, gently guiding the flow of the soul-river's water through the girl's well. "But, that is not the case. Despite what everyone seems to think, I am not all-knowing."

Admitting that was, of course, accompanied by a wave of disgust that had yet to find its equal; almost managing to make the winged Goddess regurgitate her last, non-existent, meal. But, it was the truth; she did not know everything — nor did she want to — and yet, some part of her still seemed to think that admitting that was wrong. "I was... curious. And careless. Now, I am fixing my mistake."

Despite hearing Aperio's words, Maria made no move to leave the lap of the Goddess. Nor could the All-Mother find a trace of anger or concern in her; the girl's breathing was steady and so was the beat of her heart. As far as Aperio could tell, Maria did not seem to mind what she had done. Or she doesn't understand what I am talking about.

Lord Terenyk balled his fists tighter still, the mist that flowed from them growing more dense. Aperio wasn't concerned about the magic — what the man was conjuring was pathetically weak — but it did put the extent of his anger on full display. Not that I can blame him for that.

He glared at the winged Goddess, his eyes sometimes darting to his daughter, who had by now closed her eyes and leaned herself against the All-Mother. "What are you doing to her?"

"Healing her," Aperio replied. "Like I said before. It will take a bit more time, but the damage is not irreparable. I would also advise you to not attack me. Whatever you are trying to conjure up will do you more harm than me."

The Human continued to stare at Aperio, the magic still gathering in his hands despite her warning. She knew the look in his eyes all too well: the hatred, the disgust. Right now he wanted nothing more than to hurt her for what she had done; for endangering his daughter.

She held his gaze, seeing from the corner of her eye as he raised his hand: a slight yellow glow intermixing with the trailing mist. The hand shimmered in her vision, becoming the blurred image of a bejeweled metal gauntlet. The gems shone in the vile yellow light she had come to despise over the course of her life, the magic it announced never pleasant for the mind.

Unbidden, one of Aperio's hands traced her neck, her fingers trying to find the collar that would undoubtedly force her to obey — enjoy — whatever he wanted to do. Her mind searched for the feeling at the back of her mind that had always been a constant companion; the silent call that would take control of her body, forcing her to be a helpless passenger, forced to watch as her owners did whatever vile acts they could think of.

The voices sounding behind her turned choppy in her ears, breaking up and slowly turning into the mocking laughter she knew all too well. Some of them even spurred her master on to take her there and then. Force her to enjoy the act — praise him for his performance.

She could feel them drawing closer — eager to observe her suffering. Revel in it. Aperio could see the bejeweled hand move towards her face, could already feel the cold metal on her chin; waited for him to force her to meet his eyes. Waited for him to take her.

With every unneeded breath she took, Aperio could smell the sweat — feel it stick to her skin. The distant voices grew in veracity as the ghostly echo of his hands brushed against her chest, her legs, her, as his breath flowed past her ears. Aperio's hand followed the non-existent breath, slowly rising up to the side of her face. Her fingers reached out, despite her dim recollections that they had healed a long while ago, and searched for the scarred remains she was sure to find.

The All-Mother closed her eyes as her fingers followed the gentle curve of her ears. She wanted to forget — to be blind to her old life. She did not want to remember kneeling in front of her masters, being forced to meekly beg for mercy while her mind was afire with insults and spite.

Aperio shuddered, putting in the effort to ignore the echoing voices that sounded out around her. Instead, she drew her wings closer, shielding herself and Maria from the world that surrounded them. A touch of her magic made sure no sound would reach them. The girl herself shifted in the Goddess' lap, wrapping her arms around the woman as best she could.

The presence of the Human child helped; her minuscule weight on her lap a beacon, a lifeline on which Aperio could force herself to return to the present and not dwell on her past. Why Maria had decided to remain with her despite knowing that she was responsible for the damage to her soul was a mystery for Aperio.

Very carefully, Aperio returned Maria's hug, a few errant tears dampening the girl's hair. The All-Mother could not fathom why Maria did not hate her like her father did; how she could simply ignore what had been done

Despite losing her focus, her healing had never stopped, her subconsciousness seemingly enough to keep the magic going; a fact she was most thankful for. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt the girl more because of the resurfacing of unsuppressable memories.

Deep breaths, she thought to herself as her lungs filled with cold air. Just memories. She could feel herself tremble slightly, the disgust she expected to feel at her lack of control suspiciously absent.

She took another deep breath, the smell of paint and parchment tickling her nose, slowly replacing the ghostly odours of salt and ammonia. All she yearned to do at the moment was to retreat to her Void and hide. To wash herself clean in the river of souls.

To forget.

Maria felt a tremble, and more tears dropped onto her head. She held onto Aperio a little tighter. She did not know why her Goddess was behaving like she was, but she knew she wanted it to stop. Whatever had caused it was obviously not good — a Goddess should not cry.

She understood why her father was angry — she herself should probably be too — but Maria did not want to lose what she had. Despite what the Goddess had done, Maria still liked her. Perhaps it was her title of All-Mother, but the girl did feel like Aperio was perhaps the closest thing to a mother she had right now. While she could not replace Maria's actual parent, the girl still wanted someone to fill the void the death of her mother had left.

She couldn't remember much; only fragments of a bedtime story or a bit of playtime. Nothing that would let her figure out what her mother was truly like. And yet, she felt like the two were much the same.

"I'm sorry," Aperio said, her voice barely a whisper but still deafeningly loud.

Maria did not know what to say, no words quite fitting to express what she wanted to say. Instead, she tried to hold on even tighter to Aperio. While she still wasn't sure if the Goddess liked being hugged, Maria did so anyway. She did return it, after all.

"I am sorry," her Goddess mumbled again, and her voice, for once, was almost silent. "I should not be like this."

Maria pulled herself away at the words. "Why?" she asked. It did not make sense to her. While she thought that her Goddess should not cry, it wasn't because it didn't fit but because she did not want to see the one who gave life to all she knew be sad.

Aperio chuckled mirthlessly at the words, the tears that had pooled under her eyes vanishing as she extended her hand to tug a few errant strands of hair behind Maria's ear. "It is unbecoming of me, is it not? I can do most anything with but a thought, a feat many mortals would trade everything for. Why should I cry for anything?"

"Isn't telling me this also bad, then?" Maria asked, slightly tilting her head.

"Perhaps," the Goddess replied, her eyes distant for a moment as another tear rolled down her cheek. "But it helps. Thank you."

"Thank me?" Maria asked. "Why?" It didn't make sense to her, all she had done was hug Aperio and listen to her. Neither of them she thought would deserve thanking. Or do Goddesses not hug, like I am not allowed to hug the servants? Maria very much wanted to — she did rather like most of them, after all — but her father had made it quite clear that it wasn't allowed.

"Sometimes just being there is enough. I am also thankful that, despite having every right to, you do not hate me for what I have done."

"I just don't want to lose another part of my family..."

Aperio sighed at the words, the sound somehow managing to make the air feel a little colder. "But I am responsible for that too, am I not? Without my intervention, your mother would still be here."

"But you did not kill her," Maria said, her voice stern in the face of her Goddess. "People from the churches of Vigil and Inanis did."

"You might not blame me for what happened, but your father does. I will not stand between the two of you for longer than I already have," Aperio said, carefully picking up Maria as she stood up and folded her wings behind her back. "I thank you for your ear and your honesty, but I think it is time to talk to your father."

Maria shifted slightly in her Goddess' arms, not quite managing to find a comfortable position. How can her arms be so hard but her wings so soft? It wasn't as though Aperio's skin was made of metal, but just as during her hug, no matter what Maria tried, there was no give in the Goddess' body. Maybe I am just too weak?

That was the most likely answer. She was just starting to come into the power Aperio's blessing had given her, after all. What she had gained from that, though, was mostly magical in nature. One of the benefits she had over others was her perception of magic, one that allowed her to feel the minute shift in their surroundings that heralded the return of sound from the outside world.

Her father was fuming, yelling at Ferio who looked less than pleased, a few errant flames dancing across her already fiery-looking hair. The Elf that had accompanied her Goddess just stood silently by the door, talking to the girl Aperio had also brought with her.

Maria liked Brenia; she did not care for noble titles or the like, simply wanting a friend. She also liked her Goddess, just another good thing in Maria's book. Now though, she looked confused, probably not understanding the conversation that was happening in front of her. Not that she had to for much longer, as Geshton ceased his yelling and stared at Aperio.

Maria knew the look. It was the same he had had after the priests of Vigil and Inanis had talked to him in his office. After they had told him to kill her. She did not want her father and Aperio to hate each other, but Geshton did not truly know what she did. He did not know how Aperio felt, the sadness and insecurity the Goddess hid behind a veneer of formality and superiority.

She acted like everyone assumed the All-Mother would act; how Maria had thought she would act. The only times that facade had broken, as far as Maria knew, was when someone she cared about was in any form of danger. Or when she felt at ease with the people present. Aperio had gone against her father when she thought he had somehow abused her. She sat on the dirty floor with two children not her own, letting them play with her hair because she did care.

Geshton was about to yell again when Maria cut him off, her voice trembling whisper. "Please… don't."

Crusade - Chapter 75: A Test of Patience

Lord Ternyk lowered his hands at his daughter's words, the mist that had shrouded his form slowly dissipating. Aperio averted her eyes; the mist had not impaired her vision much, but now that it was fading away just looking at the man caused some of the memories in her mind to stir again.

Calm, she thought to herself as she took an unneeded breath, tensing slightly as Ferio's hand pushed past her wings to rest on her back. The minuscule weight of Maria in her arms and the touch of her daughter did a good job of grounding her mind to the present, allowing the All-Mother to look at Lord Terenyk again.

Geshton Terenyk | [Protector of the Innocent (Hidden)] | Level: 194

...Hidden? He cannot see his own title? That a title could be invisible to its owner was news to her, not something she had expected after the System had announced that the [Status] function was available for everyone. It shouldn't have been a surprise, however; the System was bound to have functions that were not accessible by anyone but her. How many things are hidden in there?

With a slight shake of her head, Aperio pushed the thoughts away and focused on Geshton. While a part of her mind still equated the man to her old master, she would not let herself be held back by that. She could do without another breakdown — without having to remember the pain that was her old life.

"Maria," Lord Terenyk said. As he looked at his daughter, the fury that burned in his eyes disappeared for a moment, only to return in full force when his gaze shifted onto the All-Mother. "Why are you still with her? Don't you understand what her carelessness has done to you? To our family?"

The girl shrunk a little at her father's words, an action that caused Aperio to shift her to hold her a little closer; a little tighter. She would not allow more harm to come to Maria. I've already brought enough. Aperio did not want to see the last of the girl's family fall apart, especially not so shortly after she had to relive some of the more cruel parts of her own. A life she only lived because she was betrayed, not only by the Gods she herself had made but also the mortals she had been born to.

Until recently, family had been synonymous with betrayal. Only after she had met Ferio did she feel something akin to trust, a small seed that would take lifetimes to grow and could be burned by the smallest misstep. Being unable to trust anyone was not an experience she would want anyone to have, least of all the little girl she held in her arms.

"What others did is not her fault," Maria whispered, her voice so quiet that Aperio doubted Geshton had even heard her. "You said yourself."

Despite the quietness of Maria's statement, her father had managed to hear her. At least Aperio assumed that was what the slight slump of his shoulders meant. A slight change in her aura caught Aperio's attention, causing her to shift a bit of her focus on it.

What she perceived did not quite make sense to her still-troubled mind, and her concentration shifted enough that she missed the next word Geshton spoke. There was something strange happening far outside the city, but besides the...anomaly, there was nothing of note to be found. Only a few errant plants and trees.. What is that?

Something deep inside her was urging her to leave, to get there and investigate. But, she did not move. Leaving now would make the situation at hand worse and, perhaps more importantly, whatever was happening only felt weird — not wrong. That led her to believe it did not require her immediate attention.

"Why are you so determined to blame my mother for this?" Ferio asked, her tone laced with such malice it ripped Aperio from her inspection and almost caused her to silence Ferio. "Your daughter has been given the chance to ascend and you are trying to take it away? What kind of father are you?"

"One that cares," he replied, not backing down from what Aperio would consider a challenge.

Before either of them could say another word, the All-Mother lightly cleared her throat. The quiet noise still somehow managed to fill every corner of the room, undoubtedly enhanced by her silent wish for the two of them to not fight.

"I want to help Maria," Aperio said. "It is her choice to accept or deny my aid, not yours. You may loathe and hate me all you want, but if Maria wishes for my help — I will give it." She was not happy with her words. They conveyed what she wanted, yes, but they also served to drive the two apart; an outcome she had wanted to avoid.

Nevertheless, it was the best she could come up with at the moment. The closest to how I feel. It was liberating to speak her mind in a way, the wave of disgust that usually accompanied such words still absent. Did I break or fix myself? Nothing about her that she could perceive had changed and a more thorough inspection would have to wait until the current situation was resolved. And after I've scouted out that... thing. She suppressed the sigh she wanted to let out as she fixed her gaze on Lord Terenyk.

"I don't want you to fight," Maria said, seemingly ignoring the statement Ferio had made about the possibility of her ascension. "I want to paint and play. Go outside and see the city... Go to school?"

Aperio fixed her gaze on the maid who still stood in the corner, her slight giggle immediately replaced by a deathly silence as she stared at her feet. The All-Mother could hear her heart beat faster, could see the slight sheen of sweat that formed on her skin.

She sighed and tore her eyes from the frightened maid, shifting Maria slightly in her arms. That the girl completely ignored most of what had happened was fine with Aperio, the current direction of the conversation vastly preferable to the confrontation it was heading to before.

Lord Terenyk lowered his head, the last bit of fight fleeing from his form. "If that is what you wish, Maria. I just ask that you think about who you are dealing with. Being associated with her has cost us your mother already."

Before anything could be said, Aperio stood up, shifting Maria slightly in her arms and wrapped one of her wings halfway around her daughter; the feathered appendage easily preventing her from moving and making it clear that the mortal's words would go unanswered. At least from their side. Once her daughter had let out a disgruntled huff and sent her a small mental nudge that she would stay, Aperio removed her wing.

The mortals in the room still felt Ferio's anger, even if she had been held back by her mother. Even Caethya held her breath for a short moment, turning ever so slightly to shield Brenia from potential harm. While this motion might not have meant much to most people, for Aperio it was a sign that her blessing had not gone to the wrong person.

"But aren't the ones that did that gone now?" Maria asked, oblivious to the tension in the room..

"No," her father replied with a shake of his head. "Their Gods are gone, but the people remain and they could start to think that the All-Mother acted on behalf of our family, even if that is not the case."

"If you believe the estate to not be sufficiently guarded, I would be willing to talk to the [Grandmaster] for you. I have no doubts she would be willing to organise a guard." And it would give me a reason to visit Roots again. I really need to know how broken the System is.

Lord Terenyk did not reply immediately; clearly mulling over what Aperio had said. Perhaps he did not trust the [Guides] or, more likely, he did not trust Aperio. Even if she could understand the reason for his distrust, she did not like it. But then, I don't trust either.

A light tap on her chest caused Aperio to look down at the girl in her arms. Words were not needed for her to realise that Maria wanted to be set down. Very gently, Aperio lowered the girl to the floor, careful to not injure her on accident — making sure the soul-river's water still flowed around her injury. Why must everything be so fragile?

Thus far, the only being that had been able to withstand more than the tiniest fraction of her strength was Ferio, with a close runner-up being trees of a certain forest. And both of those were a while ago. She had grown by leaps and bounds since then, the strengthening of her body only progressing faster and faster. Do I even want to know where this will lead? What I would be without this ...shell?

Diskrye had made it quite clear that her body was disposable — a notion Aperio still did not appreciate. For the first time in her remembered life she felt good, and liked how she looked. But then, this body looks like this because it is what I want, no? She sighed at the thought, her wandering mind always trying to answer questions at the most inconvenient of times.

Instead of pursuing thoughts she would likely be unable to answer anyway, Aperio set her eyes on Maria as she made her way to her father. The girl hugged the man as best she could once she reached him, not caring for any sense of propriety Aperio was sure she had.

Geshton returned the embrace, picking his daughter up and holding her close. "I don't want to lose you too," he whispered. "She might be the All-Mother, but that means she does not understand or even care for us, Maria. You have to understand that. She is not like you or I."

Aperio wanted to give the man a sign that she could hear every word, but decided against it. He already knows that, doesn't he? He has to. Geshton obviously knew that she was beyond anything people would consider normal, that she had better hearing should be obvious. That the thought about her hearing had brought with it the annoying noises of the city was pointedly ignored in hope of it vanishing again.

"Perhaps it is best if we leave and let the two of you discuss this in peace? It appears that you have much to talk about that is not meant to be heard by others."

Maria wriggled in her father's arms at the words, trying to turn around. Geshton helped her after a moment's hesitation, shifting his daughter to one arm so she might look at her Goddess. "But how am I supposed to reach you? My prayers always fail..."

"They do, at the moment. But now I know what to look for; even if the message is lost I will still know you called for me," Aperio said. "I will also continue to heal you, which means a part of me remains with you, in a way." That she kept watch over Maria through her aura was left unsaid. The mortals did not need to know that she could survey the world in detail with little effort. Or any restriction on range… "Once your soul is fully healed, that should no longer be a problem."

"How long will that take?" Lord Terenyk asked.

"A week, perhaps a bit less," Aperio replied. The cracks on Maria's soul healed a lot faster than the runes that had been meticulously inscribed on the other mortal souls. Though, this method is slower than having her bathe in the water directly… Or is it the Void that speeds up the healing?

It was obvious that Geshton was not happy with the reply, but there was nothing Aperio could do to change that. Besides using my mana to heal her soul, but that would only create more problems. The situation wasn't that dire, she knew that Maria was not in danger of dying anytime soon — the soul was much more resilient than she would have expected. Everything is more resilient than it appears to me, isn't it?

"I do not wish for you to fight each other, but it is easy enough to understand that you, Lord Terenyk, do not want me here and will not back down." Even if I could kill you with a thought, she thought before continuing. "So I will take my leave."

Her words were accompanied by the sound of breaking glass as reality splintered apart behind her. A small mental query informed Caethya and Ferio about her intent to leave, even if it was likely not necessary. Her disciple took Brenia's hand and pointed at Laelia who was visible through the portal Aperio had created, saying something to her that the All-Mother did not understand as the pair walked through.

Ferio kept her gaze on Geshton for a moment longer, a small fire flickering in her eyes before she turned and left without another word. Once her daughter had stepped through the portal Aperio lowered her head slightly, the motion accompanied by a touch of her magic blocking sight and sound from travelling through the tear she had made.

"I am sorry for what has happened to your wife, Geshton," she said. "There is no excuse for my own actions, I know that, but continued hatred will only break you. Trust me."

Before the man could reply, Aperio gave a small wave directed at Maria and vanished alongside the portal she had created.

Crusade - Chapter 76: An Anomaly

Aperio appeared in the air above the anomaly she had sensed, her wings spreading behind her and keeping her aloft with lazy beats. She wanted to be alone for a moment. Her breakdown and Ferio's continued overzealousness were things that put a burden on her mind she did not quite know how to deal with.

She did inform Caethya, Laelia, and her daughter what she was doing and why she did not join them, but Aperio did not tell them exactly where she went. Not like I can hide from any of them, though. She was certain that they could spot her like a beacon of light in the dark of night; the amount of mana that constantly flowed to and from her easily dwarfed anything else she was aware of. Hopefully they respect my wish.

With those thoughts, Aperio directed her gaze at the thing below her. Space twisted in on itself, the ambient mana that she could feel all around her flowing into the anomaly. It did not look like the portals she made; more akin to what she found in Vigil's moon-side temple. But not wrong, like the thing he made.

She tilted her head slightly, the motion accompanied a touch of her magic that caused a branch to break off of one of the nearby trees. She flung it into the anomaly.

Aperio watched with interest as the stick entered the distortion. There was another shift in her aura, multiple overlapping layers of mana encasing the piece of wood that slowed it down before it reached the centre and vanished. The All-Mother tilted her head as she let her senses follow the trail of mana that raced away from the anomaly, only to find something else heading towards her side of the apparent passageway.

Is that a Human? A strong mage, then? She couldn't really think of anything else. Ferio had said that teleportation was reserved for bigger installations or extraordinarily strong individuals. Aperio was also interested as to where the portal led. It wasn't on Verenier, she knew that much. Mortals can travel between worlds?

The idea struck her as wrong, as something that shouldn't happen. Perhaps they can because the System is broken? The answer seemed likely as she could feel the amount of mana weakening the further she followed the stick she had thrown. He can't be a mage… There is barely any mana where he comes from. Can he even survive here?

With her there she had little doubt anything would happen to him, but that didn’t mean all that much. She wouldn't continuously watch over him, after all. And who made this portal? As the passage lacked the feel she had gotten when she had inspected Vigil's creation, and was nowhere similar to the sensation of transitioning to Ferio's Dominion, she doubted it was the doing of one of the Gods. ...Did the System make this?

Aperio narrowed her eyes as she focused on the anomaly, lightly setting down in front of it. She let her senses follow each of the threads that comprised the distortion, tracing them through the infinitely complex weave that was the fabric of reality.

Keeping track of the Human that was moving — Falling? — through the anomaly, the stick she had thrown into it, and now the individual bits and pieces that made up the presumed portal in front of her were somehow not much of a burden on her mind. While it required her to focus more than most other things — to ignore the physical world around her — it did not feel as strenuous as she had thought it would.

What did cause her to almost lose track of the other threads of thought in her mind was the revelation that her hunch had been correct. The mana that made up the anomaly in front of her did, in one way or another, lead back to the System — to her.

Aperio still couldn't quite figure out where the System was located, but it was close to her well, which was for all intents and purposes the source of all mana in the world. And it is part of me… So the System is part of me too?

She had always assumed that it was a construct powered by her mana, not an actual part of her. But how does that work? Quite unlike her well, it did not feel like the System was a part of her. It simply existed — keeping watch over everything she made. No, not everything.

Wherever the man still travelling through the anomaly came from, it was a world largely untouched by mana and the System. The idea of such a place felt wrong to her, not something she would have to fix immediately but probably something that shouldn't be ignored for too long. Knowing this is weird.

Aperio continued to send her senses through the ever more dull feeling thread leading to the potentially mana-less world. The idea of it, while still wrong, intrigued her; stirred something deep within her that she hadn't known about. Something that just wanted to know — to tinker with the part of her creation that had not turned out how she knew it should.

It only took her a few moments longer to sense — to feel — the world on the other side. The familiar flow of mana in the air was absent. Instead, all she was able to find was what Aperio could only describe as a piece of her Void, neatly interwoven with the threads of Reality. Can I not feel it on Verenier because it has mana?

With a slightly tilted head, Aperio let her senses retreat away from the world devoid of mana, focusing more on the Human that still moved towards the distortion. He seemed to be slowing down, however. Too quickly. He can't control it, can he? ...Not that he should be able to. If a random — manaless — Human could guide something the System had created, something would have to be seriously wrong. Or just more broken than I assumed.

Aperio sighed as she expended a bit of her mana to grab hold of the man seemingly trapped in the distortion. So much for trying to live a normal life… It had been her initial goal — and still was, to an extent — but other matters simply were more pressing. Like remembering who I am. Or dragging an errant Human through a random portal-anomaly ...thing. And figuring out why this even appeared.

She doubted the System would make such a portal completely randomly. As far as she knew, the System itself was not capable of thought, just a machine she had built to fulfill a purpose she had long forgotten. Enable magic use for everyone, for one. Perhaps also to allow the emergence of new Gods? ...But why?

With a shake of her head she returned her focus on the anomaly in front of her, using her eyes more than her aura to look at the distortion. It hadn't changed since she had first appeared, but Aperio knew there was a Human about to emerge from it.

It took only a moment longer for the distortion to vanish and the Human to take its place. Aperio tilted her head as she felt the threads of reality shift ever so slightly. Mana, guided by the System, flowed into the Human, establishing a reserve for him to draw on and pushing it through his body. Soon it circulated naturally, in the same flow she could observe in any other living being.

So where he comes from really has no mana? Aperio thought to herself, stepping a bit closer and leaning over the newly emerged Human. The first thing she noticed was the scent. Whatever it was, it was stronger than most anything Aperio had smelled before. A bit like soap? While it wasn't unpleasant, she would encourage the Human to perhaps wash more often, or use less of whatever he did to achieve such a ...fragrance.

She had never seen the like of his clothing before. His shirt held colourful depictions of various people striking heroic poses, and above them stood a bit of very bold text that she did not understand. Famous adventurers perhaps?

His pants were made from a rough, blue material that she was certain she had seen before but could not quite recall the name of. He seemed to have been in some trouble previously as multiple tears in the fabric were present on his thighs and knees. Was he running from something? Aperio did not doubt that wherever he came from was free of monsters simply because it was devoid of mana.

Another thing that struck her as strange was the black hair he had, in a very similar style to a certain youth that had challenged her before. It wasn't exactly rare, as she had seen many slaves with black hair, but in the current times it did not seem to be a prevalent colour. Maybe he wasn’t from here either?

The two did share a similar build and face, furthering her belief that they came from the same place. Or is it mere chance? Aperio made a mental note to talk to the Human should she meet him again. Perhaps ask him to take care of this one?

She took a step back as she felt the System's touch recede, the threads of reality stitching themselves back together. Scaring the Human after he had presumably run for his life and now found himself in an unknown place was not something she wanted to do. Not that I would be any less scary if he would sit up and discover me by himself.

Aperio waited patiently as the Human groaned, grabbing his head as he slowly came to. He froze a moment later, the mana in his body surging briefly before returning to its natural flow. She could sense reality changing in front of him, undoubtedly a message from the System. Why does it welcome him to the world? ...Does it do that for newborns as well?

With a shake of her head, she willed the small information window the System provided into existence.

Adam Keino Lincoln | [Walker of the Veil (Hidden)] | Level: 22

Should I even approach him if he is only level twenty-two? ...Maria has a higher level than he does. Not that levels mean much at the moment. Aperio was still fairly certain that Laelia was stronger than Caethya, despite the latter having nearly twice the levels of the former. I really need to fix that.

The title, Aperio assumed, he had gotten because he had gone from one world to another — piercing the veil between worlds if one wanted to be poetic. Why is it hidden, though? ...And how, exactly, did the System decide he should be level twenty-two?

Aperio sighed and lightly shook her head, the noise enough to startle the newly System-inducted Human. The [Status] he had just summoned before his eyes vanished and he quickly righted himself, freezing once his eyes landed on Aperio.

He tried to crawl backwards, away from her, but only managed to elicit a slight wobble of his arms. Aperio could only let out another sigh as she took a few steps to close the distance between them. Her wings twitched as she heard his breath quicken and the beat of his heart start to race. Does he think I brought him here as a sacrifice?

She rubbed the bridge of her nose as she sent a small mental nudge towards Laelia, requesting her presence. The eager reply she received prompted her to send a clarification: no weapons or armour needed to be brought. A small flex of her mental muscles ripped the threads of reality apart, letting Laelia appear next to her without any visual disruption that might further scare the Human. Or is this scarier?

"What do you need, my Goddess?" Laelia asked, her eyes darting between the downed Adam and Aperio. "Did he do something?"

"He… appeared here," Aperio replied, gesturing towards the air above the man with one of her wings. "Came out of a portal I did not make. He also seems to be scared of me, even though I have done nothing.” Why is that always the reaction of nearly every mortal I meet?

"Was the portal the anomaly Ferio said you wanted to investigate?"

"Yes," Aperio replied. "But please, could you try and speak to the man? I doubt he will do so with me present. If he can understand us. His name is Adam Keino Lincoln, level twenty-two. So please, be careful." Somehow, she doubted that language would be a problem. The thought caused a bit of anger to rise up in her. Why does the System help a random Human with language but not me?

Laelia nodded after a moment of hesitation. "Of course. But, unless he has a serious affliction, special care should not be needed. Level twenty-two seems about right for a man his age. One that has not done much to raise their level, that is."

"Y-You can stay there," the man managed to stammer, his words perfectly understandable despite his weird accent.  "P-Please stay over there."

Aperio sighed yet again. She wanted to ask why he was so scared, but being taken from your world — probably in the middle of running for his life — was bound to be scary. But I am not that scary. Just a tall, winged Elf. With mana-wisps floating around me. ...And Laelia just said that I am her Goddess.

"We mean you no harm," Aperio said, not quite managing to convince herself despite it being the truth. "I am just trying to find out why you ended up here."

"Something the remaining traitors did?" Laelia inquired.

Aperio shook her head. "No, they are not the ones responsible. I know what happened to bring him here, but not why."

Her last word caused Adam to wince slightly, the man obviously not used to her mana-intensive voice. She could only repress another sigh, instead gesturing to Laelia to take care of the man. Why is everything broken?

Crusade - Chapter 77: Fragility

Aperio let herself fall down onto the grass, spreading her wings slightly to allow herself to sit. Lying down now would be unbecoming of her stature, even if she had already ignored the gentle voice of Laelia as she started to talk to Adam; removed their voices from her mind so she could better focus on herself.

I'm starting to think the old me just gave up on trying to fix all of this. The All-Mother could not quite believe that everything had broken down as much as it did during her absence alone. Unless it was a lot longer than I thought… I never asked Ferio how long, exactly, I was gone.

She rubbed the bridge of her nose and sighed again, something that was becoming a lot more frequent than she would like. All she really wanted to do was roam the world and live, not be presented with problem after problem with no solution in sight. To understand and fix the issues she knew about, she would either have to retrieve more of her memories — something that was bound to pull the veil back on more unpleasantness from her past — or spend inordinate amounts of time understanding her own creation. And hope more doesn't break while I figure things out.

Right now, however, Aperio wanted nothing more than lay down on the soft nothing of her Void and scream. Not because she was upset, or even angry, but because despite the powers she had gained — despite knowing how to use them — she was unable to fix what she wanted to.

She couldn't make herself forget her old life; couldn't undo what had been done to her. Neither could she undo the burden she had put on Maria, on Caethya, or even on Laelia. Even Ferio, her own daughter, was starting to feel distant. She seemed to have an image of Aperio that the woman herself did not want to share.

Aperio had no desire to become the one above that ruled with an iron fist. She wanted to have a family. Friends. Not followers, disciples or Scions. The one member of her family she had managed to reconnect with seemed to think of her as far more than just a mother. I'm always the All-Mother… Such a stupid title.

Even with Ferio behaving as she did, Aperio still found a comforting warmth within her heart when she thought about her daughter, one that brought the slightest of smiles to her face. Even the memories of Moria did not quite manage to elicit the same warmth from the winged Goddess. But, should she want to express her fondness, she would feel repulsion and disgust at herself. The few times she had been able to express herself despite that had been marred by the need to keep her strength in check.

She wanted to lean into a hug — show her affection — but doing so with more than the tiniest fraction of her might would kill most anyone. Even Ferio would break. The only things she had found able to withstand more than a minuscule amount of her strength were her weapons and the trees of the forest above the dungeon she had returned to. I doubt it still holds true for the trees, though.

Spreading her wings fully, she gave in and let herself fall completely onto the grass, uncaring for the loss of dignity it might incur. Aperio ignored the way the earth compacted more than it should beneath her, instead directing her eyes at the clouds above. Despite the sun hanging high up in the sky, the All-Mother had no trouble making out the twin moons hanging above the surface of Verenier.

Her aura was not needed to spot the chunk she had removed; a mortal's eyes were enough to spot the cosmic wound. A part of her wanted to fix it, while another insisted that it should stay — to serve as a reminder for what had happened. Aperio was inclined to listen to the latter part of her mind. Memories were fleeting things, while the world seemed to be just fine without her help. If I don't count the broken System or traitorous Gods.

She closed her eyes, ignoring the tears that flowed down her cheeks; ignoring the tiny flowers that bloomed to life where they hit the ground.

Her mind was turning in circles. Unable — unwilling — to decide on which path she should take. She ignored the worried voice of Laelia calling out to her, the scared whimpers of Adam, and the unmistakable feeling of her daughter's magic flowing through a new hole in the fabric of space.

She did not want to deal with any of it anymore.

She wanted to know why her emotions were as steady as a drunkard on a ship in a storm. Why the voice at the back of her mind told her she was better than those that surrounded her — that she must be perceived to be perfect.

She wanted to know why parts of the old Aperio somehow remained when every other memory had been removed. Burned from her mind.

But there was no-one that could answer that question. The ones that were most likely to have answers had been killed by her own hand in fit of rage and sadness at the memory of their betrayal. Another disgusting loss of control.

Aperio wanted to punch something, vent her anger. But even that was not to be. Whatever would end up the target of her rage would not survive, and undoubtedly only make it worse for her in the future.

Instead of breaking the world even further, she shut her eyes tighter and wrapped her arms and wings around herself. The soft touch of her feathers against her skin did manage to calm her a little, the presence of the rather unnatural limbs a reminder that kept her mind from descending further into the twisted depths of her past.

Aperio knew that her followers — and daughter — were watching her, the information her aura provided eagerly informing her about Caethya's and Ferio's arrival, but at the moment she did not care. For some reason, she was finally able to be honest, at least with herself, without feeling like she was about to part with her non-existent breakfast, without feeling like she needed to cleanse herself afterwards.

She took a deep breath of the fresh air, the lack of the city’s scent a welcome change. The next breath was accompanied by the hand of her daughter resting against her cheek. A touch of magic brushed past the edges of her mind in an obvious attempt to soothe her.

The All-Mother could feel the worry of her daughter, Ferio's heartbeat and magic far from their usual steady calm. Ever so slowly, Aperio untangled one of her hands and gently rested it atop Ferio's. The slight shake of her daughter's hand might have been practically unnoticeable by most, but was distressingly obvious for Aperio.

She hadn't really expected her daughter to react with worry to such an extent that she ignored the presence of mortals in her efforts to try and help. Nor did Aperio want her daughter to worry — did not wish to be a burden on Ferio's mind — but at the same time she desperately wanted the presence of someone that cared. About her. Someone who did not expect her to show constant, everlasting control.

Ferio had said that she was there to help, that she only needed to ask, but the All-Mother had not taken her daughter's offer. Aperio had not wanted to appear even more vulnerable than she already had in front of her daughter, the part that was adamant she was better also convinced her daughter would not understand. She had been inclined to believe it, as Ferio had always held her in higher regard when others were around. It was something she had taken to mean that her daughter's words were not quite as honest as she had wanted to believe.

But here she was, sitting on the dirty grass behind her mother trying her best to soothe her. To most such a thing would be a matter of course, but not to Aperio, and another stream of tears cascaded down her face as she realised it. Why am I like this?

The answer to that was, of course, not something she knew. It wasn't something Ferio or anyone else knew either, and Aperio doubted even retrieving all her old memories would aid in answering this particular question. Instead of trying to rack her brain to find an answer, Aperio allowed Ferio to lift her head into her lap.

It was perhaps the wrong way around, the daughter comforting her mother, but at the moment Aperio could not bring herself to care. Being able to simply lay in a field and have someone who was there for her, even if she had previously rejected her help, was a soothing balm that spread over her mind and helped to stem the flow of tears at least a little.

"Why did you not ask for help, mother?" Ferio asked quietly, the slight quiver in her voice and shake of her hand betraying the stern facade she tried to convey.

The All-Mother did not reply immediately, grasping her daughter's hand a little tighter instead. She wanted to turn around and hold her daughter tightly in her arms, letting her emotions run free until the fog on her mind lifted, but that was not to be. The risk of losing control of her strength and injuring her daughter was far too great.

Aperio gave her daughter's hand a light squeeze, the Goddess' flesh giving way too easily for the amount of force she had used. A touch of her magic wiped her tears and Aperio opened her eyes.

The first thing she saw was the face of her daughter marred by worry. Ferio's brows were creased slightly, a tiny bit of moisture pooling below her eyes.

"What is happening to you?" she asked, her voice barely audible even to Aperio's ears. "What can I do?"

"I don't know." The words were freeing, no disgust or guilt manifesting after she had said them aloud.

Only relief.

Aperio felt her daughter's magic spread around the two of them, and by the nature of its composition she knew it would bring them to Ferio's Dominion. The mana that unwound the threads of reality was not only guided by her daughter's hand but also by the cold and unfeeling touch of the System. By me...

She did not have to think about it, the System drawing from her well on its own. Before her mind's eye, Aperio could see the System perform its work, mana flowing through infinite loops and countless runes so that it might aid the Goddess in her work.

Each part of the machine worked with the others in perfect harmony, slowly undoing the weave of her creation and stitching it back together so the space in front of them might lead to where Ferio wanted to go.

It all happened so slowly. Aperio's senses flicked between her body and the mana of her daughter slowly spreading around them. She could see the threads connect to her. Not her body, or her soul.

Her.

There was no orb hidden in her well that contained who she was; only a bottomless pit of power. The clarity she felt at the moment was without comparison — everything felt as if it was only a thought away. Every piece of her creation was just waiting on her command.

And yet, she did not know why.

A light pull on a thread shattered one of the accursed crystals, but no influx of power or memories followed. Instead, Aperio saw the mist fly out of the broken remains far faster than it should, the distant scene as clear as if it were right in front of her.

Her touch did not reach the mist that lingered above its destroyed home, the mana somehow hers but not connected. Unbound. It only took a moment longer for the mist to flicker and twist, taking on shapes Aperio could easily recognise as runes but had no meaning to her. No real meaning, at least.

She had seen them before. Not engraved on the collars, written in books, or cruelly etched into the souls she had inspected, but within the depths of the System itself. The parts that lay dormant, broken and ripped apart. Sections that hid themselves in the endless depths of the System's residence that Aperio was quickly coming to believe was the closest thing she had to a soul.

The pieces that she knew needed repair lay in the Dungeons. In the memories that had been stolen. But why can't I touch them? She knew they were parts of her, just the same as the crystal below Ebenlowe and in the dungeon she had returned to had been, as the mana was easily recognisable as her own.

Helpless, Aperio watched the crystal reform, the broken parts floating up to encase the mist that remained stolen from her. Why do I need to be there? ...Why does my body need to be there?

A surge in her daughter's magic heralded the end of her time to watch. Aperio closed her eyes, both physical and mental, as the two of them entered Ferio's Dominion. The last thought that shot through the All-Mother's mind before she and Ferio vanished from the grassy hill was that Diskrye had been right.

This is a shell.

Crusade - Chapter 78: Unpleasant Choices

Ferio glanced down at her mother as the two of them arrived in her Dominion. Aperio's skin was cold to the touch, like it had always been, the only perceptible warmth coming from the mind-boggling amount of mana flowing through the All-Mother. Not that a mortal would be able to tell the difference.

That was something that had changed. Aperio had always been beyond other deities, including herself. But, what she was doing now made simply no sense to the Goddess of Life and Light. The amount of mana her mother was using to improve her body was staggering, multiple times what she herself would be able to command for at least another couple of millennia.

It was these things that made her question if the woman currently lying with her head in her lap was actually her mother. But I know it's her. She looked like her mother, when Aperio chose to have a body that is. Aside from the Elven ears, she still had the same fit physique, the same face, the same eyes, and she only stood taller now that she drew even more mana from her well. And the wings… Perhaps most importantly, Ferio could also feel the truth of it in her soul. And yet, she couldn't shake the feeling that Aperio wasn't, well, Aperio anymore.

She still liked to fight and was divorced from the concept of subtlety, but she cared for mortals now. All of them. Aperio had told her that she had lived as a slave, that she had been powerless. While Ferio still had trouble believing that, it did help to partially explain her mother's current behaviour. And why she doesn't trust anyone.

Ferio sighed as she shifted her hand to brush a strand of her hair out of her mother's face. Feels like I am the mother now.

"Thank you," Aperio said, closing her eyes again and seemingly content in Ferio's lap. That's also new, Ferio thought. Her mother was not opposed to physical touch, per se, but tended to not like it. Even after she came back.

"But I still don't know how I should talk about my past," her mother continued. "I don't want to talk about it — do not want to remember."

Ferio returned to gently stroking Aperio's cheek, trying to soothe her mother with her magic and touch. She did not truly expect her efforts to have much of an effect, the gap in power likely too large for any attempt of hers to matter. Anything is better than nothing. All Ferio wanted was to have her mother back.

Aperio had not been a great parent, the demands of the All-Mother often greater than Ferio could ever hope to match. And yet, her mother's guidance had forged her into a Goddess that was stronger than most. She knew that Aperio had wanted to be closer to her than she was, but every time Ferio tried to connect with her mother, she was pushed away. For her own good, her mother had claimed, though Ferio had not truly understood at the time.

The Goddess of Life and Light could vividly remember the time a few minor Gods thought it a good idea to kidnap her. The rage her mother had displayed at the time was not something she had expected from the usually calm and collected Goddess. Having now experienced it for herself when Aperio had thought she had simply watched as she had to live the life of a slave, she could understand why those minor Gods were very quick to run. Not that it helped them any. Running from the Creator of everything was doomed to fail. But now, here, Ferio hoped she could finally show that she was family. Though Aperio had been a harsh mother, she had always cared in her own way.

"I have no doubts it will hurt," Ferio said, brushing away a few tears that had returned to pool beneath her mother's eyes. "But burying it will only hurt more. What happened with Maria will just repeat itself if you don't try to process your memories."

She could feel her mother tense up at her words, half expected her to lash out. But Aperio didn't. The All-Mother just wrapped her wings around herself again, the impossibly soft feathers brushing against Ferio as she did. Did she make them so soft so she can do this?

"Have I ever forced you to do something against your will?" Aperio asked, opening her eyes again. That was another thing that had changed. The colour of her mother's eyes had always been silver and blue, but they had never shifted in intensity and hue before. Nor did she have mana flowing through them like she does now.

There was enough of it in Aperio's eyes that a mortal would be able to see the flecks of blue flow across her eyes. I hope that doesn't influence the mortals.

Ferio herself might not be too fond of most of them, but her mother was. Having her unwittingly hurt them with a glance was not good if Aperio really wanted to spend most of her time around them.

"Not really," Ferio finally replied. "There were times where you stopped me from going against the other deities, but you did the same to them if they tried to skirt the rules. Though, your enforcement of the rules was spotty at the best of times.

"You were either around, watching over your creations and making sure they behaved, or you were off doing something else and did not care what happened. The latter was by far the most common." Please don't become like that again… In times like this, Ferio wished she could pray to a higher power like the mortals to make her wish come true. The only problem was that the only higher power she could pray to was her mother, who was part of her wish.

Aperio remained silent for a moment, her wings shifting a little as she brushed her hand along their length. "I was not a good mother, was I?"

Ferio's hand stopped moving at the question, not quite ready to provide an answer. The truth was that she wasn't sure. She had learned a lot from Aperio, but the All-Mother had also never really been there for her when she needed it most. There was always something else that demanded her attention, something else that she had deemed more important.

"No," Ferio whispered, her hands starting to tremble again. "You were not."

Aperio gently lifted her daughter's hand and sat up straight, turning around to wrap Ferio in a hug with her arms and wings. The whisper in her mind that wanted her to loathe herself for having to hold back as to not crush her daughter with her affection was pointedly ignored. I have so much to make up for…

The more she learned about her old self, the more she started to question if she even was that Aperio. What she wanted to do now was almost the opposite of what her old self seemed to do. She wanted to spend time with Ferio; with the mortals who followed her.

For a brief moment she considered simply taking Ferio and everyone who wanted to join her on some remote island and just living her life in peace. The idea was, of course, quickly discarded. While she knew she could make everything a mortal would need to survive, she did not know how to. Yet. The best she could do for now was heal any ailment that would befall them — something that for some reason seemed to include hunger and thirst, if she chose to trust her own feelings on the matter.

The problem she faced now, however, was of a different nature. She wanted to be the mother she should have been to Ferio, but she had no idea how she should go about doing that. Aperio could not remember her past life as the All-Mother — and even if she could, it would not be of much help — and neither did she have a mother or even family of her own as a slave. Only Moria…

While the Beastkin might have cared for her in a way that Aperio imagined a mother would, she had no real idea if it actually was motherly. And so, as she carefully pulled herself away from her daughter, Aperio spoke words free from the disgust she would normally expect but filled with the pain and sorrow of her own failure.

"I do not think I can be what you want me to be. I cannot remember my previous self and I do not know how I should act as your mother. Or the All-Mother… I am starting to think that, perhaps, it was for the best that I cannot recall — that it should remain forgotten."

"Don't say that, Mother," Ferio replied almost immediately. "You might not know what to do, or how to be what I wished you were, but that's life. Now, you are trying your best despite not even knowing yourself anymore. I should not ask for more."

Her last words were barely a whisper, more meant for herself than Aperio, but still unable to escape the All-Mother's ears. "It simply feels like I am not doing enough," Aperio said, drawing back a little to better look at Ferio. "There are so many things I feel should be done immediately that I do not know where to begin, only to then feel disgusted at myself because I should know.

"I made all there is and yet I cannot even figure out how I died in the first place. Or retrieve my memories without being physically present. I can feel the other crystals — can destroy them from anywhere — but the mana contained inside remains out of reach."

"I think outside of retrieving more of your memories there is not much you can do to solve this. Unless, of course, you are willing to spend aeons relearning everything you already knew."

Aperio's shoulders slumped at her daughter's words. All this power, and I have no clue how to use it. Not for what I really want, anyway. There was another thing that had plagued the mind of the All-Mother ever since she had retrieved her first set of memories.

"What if I change when I retrieve more memories?" she asked. "This time I received memories of your childhood, and the beginning. What if I next remember the reason why Vigil, Inanis, and the others turned against me? What if I lose control like I did when I was with Maria?

"I could kill someone if I slip up for a moment," Aperio continued, slowly wrapping her wings around herself as she drew her knees to her chest. "I could kill everyone if I lose control again. Just touching someone already requires more restraint than it should… Even you, Ferio. Everything is just so fragile."

"I will be there, Mother," Ferio said, closing the short distance between them and pushing Aperio's wings a smidge apart to look at her mother. "I told you I will help however I am able. Last time Maria was able to calm you down; all you needed was time. Something that a foolish mortal did not realise."

"Is that why you were so… charged?"

Ferio lowered her head at the question. "Yes. I dislike it when mortals do not show the proper amount of respect. None of them would be here if it wasn't for your efforts. The other deities contributed, yes, including myself, but we all came later. Secondary. The mortals should at least know not to raise their voice near you."

"No," Aperio disagreed, "they should tell me when I am wrong; admonish me for my mistakes. I want to live among them. That is what I want, a normal life. No bowing mortals that praise me for simply existing; who think that everything I do is perfect simply because it was I who did it."

"They will come to revere you no matter what you do. Just being near you for long enough will make them feel it in their soul, Mother. You made everything and the mortals will find that out if they stick around you long enough," Ferio replied with a slight sigh.

"I will still try, once I repair the System. Which means I need to retrieve more of my memories…" Do I really want to?

"I wish I could help you with the System, but you already explained to me once that it wouldn't work," Ferio said. "No matter what happens to you after you retrieve more of your memories, I will be there for you. I just don't want to lose you again."

Aperio just let herself fall back onto the weirdly soft floor of Ferio's Dominion, her eyes staring at the ever-shifting orange sky. Even with her daughter's declaration she still felt unsure about regaining more of her old self's memories.

She did not feel any different after she had regained her first set of memories. It wasn't as if something foreign had been placed in her mind — she knew the memories were hers. The way she was trying to retrieve something that belonged to her and yet was cut off from, however, still nagged at her. How does that even work?

It was one of the many questions that still drifted around in her mind. Just like the others, however, she had no answer. Only those stupid crystals do, Aperio thought, sitting back up again.

"I guess I have no real choice, do I? Waiting for who knows how long is not an option. It only leaves the crystals."

Ferio moved next to her mother at her words, wrapping an arm around her. "It's okay. We'll go there together."

Crusade - Chapter 79: An Overdue Talk

Aperio sat in silence next to her daughter. An idle thought spurred her to check on how Maria was doing. Despite being in Ferio's domain, she could still feel the connection to the girl. Even when she had not focused on it, the healing of Maria's soul had never once been interrupted.

She hadn't forgotten it, but neither had she given the act of soul healing any additional thought. After she had set the process in motion, it continued on its own. Kind of like the even speedier improvement of my body… Is this normal for a Goddess?

Thinking about it a little more, however, she had always been able to focus on a great many things. Even when her accursed collar had bottlenecked her actions to one thing at a time, her mind had still been free to latch on to multiple things. So, perhaps, this is normal for everyone?

"May I ask you a few questions, Ferio?" Aperio asked.

"Of course," her daughter replied. "Just don't be disappointed if I do not know the answers. You weren't in the habit of sharing how things worked, leaving the pantheon to figure things out on our own."

"The first one is more likely to make you question my intelligence," Aperio said, absentmindedly brushing her hand along her wings. "Is it normal that I can work on so many things at once? I feel like it shouldn't be possible, and yet I am doing far more than just two things at the same time."

Ferio giggled at the question, confirming that it was as stupid as Aperio had suspected. I really know nothing, don't I?

"Mortals are notoriously bad at multitasking. Some acquire skills that help them, but most are stuck doing a thing and maybe thinking about something else," Ferio explained, smiling at her mother's almost pouting expression. "As Goddesses, however, we don't really have the luxury of just doing one thing. I answer countless prayers at the same time every hour of the day, something you might, sooner or later, have to do, or else you'll simply start ignoring the mortals like you did before."

"So a part of my divinity was there when I was a slave? How was the collar able to work, then? Or was it like that because I am what I am?" But why couldn't I just kill them all, then?

Ferio's smile vanished at the mention of her mother's past. "I don't know. This is one of the things you’ve never told anyone. To me and many others, you were a kind of constant for all of existence. That you could die — even if only momentarily — had not crossed our minds."

"And the ones that would know are dead," Aperio said, drawing her wings closer to her body. "Perhaps I should find the others that tried to take control of the System first?"

"Who tried to take control of the System?" Ferio asked, her voice sounding just a little more sharp. "Can they even do that?"

"Lor'Kem, Heshtar, and Epemirial are the only ones left that tried to access 'higher privileged functions'," Aperio replied. "I do not know what it meant by that, but the System rejected them without my input." And if my hunch is correct, they could not control the System without controlling...

"…Is that what Vigil and Inanis tried to do?" Aperio mumbled to herself as she retreated deeper into her wings. "Control me?"

Ferio wrapped her arms around her mother as best she could, Aperio's wings twitching ever-so-slightly at the touch. "They failed, and neither Vigil nor Inanis can try again."

"But what if they were not the ones who planned it?" Aperio asked, peeking at her daughter over the edge of her wing. "Neither of them seemed prepared to face me in any way when I went after them. All they had was my bow, and some arrows for it.

"They could have injured me, but even though the arrows were hard to grasp with my magic, they were not dangerous." I probably could have simply plucked them from the air without slowing them down first.

Ferio remained silent for a while, continuing to stroke her mother's back in an attempt to soothe her. "Calm, Mother. Please," she said when she finally spoke again. "If you don't keep your aura in check, you might break my Dominion. We will find out what happened. It will just take a bit of time. Time in which to retrieve your memories, and time after that for you to sort through them."

"Why does everything break when I am not perfectly in control?" Aperio asked nobody in particular as she let her head hang, the tiny arcs that had started to dance across her wings vanishing. "Did I make all of this to punish myself?"

"I don't know. Nobody but you can know," Ferio said. "But what I do know is something I have said many times. Something that bears repeating. You are not alone, Mother, and you have multiple people to call upon for help. We all offer it to you. Please accept it."

Aperio did not resist as her daughter moved to lift her chin. At least I can show emotion in front of my own daughter now. The tears were clearly visible on her face, something quite unbecoming of her stature. But, ever since her breakdown, it was like the gates holding her emotions in check had fallen apart; taking the annoying feeling of disgust with them.

"Let Laelia lead your church. She is your Scion, and she knows people who might have more insight into whatever Vigil and Inanis had planned," Ferio said as she produced a small red cloth that she used to clean Aperio's face. "Going eons without talking about your emotions can't have been good. Even if you can't remember most of it now."

"What did I even do the entire time?"

The obvious request to change topics was easily understood by her daughter, who shrugged in response. "You added things to the System, I know that much. Classes were one of the more recent additions, and one of the first to go again after you vanished. Aside from that, I'm not sure." She tilted her head slightly in thought, her hand tapping against her chin. "Maybe you made more worlds? You did say that calmed you, once."

Make something? Most of what she had done had been the opposite of that, achieving far more death and destruction than life and creation. I haven't really been a Creator, have I?

"Perhaps I should try that. But, there is something I have been meaning to ask," Aperio said. "West of Ebenlowe there is a forest with a very deep dungeon. Do you know anything about either of those?"

"I only know about the forest there," Ferio replied. "That's one of Root's projects. The Eternal Forest. It never told me what it's for, but I didn't really care either. As far as I know, the forest consists of Ironbarks Roots personally modified."

"The wood of those trees was able to injure me. I am not sure that is still true now, but even right after my return metal and stone was… fragile. The trees managed to pierce my skin and even break off a few of my feathers."

"That would be quite the feat," Ferio said as she sat back, letting the cloth vanish, "even if you were significantly weaker then, which I am not so sure about. Perhaps it is best to ask Roots about that. I bet it would be thrilled to see you; as thrilled as that stupid tree gets, at least."

"You do not like Roots? I thought you two got along quite well," Aperio replied with a slight tilt of her head. The prospect of learning more about what she would now consider her family was vastly preferable to talking about her past; even when she knew she should do the latter.

Her daughter let out a heavy sigh at her words, her hand moving to rub the bridge of her nose as if it was the most appropriate action. "It's just that it doesn't make sense. I know you made it to be a neutral party and System overseer, but neither you nor it would tell me why, or what that even means."

"I am sorry that I did not tell you," Aperio said. "But even if I would want to now, I cannot. If you wish I could ask Roots to explain it to you?" Would it even listen to me? …Probably.

"No," Ferio replied with a shake of her head. "I'd rather you tell me when you remember. I haven't known what it does for who knows how long, a few more years won't change much."

"Years? Why would it take years?" Ferio should know as well as she did that distance was more of a suggestion for her. Nothing would stop her from tearing holes into reality to go where she wished. Which makes me having to be there make even less sense… Unless I can't teleport myself there?

"It's been a while since you destroyed the first crystal," Ferio replied. "I had assumed you wanted to take a bit of time after each one to see if something happens that you did not expect."

"I probably should do that," Aperio mumbled. "But, I guess I just did not want to face the past." I still don't want to. The thought that it would inflict the same pain as the past she could already remember did not want to leave her mind.

"I won't force you — not that I could — but I still think it would be best if you retrieve more of your memories."

"I know you are right," Aperio said, shifting her wings as she moved to stand. "It just does not make my doubts vanish. Even though I wish that was the case."

With a thought, Aperio smoothed out the tiny imperfections in her dress that came from sitting for what had felt like days. Another started the slow process of finally replacing the last bits of normal thread that were still in her garment. I also need to adjust its size… Maybe add some armour?

Thinking about anything but the decision she had to make was nice, but the nagging voice at the back of her mind did not let her push it away any longer. With a sigh and a slight shake of her head, Aperio turned around.

"Once Maria has come to a decision, I will leave for Procul. Alone. I know there is a dungeon there that was somehow connected to the one below Ebenlowe."

"Are you sure you want to go alone?" Ferio asked. "Depending on others is not some weakness you need to rid yourself of, Mother. Everyone else depends on something, even if it is only your System. Why shouldn't you be allowed to?"

"I just need some time to think; clear my head. It is not like I will vanish into my Void again and ignore everything. You can still talk to me, and the others can pray, but I just need to be alone for a while."

Ferio looked at her mother with an expression that Aperio could not quite place. Is she scared? "Promise me you will come back," Ferio said, standing up and wrapping her arms around Aperio in a hug that would have killed a mortal woman. "Don't disappear again, Mother. Please."

"I promise," Aperio said, gently returning her daughter's hug. "I will not disappear again."

"How do you expect to deal with the mortals you will find? Are you gonna hide your wings?"

Aperio tilted her head slightly as she thought. Ferio had said that the mortals would sooner or later figure out what she was, but hiding her wings might delay that a little. But it hurts, and feels wrong.

"I do not know yet," Aperio replied, holding her daughter just a little tighter. "But I am sure I can think of something. I will need to finish fixing my dress before I go, however."

"Why not just use one of your old ones? Adapting those to your new physique should be easier than making one from scratch."

Why didn't I think of this? As soon as the idea was brought up, she knew exactly where to look. ... How do I get in there, though? When she had retrieved her weapon she had been fueled by rage and anger; not exactly a state she wanted to return to anytime soon.

Simply wanting to open a portal to that specific plane did not work. For a moment Aperio considered using her weapon to slice reality apart to see if that would work, but decided against it as they were still in Ferio's Dominion. That would probably not end well.

Splitting the threads of reality with her will was somehow very different than doing it with her swordstaff. Even though I also made the weapon...

"I will think about it."

"Once you figured out how you actually managed to get your weapon back?" Ferio asked with a small smile.

"Yes."

After a moment of silence, Aperio very carefully ended their embrace. "I think it is time to return. The others might start to worry otherwise."

"It's only been a few hours, Mother," Ferio said. "This is not your Void, time does not lose its meaning here."

"So it is not just my sense of time being off?"

A small laugh escaped Ferio as a portal started to form behind her. "No, your sense of time is also very much off. It always has been. 'This will only take a moment' would sometimes end with you staring intently at nothing for hours."

Aperio just shook her head as she stepped past her daughter through the portal. Not even time is working correctly.

Crusade - Chapter 80: Seeds of Hope

Aperio tilted her head at the scene in front of her. The grassy hill was now overgrown with a sea of flowers, spreading farther than it had any right to.

Amidst the colourful ocean of blossoms were Caethya, Laelia, and the newly-arrived Human. Her two followers immediately noticed her return, the conversation ceasing as both turned their heads to look at their Goddess.

A single step was all Aperio needed to close the distance between them, the threads of reality almost eagerly parting to allow her passing. Adam, the name her mind so helpfully volunteered for the low-level Human, just looked at her wide-eyed for a moment before he tried to jump up and, presumably, run away.

He had barely managed to take a step when Caethya's hand landed on his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. "Stop being so worried. She won't punish you."

"Why should I punish you?" Aperio asked, tilting her head as she looked at the Human. "Do you think what happened was your fault?"

His only response was a hesitant nod, his eyes shifting between Aperio and her daughter. I didn't even do anything evil… He saw me cry, and apparently create a hill of flowers. "It is not your fault. As far as I know, you have nothing to do with any of this. If anything, you are the victim here."

Adam did not respond, simply continuing to stare at the All-Mother. Ferio's hand brushed past her wings to reassuringly rest on her back, as it so often did of late, and the gentle reminder caused Aperio to avert her gaze from the mortal and take a deep breath.

The smell of the flowers was somehow familiar, even though she could not quite figure out why that was. ...Do I smell like anything? She had not exactly had a bath in quite a while, but neither had anyone said anything about her needing one. But they also think anything I say or do is the absolute truth…

With a slight shake of her head Aperio dismissed the thought. Considering how sensitive her sense of smell had become, she would probably be the first to notice if something was off. Why am I even thinking about this?

"You are free to go, Adam," Aperio said. "There is a city named Ebenlowe I would be willing to bring you to if you so choose. You can also stay here if you wish."

The Human looked at her for a few more moments before he finally spoke. "Can I go home?"

The All-Mother sighed at the question. She probably could send him back where he came from. Even though I would need a good while to even find the place. But it was a place with so little magic that the idea of putting him back there did not sit well with Aperio.

"No," she finally replied. "Your world has no magic. Sending you back now would not be a good idea."

"Why?"

Aperio rubbed the bridge of her nose at the question, her wings twitching ever-so-slightly in annoyance. The small motion was apparently enough to remove the small bit of courage that Adam had managed to scrounge up. Of course. When it would be nice if a mortal could just accept my word, they don't.

"I honestly do not know what might happen," Aperio said. "I can only tell that it would not be pleasant. Neither for you, nor the people of your world."

"My Goddess," Caethya began, her eyes flicking between the All-Mother and the cowering Human. "Perhaps it would be best if he could take some time to acclimate to this world. It has to be taxing to be taken from the life and world you know."

Aperio lowered her head at the words of her disciple. Caethya was right; her own reaction to dying and finding herself in a world she no longer knew was most likely not a normal one. The voice of her daughter also echoed through her mind, quietly reminding her that bending reality to her whim was very much not normal.

That it had become second nature to her gave Aperio pause, if only for a moment. She was the All-Mother, the Creator. I really need to watch what I am doing. ...After I have brought them to Ebenlowe. The thought was accompanied by reality splitting apart, revealing the house of healing that had seemingly become the home of her impromptu church. At least it is if I go by the fact that Laelia lives there.

"The people there can help you get used to this world," Aperio said, gesturing towards the portal. "If you wish to take the offer, that is." Should I start paying them as recompense for all the trouble I send their way? Probably.

That did raise the question of how exactly she would do that. She did not have any gold. I could probably make some, no? Aperio pushed the thought from her mind as she took a step to the side, distancing herself from the portal so Adam might be more inclined to go through it.

The Human did not oblige her, however, simply shifting his gaze between the portal and the floor. Only after Caethya offered him her hand did he stand up and move towards the rift in space.

The All-Mother extended a small mental thanks to her disciple that caused the young Elf to briefly stagger; just another reminder of the gulf between herself and the mortals. And I want to live amongst them…

A touch of her magic stabilised Caethya, another briefly flowing through her body to check if the woman was uninjured. Aperio was happy to find that besides the slightly faster beat of her heart and quicker breaths, the Elf was unharmed. That Caethya was reacting in that way still caused a tinge of worry to rise in Aperio. I hope it's not what I think it is.

Despite having taken a liking to her new life — even with the continued struggles of breaking things by applying a bit too much strength — Aperio did not like the possible direction Caethya's interest seemed to be taking. She does that whenever I touch her, be it physical or with magic…

Aperio rubbed the bridge of her nose again, a habit that she would have to get rid of before the mortals decided it was some form of symbolism. Can't they just treat me like one of their own?

"Are you sure it's safe?" Adam asked, taking Aperio out of her thoughts. He looked at the portal for a moment before his eyes wandered to the All-Mother. After a moment, he leaned closer to Caethya to whisper in her ear. "What if she wants to kill me? She seems to not like me…"

"Why would I want to kill you?" Aperio asked, the irritation clear in her voice. "And why do you think I have something against you? I barely know you."

"You should be thankful the All-Mother even graces you with her presence, mortal," Ferio said. "There was no need for her to return here to check up on you, and yet she did."

"I have yet to see her go against anyone that did not deserve it." Laelia's added comment seemed to calm the Human a little, even if he still sent fearful glances towards the All-Mother and the Goddess of Life and Light. "And even if her presence and voice might be intimidating, Aperio is a kind woman at heart. I know that to be true."

Her Scion delivered her last words with a pointed stare at the All-Mother. The meaning of the words was not lost on Aperio; she had just assumed that her struggle would have been less apparent. Or did Ferio tell her?

"She is," Caethya agreed, gently nudging Adam through the portal. "Her followers are kind too."

Once her disciple and the otherworldly Human had fully passed through the tear in reality, Aperio erected a small barrier in front of it to keep sound from passing.

"Did you tell them anything, Ferio?"

"I did not, mother," her daughter replied with a sigh. "It isn't hard to figure out how you feel about things, however. You are very expressive."

"We just had to figure out if it was us or yourself you were unhappy with," Laelia said, her head slightly lowered. "After your… breakdown at the Terenyk estate, it became quite obvious that there are more things wrong than I had first thought."

Her Scion took a few steps towards the All-Mother before she spoke again. "I cannot claim to know what troubles you. But I have sworn myself to you. If there is something I can do for you, please, call on me."

Aperio shifted her gaze between her feet and her Scion a few times as the words of her daughter echoed through her mind. Ferio was right. She should make a proper church before the mortals decided to make one on their own.

The act of asking Laelia for help was still not something she felt comfortable with — even when the feeling of disgust was nowhere to be found. It simply felt like the wrong thing to do.

Nonetheless, Aperio knew she would need help. She had no idea how she should set up a church nor did she know what was expected of her when she did. The All-Mother had no desire to be swarmed with prayers that demanded her attention, no yearning to appear in a church to hold her own sermons.

"There is something I would like your help with," the All-Mother said. "Ferio has rightfully pointed out that I do not know how to start my own church. Originally, I did not want to have a following as, unlike the other deities, I do not depend on my followers."

"I don't think you have to found a religion, my Goddess. Most people in the house of healing have already taken you up as the patron Goddess of our home," Laelia explained, moving a little closer to Aperio yet again. "The [Guides], too, seem to be worshipping you already. The only difference is that they believe you to seek knowledge while we focus on helping one another."

Aperio tilted her head at the words. She did seek knowledge, and she also liked helping those she cared about. But I only care about a few people… I don't want to be responsible for everyone that just chooses to follow me. She had no doubts that there would be people who came to her church to take advantage of her or her eventual followers. No matter how she turned the matter over in her mind, she could see nothing that would result otherwise. The problem would, perhaps forever, persist.  I would just find out even later.

"I told you that the [Guides] are practically already your followers, mother," Ferio said. "The question now is if you want to allow them to actually follow you."

"I do not mind anyone following me as long as they understand that I will not come and fix every problem they have." There was of course the matter of slavery as well, something she should definitely address but did not truly want to yet. With an almost imperceptible shake of her head, Aperio pushed past the mental blockage and continued nonetheless. "I will also not tolerate slavery of any kind. Should I find someone partaking in such vile acts, I will kill them."

"Is that why you removed both Vigil and Inanis?" Laelia asked.

"Partly, yes," Aperio said, her wings flaring slightly at the memory of the traitors. "They had larger crimes to pay for, however. Ones I am starting to think death was too lenient a punishment for."

A small plea to calm from her daughter caused Aperio to notice that a few tiny arcs of her mana had singed some of the flowers around her. Her Scion hesitated for a moment before she had seemingly gathered enough courage to ask the All-Mother another question.

"May I know what they did, Lady Aperio?"

The All-Mother fixed her gaze on her Scion, the woman shrinking a little under her attention. "No. All you need to know is that they paid for a lifetime of terror and abuse and that I will never let such a thing happen again."

“Understood, my Goddess,” Laelia replied, quickly bowing her head. “May I know who you have in mind as leader of your church?”

“You, my Scion,” Aperio replied. “If you believe yourself able to, I would be delighted if you chose to fill that role.”

“Would the [Grandmaster] not be a better choice?” her Scion inquired. “She has centuries of experience leading a large group of people, and has many connections I do not.”

The All-Mother tilted her head at the words. “Perhaps, but I do not trust Miss Videns. She may be capable, but she is not my Scion. I also have reason to believe she is more a follower of Roots than myself.”

“What about Caethya?”

“As far as I know, she has not been part of a church and does not know how they are supposed to function. Neither do I think she would want to do it,” Aperio explained. “Ferio has recommended that I ask you and I believe her to be correct. Not only are you more capable of leading than Caethya, but I also think it would be something you might enjoy.” I just don’t know how I know that.

There was a small pause in the conversation where neither of them spoke. “If you need time to think about the offer, take as much as you need.”

“No,” Laelia said, “I will gladly accept your offer. I was simply not sure if you truly meant it.”

“I rarely say something I do not mean,” Aperio said, tilting her head at the slight pull on the mana in her well. “Our meeting may have been by chance, but I have come to trust you more than other mortals, Laelia. I hope my trust is not misplaced.”

“It is not, my Goddess.”

Laelia’s words ended the pull on her well, seemingly finalising a deal neither of them had truly known was taking place. A moment later, an all-too-familiar silver window materialized in front of Aperio, proclaiming to the world what she had just done.

Rejoice!

The [Church of the All-Mother] has been reborn.

Those who dare challenge her righteous rule will be cleansed.

Why does it sound like I want to conquer the world?

Crusade - Chapter 81: A Step into the Open

"I guess it is official now?" Laelia asked, staring at what Aperio knew was the System notification. "I did not expect it to sound so… aggressive."

"Neither did I," Aperio said with a sigh. "No matter. What is done is done."

"It reads like some of your old announcements, Mother. Really old ones."

Did I go on a conquering spree in the past? Aperio thought, tilting her head slightly to the side. "Are all the messages you get from the System worded like that?"

"No," Laelia replied with a light shake of her head. "Usually it is factual and straight to the point. 'This happened, which is why you get that'."

There came a pause, as though her Scion was turning over a thought in her mind. Before too much could be concluded, she spoke again. "Do you not know what the System shows to everyone?"

"I do not," Aperio replied. "I certainly have the ability to look at them, should I so choose, but there are far too many notifications going on at any one time to properly pay attention to them. I do not personally get many notifications either, as most of what the System is supposed to do simply does not apply to me.”

"You are also the source for most of its rewards," Ferio added. "I am also fairly sure it knows what you want to see and what not but, like so many other things, you've never told me how it works."

Aperio tilted her head to the other side, narrowing her eyes slightly at her daughter's words. The System most certainly did not show her what she wanted to see, otherwise she would know how to use it by now. It only knows how to royally piss me off.

Sometimes she wanted to punch the System itself. It was something she could probably accomplish, one way or another, but she would never seriously entertain the notion as the System was already broken enough as it was. Perhaps that is why it can't tell me what is wrong? Because the part that is supposed to tell me is, itself, broken?

"Something wrong, my Lady?" Laelia asked, taking a step closer as Aperio glanced her way. "I can feel your anger, remember? It is not as pronounced and doesn't affect me anymore, but I still know how you feel."

Aperio shoulders slumped a little as she let out a long sigh. "Do you think it would be disgraceful if the others saw me like this?"

The portal leading to the house of healing was still open, the ability to see and hear from the other side temporarily suspended as Aperio did not want them to witness their conversation.

"Like what? Slightly more approachable?" Ferio asked with a raised eyebrow. "You don't have to try and act like the All-Mother at all times. Just be yourself. I think your followers would appreciate that too, right Laelia?"

Her Scion nodded briefly at the words, seemingly not quite ready to voice her opinion on the matter just yet. Or she is scared of disagreeing with Ferio.

"If I did what I wanted to do, I would be in my Void most of the time," Aperio said. "Or I would wander around the world and explore. Having followers is not something I wanted. Friends, yes, but not people devoted to me simply because I am who I am."

She paused for a moment, reaching out with her mind to ask Caethya to join them. Her disciple deserved to hear what she planned to do just as much as her Scion. Leaving after just having founded a church seems wrong. ...But then, I am also never truly far away.

The portal the young Elf was stepping through was proof that Aperio was not restrained by distance. To the one who made it, the laws of the universe were more like guidelines.

"Yes, my Goddess?" Caethya asked once she had cleared the portal. "Is there something you need of me?"

"I wanted to address Laelia and you at the same time," Aperio replied. "I will be leaving for Procul once Maria is healed. Alone. It is not because you did anything wrong, I simply require a bit of time on my own."

"Your interactions with mortals are rather... volatile. Are you sure you should go alone?" Laelia asked, taking a small step forward. "Not even Ferio will be joining you?"

"She is right, Mother," Ferio agreed. "Just think about what you did to that Human in the dungeon."

She just doesn't want me to leave her, does she? It did fit with Ferio's behaviour. Her daughter had made it quite clear that she wanted to remain at her mother's side, after all. But it's not like I will be gone. "I will still answer your prayers and return should the need arise. But I will not get used to the mortals if I am always treated as a Goddess. Having an entourage at all times does not help with that."

Caethya hesitated for a moment, her eyes wandering over Aperio. "I don't think travelling alone will change the amount of attention you will receive or how the people view you, my Goddess. Your appearance is quite… distracting."

Oh, right. The mana. With a sigh, Aperio reduced the flow from her well, shrinking it back to the slow trickle it had been in the beginning. The wisps gradually returned to her, melting into her skin and joining the flow of mana through her body. What did not change, however, was her height. She was merely taller than her Scion, but she simply towered over everyone else around her. I guess that's permanent, then?

Another thought caused her wings to vanish, the feeling of being less complete settling at the back of her mind. Annoying. Why she even felt that way was just something else she would have to figure out. Her new form would, however, aid in drawing less attention.

"Now I am just a tall Elf with a swordstaff," Aperio said, her weapon settling comfortably in her hand. Her dress slowly shifted as she sped along its repair and alterations. Perhaps add some armour? "Should be fairly normal, no?"

"No, mother," Ferio replied with a sigh. "Nothing about you is normal. If you stick around long enough the mortals will figure out what you are no matter how much you hide it. As blind as they are to the world, they can always spot a divine."

"Truly?"

"Your daughter has a point," Caethya said. "When you speak, I can feel it in my soul. It is hard to describe what it is, but I know you are something more."

Aperio tilted her head. "But you carry a blessing of mine, as does Laelia. Ferio is my daughter. What you all notice of my presence is most definitely not the same as what a mortal would perceive."

"Even when I first met you, you were far from normal. Though that was mostly because you had just fought a Demon without any weapon." Laelia's words brought back the memory of the awful spider-bear thing she had battled in what she now knew to be the Eternal Forest. She knew such creatures were wrong, and that even the other Gods hated them, but was still no closer to knowing what they were. Nor have I seen one since…

"But did you know in your soul that I was a Goddess? The All-Mother?"

"No," her Scion relented, "I did not. I mean no offense, but I still believe your understanding of us is… lacking."

Aperio waved off the woman's concern. "It's fine. I prefer it if you speak your minds. Having everyone scared and groveling all the time is annoying. I do not want to hurt anyone, nor do I wish anyone to worship me simply because that is somehow expected."

"Is that why you want to go on your own, mother?" Ferio asked, closing the distance that separated them. An apology echoed through Aperio's mind as her daughter wrapped her arms around her, causing the All-Mother to let her weapon vanish back into the void. The incoherent flood of thoughts from Ferio was not something the All-Mother had expected, especially not in front of mortals.

With a thought, her wings returned to their rightful place, spreading out behind her briefly as a counterbalance before she folded them against her back. Much better. Very carefully she embraced her daughter and returned the hug. "Why are you apologising? You did nothing wrong."

Ferio did not respond, only hugging her mother tighter. Caethya and Laelia stood there for a moment, seemingly not quite sure what to do at the rather ungodly display in front of them.

The All-Mother did not mind. She might not understand why Ferio was doing what she was, but Aperio still appreciated the fact that her daughter was willing to display emotion in front of her and mortals; thus far it had only ever been one of the two.

"I just need some space. If you need me you can still reach me," Aperio said, shifting her gaze onto her followers. "The same is true for you. Just pray to me and I will come." It’s not as though distance means anything.

"What about your church, my Goddess?" Laelia asked, vaguely gesturing towards the still-open portal. "I have no doubts that many people will want to join, but I do not know what I should tell them. Unlike Vigil, you have no list of commandments. None that I know of, at least."

Aperio had no answer. She had never wanted a church, but that was now irrelevant as she had made one anyway. Better than having the mortals blindly attempt to interpret what my words actually mean, though.

"You are correct, I do not have anything like that," Aperio replied, gently stroking the back of her daughter's head. What happened to her?

Holding Ferio just a little tighter, Aperio returned her attention to Laelia. "How does a mortal choose whom to follow, anyway?"

"Whoever is most relevant to us," Caethya answered. "For myself, it was Mayeia at first, but after I found you I knew you were the one."

"But why? They can follow me, yes, but I do not give anything in return," Aperio said, pausing for a moment before she quickly added, "You and Laelia are the exceptions. You were both blessed, but I would also like to consider you friends, not followers."

Neither of them seemed to have expected what she said, if she went by the rather confused looks on their faces. I guess a Goddess doesn't declare mortals friends that often? Her thoughts were interrupted as Ferio tried to separate herself from the prolonged embrace, only able to do so after Aperio let go.

"I'm sorry," the Goddess of Life and Light mumbled. "I am just not ready to let you go again."

"Again?" Laelia mumbled to herself, fixing her eyes on the All-Mother a moment later. "Is there something we should know?"

Aperio could only sigh at the question. "There is. But I am not sure if I am ready to share it quite yet."

Caethya's eyes darted between the floor and the All-Mother, the young Elf obviously wanting to say something but not quite sure what. Or scared to do so. "Yes, Caethya?"

"Is it why you were so angry at Vigil and Inanis?" her disciple asked, her voice barely a whisper. "And with the dungeon core you destroyed?"

"They were responsible. Partially, at least," Aperio replied. "The cores are a consequence of what they did. I plan to destroy the dungeon the new masters of the Ebenlowe dungeon spoke of next."

"I understand you wish to go alone, my Goddess," Laelia began. "But don't do it just because you feel the need to prove something. You have nothing to prove; you tear apart reality with no effort."

The All-Mother tilted her head slightly in reply, not quite understanding what her Scion was trying to say. "I do not want to prove anything. I simply want time to think."

"Mother was never good at dealing with people," Ferio said with a small smile on her face. "But, perhaps, it is best if she has some time alone that is not in her Void. I don't like it either — probably even less than either of you — but I am starting to think it is for the best."

"Like I said," Aperio interjected, "you can still reach me, and I will come back if it is needed."

Before another word could be spoken, Aperio raised her hand. She had felt the tiny shift in her well that could only have come from one of Maria's failed prayers. So they are ready?

"Maria and her father have come to a decision," Aperio said. "My presence is required. Caethya, if you could please keep an eye on Adam, I would be very thankful."

"Of course, my Goddess," the Elf replied, quickly bowing her head and stepping through the portal leading to the house of healing.

Did I do something wrong? "Have I offended Caethya?"

"I don't think you did," Ferio replied, "but I will check up on her if you wish."

"Thank you." The words were accompanied by a new tear in reality, this one leading to the Terenyk estate. "Are you coming, Laelia?"

Her Scion hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Yes, Aperio."

Crusade - Chapter 82: A Decision Made

Aperio stepped through her portal right behind her Scion, the room they found themselves in not Maria's but the dining hall in which they had first met the Lord of the house. Even the same servants were present.

Food had once more been prepared and served, the smells of dishes Aperio did not know tickling her vastly enhanced nose. Despite the presence of the meals, she still felt no need or true desire to eat any of it. It was simply curiosity, wanting to know what the colourful dishes would taste like. That will have to wait, though. The reason she had come here was not food, but to hear the decision Maria had made.

The girl in question was sitting next to her father at the head of the long table. Her eyes were cast to the floor and her hands tried to continuously straighten her already impeccable dress. The obvious nervousness of her youngest follower caused Aperio to narrow her eyes slightly. She did not believe that Geshton would force his daughter to do anything, but it wasn't beyond the realm of possibility.

"Welcome," Lord Terenyk said, his eyes fixed on the tear in space Aperio had created. "Please be seated."

The All-Mother looked at the wooden chair, the portal closing behind her. She had been able to sit on it last time without breaking it, but the continued changes to her body had made her heavier than before, she knew that.

Aperio's wings vanished as she sat down in the high-backed chair, a touch of her magic flowing through it to ensure it would not break. Having her wings pressed against the chair or somehow draping them over the back of the chair did not appeal to her. While she did not like being without her feathered limbs, at the moment it was the easiest option.

"Thank you," she said, folding her hands in her lap. A small mental nudge told Laelia that she, too, could take a seat, but her Scion remained standing just behind her. "You have come to a decision, Maria?"

As the All-Mother waited for a reply, she focused on Maria's soul, inspecting the tiny orb. The cracks were receding faster than she had previously believed, the continued exposure to the Soul-river's water seemingly compounding its effectiveness. At least some good news.

"I want your help," Maria finally mumbled. "I don't want to go back to being alone all day. I want to learn what I can do."

Geshton grit his teeth at his daughter's words, the choice she had made not to his liking. Still, he remained quiet, possibly knowing that Aperio would ignore what he had to say.

She did not want to dismiss him as a bystander, but it was a question about Maria's future. Something Aperio fiercely believed should be decided by the person themself; not anyone else.

"If you want to learn what you can do, I think Caethya would be a good teacher. She is like you, after all." That Aperio considered herself a terrible teacher was left unsaid. "Brenia might join too, if Laelia finds it agreeable."

She couldn't quite pin down why just yet, but her Scion’s adopted daughter felt different to the other Humans she had met thus far. It wasn't simply because Brenia was unafraid of her, but something more indistinct and weighty seemed to nudge Aperio to believe that the girl would be different.

"If she wishes to, Brenia is free to join," Laelia said, then resumed her silent vigil behind the All-Mother.

Maria's eyes practically sparkled at the mention of Brenia, seemingly quite eager to see the other girl again. Her joy was fleeting however as she lowered her head slightly again. "Father said that training should be here for a while longer."

"That is fine, is it not?" Aperio asked. "I am sure Caethya and Laelia have no problem coming here. As long as Lord Terenyk has nothing against the notion, that is?"

"They are welcome to stay here," Lord Terenyk replied, the man sinking just a little further into his chair. "I can have rooms prepared for you if you wish."

The All-Mother waited for her Scion to reply, the question not one she could answer. A small mental nudge caused Laelia to realise her Goddess would not make the decisions for her.

"A room will not be necessary," Laelia said. "At least for me. I already have a home for my family and myself."

"I will ask Caethya if she wishes to take your offer, Lord Terenyk." Aperio paused briefly, tilting her head as she focused on her disciple to ask her if she would like to teach Maria and live in the estate.

The reply was a string of confused emotions, resolving in the young Elf's agreement, and an additional note that the pain from Aperio's mental message was not as severe as before. How easily Caethya had agreed to teaching Maria and living with her did not sit quite right with the winged Goddess, however. I should have asked her before.

"Caethya has agreed to teach Maria and will also accept her offer," Aperio said, tilting her head to the other side as a prayer from Caethya reached her. She wants me to ask if she can teach Adam here as well?

It was probably a good idea; the poor Human would need time to adapt and a safe place to stay was surely going to help. "Would it be all right if Caethya brings someone else to live here? He is new here, and will need some time to adapt."

"I will have another room prepared for him," Lord Terenyk said after a moment of silence, signing something to one of the servants who promptly left. The fact that Aperio had gotten an answer from her disciple without leaving seemed to be of no concern. He does know that I am a Goddess, after all.

Silence settled over the room after Geshton spoke, some of the servants shifting around, obviously uncomfortable. Aperio couldn't blame them. They were stuck in a room with their Lord and a Goddess that could wipe them out with a thought. Do they know that? …Was Ferio right?

A part deep inside her liked their fear; knew that it was right. Her conscious mind, however, rejected the idea. She did not want to be the harbinger of death, she wanted to be herself. Just a normal Elf. Her initial goal had fallen to the wayside after she had retrieved her first set of memories and subsequently removed Vigil and Inanis from the picture. Not that it changed much.

"Is there anything else you wish to speak about, Lord Terenyk?" Aperio inquired, breaking the silence.

The man remained silent at the question, his eyes fixed on the All-Mother and his hands gripping the fabric of his pants tightly. Maria on the other hand slowly raised her hand, trying to get Aperio's attention.

"Yes?" Aperio asked, shifting her gaze to the little girl.

"Where did your wings go?"

The question was not something Aperio had expected. The answer was pretty simple, she simply willed her wings out of existence. At least I think so. When she hid her wings, they were replaced with a slight pain below her shoulder blades. It was more of a companion to the incompleteness she felt.

"Nowhere," she replied. "They simply cease to be should I want them to."

The girl's eyes widened a little at her words, the idea of simply removing a part of oneself without a doubt quite a foreign idea for her. For Aperio it was not, a fact that only served to underline the words of Diskrye. Perhaps I should try to change something else?

"Does it hurt?" Maria asked, her eyes straining as she looked just past Aperio to where her wings were supposed to be. "And where did the wisps go?"

A small smile tugged on Aperio's lips at the questions of her youngest follower. The thirst for knowledge was something she herself felt more often than not. Just that I don't get answers. "It does not hurt, but I feel incomplete without my wings. The wisps were simply a physical manifestation of my mana. Something I have been told is rather intimidating and therefore I have stopped for the moment."

Geshton swallowed slightly at the mention of the wisps, the man likely far more knowledgeable about the amount of power one needed to use to have raw mana floating around them. I really need to figure out what counts as normal.

"Can I do that too?" Maria asked, ignoring her increasingly nervous father and mumbling the next words to herself. "I want to have wispy friends."

"The mana would be yours, Maria. It is not truly alive." Aperio wasn't quite as sure of her words as she would like to be, but she knew that her mana, and by extent everyone else's, wasn't alive. It reacted to emotions, yes, but it did not feel on its own. She knew that. Unless a part of my instincts are also missing…

It did, however, raise another question. One that Aperio would very much like an answer to but did not even know where to begin. What even is mana?

Maria lowered her head at the revelation. "But why did they play with Brenia and me, then?" As soon as her words had left her mouth, she raised her head again, a new sparkle in her eyes. "You played with us!"

Aperio nodded at the girl's declaration, her smile growing bigger as she heard the suppressed giggle of her Scion. Laelia quickly cleared her throat in an effort to mask the slip-up, but Aperio had heard it.

A small mental nudge directed at her Scion let the Human know that it was okay, that she did not expect her to remain formal at all times. Wished for her to act normally, even.

The slight twitch of Laelia's brow did also not go unnoticed by the All-Mother. A reminder that despite her mental communication being less strenuous on the mortals she talked to, it still caused them pain.

"I did," Aperio replied, her reaction and message to her Scion barely having lasted for a breath. "I had thought you and Brenia might enjoy it."

"I want to see Brenia again," Maria said, shifting her gaze to her father. "Please."

Lord Terenyk loosened his grip on the fabric of his trousers a little at his daughter's attention, taking a breath that was deeper than usual before he replied. "I already gave my permission, it is up to your friend to decide."

"Can we ask her now?" Maria asked, practically bouncing in her chair.

"I am afraid she will be busy in the coming hours," Laelia replied, this time without prompting from Aperio. "I will make sure a reply is sent here by the end of the day."

The girl nodded her reply, obviously unhappy that she had to wait but understanding of it nonetheless. Lord Terenyk also took the chance to stand up and gesture at the table in front of him. "If there is nothing more to discuss, you are welcome to try anything you like."

"I appreciate the offer, but I will decline," Aperio said. "Perhaps you would like to try something, Laelia?"

The All-Mother could hear the slightly faster beat of her Scion's heart, could sense her shift ever-so-slightly at the attention. Does she not like attention, or does she still think I expect her to simply serve me?

"I am not hungry," Laelia replied, bowing her head slightly. "Thank you for the offer, however."

Aperio did not correct her Scion for addressing her and not the Lord of the house, the statement clear enough as it was. She just needs time, Aperio told herself. You are not her new master. The fact that Laelia continued to behave like she was some sort of glorified servant was starting to grate on her. She had told her Scion that she was free to do as she wished, the woman even being somewhat casual with her as she had declared her the head of her church. But now she is back to servant Laelia. Why?

With a slight shake, the All-Mother pushed the thought from her mind and stood up, her wings appearing in their rightful place once more. So much better. After a small stretch of her feathered limbs Aperio turned to leave, a tiny flex of her mental muscle pushing the chair back in its correct place.

"If there is something you need, do not hesitate to ask," Aperio said. "Should I not be available you are free to ask Laelia, she is my Scion and head of the church." A small mental query also informed Laelia that should she not wish to be a liaison, she would not have to be one.

"Do you know of Penbrook's house of healing, Lord Terenyk?" Laelia asked, stepping past her Goddess.

"I do not, no," Geshton replied, motioning for one of the servants. "But we do have a map."

Aperio left the two Humans alone. Looking up a route they could reliably take was not something she could help much with. Perhaps I can teach Laelia or Caethya how to make a portal? The idea was dismissed as quickly as it had formed. Neither of her two followers would be strong enough to tear apart the threads of reality yet. Even if Laelia can see them.

A small tug in her dress caused Aperio to look down. She had sensed Maria's approach but had thought it best not to appear omniscient. Knowing where everyone is and treating it as normal will probably also scare the mortals. "Yes?"

The girl wrung her hands as she tried to ask the question that was undoubtedly on her mind. Why Maria was so shy now was not something Aperio knew or liked, leading her to very gently pick her youngest follower up. After ruffling the girl's hair a little, the All-Mother turned her attention back to the table packed with food.

"Is there anything I should try before I leave?"

Crusade - Chapter 83: Best Served Cold

Aperio looked at the pastry Maria had pointed out. The small, golden squares looked fairly unassuming; just another treat. If she would have been her old self, she would have stuffed herself with the food present, everything in front of her a delicacy reserved for her former masters. Now, though, it was just a thing, neither her body nor her mind yearning for the food.

A touch of her magic brought two of the pastries to her hand, one of which she quickly passed to the girl in her arms. Maria happily took the pastry, immediately eating it. It felt cold in her hand, a quick glance at the plate through her aura confirming that a tiny bit of mana was coursing through it. Neat.

Aperio had to actively stop herself from frowning at the sounds she heard, the mortal body continuing to surprise her with the disgusting noises it could produce. "And what is this?"

"Berrelem!" the girl exclaimed, as if the name alone would answer everything.

"I am not familiar with a pastry of that name. Where is it from?"

Maria furrowed her brows as she tried to answer the question of her Goddess, a task that was seemingly not quite within her grasp. One of the servants noticed her predicament and, after hesitating for a moment, stepped closer to the Goddess and the girl.

"It hails from a city with the same name on Spicor, my Lady," the servant said, polity bowing even though Aperio had her back turned to him. "In essence it is a small cake filled with various fruits or berries. It is said that Elves find it particularly delightful due to the magical nature of most of its ingredients."

"Thank you," Aperio said as she turned around to face the servant. "But you do not have to bow before addressing me."

The man did not reply, instead moving away as fast as he could without appearing to be improper. I am not scary. The smile that still remained on her face after Maria's antics vanished with the thought, and as a result when the servant looked back and saw that the Goddess was no longer as happy as before, he hastened his departure. They are just scaring themselves at this point.

Aperio had done nothing but turn around and face him, all while holding Maria in one arm and having a small pastry in her other. Flee from the dessert demon!

The All-Mother chuckled at the thought, humour probably her best choice to deal with the issue. After a slight shake of her head, the small pastry vanished into her mouth.

There was no explosion of taste or even a note of happiness as she ate the piece of food. Aperio could pick out the flavours and texture of the berrelem, but there was simply no joy in consuming it. Is there even a food I will enjoy?

Perhaps not needing to eat also took away the pleasure she usually felt at having a meal. Or I was only happy for food because it was the first meal in days…

Aperio let out another sigh as she turned back to face the table. "I think I have had enough."

"But you only had one?" Maria asked, looking at her Goddess with lightly creased brows. "Did you not like it?"

"It tastes fine; I simply do not find much enjoyment in food anymore," the All-Mother replied, letting her eyes wander over the assorted foods. "I do not need to eat, either."

"What do you like?"

Aperio tilted her head ever-so-slightly at the question. "I enjoy being with my friends, using my magic. Exploring. Nothing truly extraordinary." Makes it even weirder that everyone is so scared…

The girl shifted a little in the arms of her Goddess, trying to get a better view of her. Maria's eyes wandered over Aperio's face, seemingly trying to find something off. "Do you like to create?"

"I do," Aperio replied, gesturing with her free hand to her dress. "I made most of this. Though, it is not quite done yet." Still feels inadequate. Maybe I really should add some armour?

"Is that why it's so soft?" Maria asked.

"Perhaps. It is weaved with thread made of my mana. I do not know how it would feel to a mortal." Something I should have probably thought about before.

Her mana was vastly different from that of mortals, and even other deities. Assuming that it would not do something to mortals was probably a foolish idea. Does that count for my feathers, too?

She had given Brenia one, a part of herself. Aperio had not given it much thought at the time, just a simple gesture that might make a child happy. Now though, the All-Mother had some second thoughts. If something made from her mana might already hold special properties, what would a piece of herself do?

"Can you make me one too?" Maria asked, taking the winged Goddess from her thoughts.

"Once you are a bit older, perhaps," Aperio replied, very gently ruffling the girl's hair again. "I also have quite a lot to do right now. As soon as Laelia and your father are done, I will have to leave."

"I thought a Goddess can do what she wants," the girl pouted.

"There is nobody forcing me to do something if you mean that," Aperio said. "But there is also nobody else who could do it."

Maria leaned a little closer at the words, lowering her voice as she spoke. "Do you have to remove more Gods?"

"No," Aperio replied, her voice equally quiet. "I have to remember."

Laelia turned ever-so-slightly at her words — despite her voice being barely a whisper, her Scion had obviously heard what she had said. Aperio simply let out an almost silent sigh. For reasons not quite clear to her, she found it easier to tell Maria of her troubles than someone who might actually be able to help.

"Remember what?" Maria asked, quite eager to find out what the All-Mother might have forgotten.

"Quite a few things; none of which should be discussed openly." While she might be fine telling Maria of her rather rampant memory loss, the same was not true for everyone else in the room. Laelia was, of course, the exception. "I have been gone for a long while, after all."

"But, don't you know everything?"

Aperio stifled a laugh at the words of her youngest follower. The notion of someone truly knowing everything was quite silly to the All-Mother herself. Even the System that was omnipresent on Verenier — part of every living being — did not reach every world that existed. The only one that could, potentially, know everything likely was herself, but she had no desire to, nor did Aperio think it was entirely possible.

"Nobody knows everything, Maria," Aperio replied, very carefully poking the girl’s head. "Just like nobody is truly omnipotent. I cannot make a stone that is too heavy for me to lift, for example." Unless I don't count my magic as 'lifting'.

The girl frowned at her Goddess' reply but did not push further, likely knowing that Aperio would not be forthcoming with more information. Neither would she get a chance as Laelia and Geshton moved away from the map, causing Aperio to turn around and face them.

"You have finished?"

"Yes," Laelia replied. "Finding a route that satisfied Lord Terenyk's requirement for both secrecy and defensibility was harder than I thought."

"The Gods responsible might be gone," Geshton said, "but that doesn't mean the people who followed them will lay down their arms. I expect a war to come soon."

"A war for what?" Aperio asked.

"Revenge for the murder of their Gods, of course," Lord Terenyk replied. "I do not know how a divine feels about such things, but most mortals won't take it lying down.

"Some will be thankful, of course," he continued, folding the map and handing it to a waiting servant. "Vigil, Inanis, and Natio were all in favour of slavery—"

Further words were cut off by a surge of Aperio's aura. The pulse cracked the stone beneath her feet, and tiny arcs of mana danced across the feathers of her flared wings. "You are telling me that slavers will start a war to bring back the traitors? Enslave more?!"

Nobody responded to her question. A few of the servants had been knocked unconscious by the brief flare of Aperio's aura, their stronger colleagues already tending to them. The All-Mother paid them little mind as she narrowed her eyes at the Lord of the house, the confidence he had displayed just moments before melting away with each breath he took.

"Let them come — I will kill them all." Her last words were laced with far more of her power than usual, forcing Lord Terenyk to his knees and causing Laelia to take a slight step back.

A small hand on her cheek caused the arcs dancing across her wings to cease and Aperio to look down at the girl in her arms. Maria did not seem to be affected by either her voice or the flare of her aura, the girl's eyes darting from side to side as she tried to figure out what had upset her Goddess as much as it did.

"You hate them, don't you?" Laelia asked, her question attracting the gaze of her Goddess. "Vigil. Inanis. Everyone who enslaves. Why? Isn't everyone more bound to your will than you theirs?"

The All-Mother did not reply. Instead, Aperio closed her eyes and let a sliver of her Void flow around her, the soothing touch of the nothing doing more to calm her than a breath ever could. Being compared to slaving scum — even in passing — caused every fiber of her being to want to smite the heretic who had done so.

Despite her power, she had done her best to not force her will on mortals; even when she wanted to. She had taken every chance she could to remind everyone that they were free to go — to choose what they wanted to do.

Even the times she inadvertently influenced someone's life, Aperio had tried to right the wrong she had brought. That she blessed Maria and Caethya in the way she had still vexed her; would give her sleepless nights if her body still had need for them.

Aperio took a breath of the nothing flowing from her Void and opened her eyes, a small fraction of her mind making sure the emptiness steered clear of Maria.

"You cannot begin to understand how much I despise them. How much the mere idea that someone might support such a thing grates on my soul." If I even have one.

"Is this why you came back?" Maria asked, removing her hand from the Goddess' cheek.

"It is a consequence more so than the reason," Aperio replied, shifting her weight to the other leg as a small flex of her mental muscles repaired the floor she had broken and another, tiny, part of her mind checked up on every mortal in the room. "There is a lot you do not know."

Luckily, her outburst had not seriously harmed anyone present. The servants that had fallen to the ground only had slight bruises that the tiniest touch of her magic healed in a breath. That it had even happened was of course not good, her lack of control over her own emotions a flaw she would like to eradicate just as she had both Vigil and Inanis.

"No matter," Aperio continued, cutting any further questions short. "What we have come for is done and I have other things to take care of. Preparing for a war, apparently, if Lord Terenyk is correct."

With her words, a portal formed in front of the door that would usually lead into the hallway beyond. Very gently, Aperio set down her youngest follower, spreading her wings for balance as she lowered herself to meet Maria's eyes. "If you need my help, pray. If I do not reply, ask Caethya to ask for you, alright?"

Despite responding with a decisive nod, the worry in Maria's eyes never vanished. That the girl cared was nice, in a way, but also brought a sense of unease to Aperio's mind. She very much wanted that her friends cared, but neither did she want to be their cause of worry. A burden. It only lasted for a moment, however, as Aperio stood back up to her full height and Maria quickly made her way to her father.

Laelia said a few words to Lord Terenyk that Aperio did not understand, the language of the Humans still not something she had learned, before she stepped away to wait for her Goddess in front of the portal.

The All-Mother narrowed her eyes slightly as she shifted her gaze between the two Humans, not quite sure if she should start worrying about the loyalty of her Scion or not. Despite knowing that it was unlikely, the tiny voice in the back of her head would not be quiet, constantly reminding her that Laelia was a mortal — was flawed.

I really need that book, Aperio thought with a slight shake of her head. A single step closed the distance between herself and the portal, the casual display of her magic not scaring the people present as it had Adam. A few of the servants gave the tear in reality some worried looks, but none of them seemed particularly concerned about her tiny bit of teleportation. Perhaps there is a skill for that?

Laelia needed no prompting to step through the portal, offering a slight bow before she did so. Aperio simply offered a small wave to Maria before leaving herself, the portal closing behind her.

Before anyone in the small room in the house of healing could speak, Aperio raised her hand. "Caethya, do you have the book on the Human language?"

"Yes," she replied, quickly producing a thick, leather-bound book from a black rift that had opened in front of her.

An unneeded flick of Aperio's wrist let the book appear in her hand, a part of her mind immediately dedicating itself to not accidentally breaking it. "Thank you."

Very carefully, the All-Mother leafed through the freshly acquired book, tilting her head ever-so-slightly at the rather simple drawings of various species talking to each other with little bubbles above their heads. Not wanting to start learning the language right then and there, Aperio shut the book and let it vanish into her Void.

"Do you plan on telling us what exactly is going on, Aperio?" Laelia asked, letting herself fall into a free chair.

When she's around people she knows, her confidence is back. The All-Mother did not count Adam, the Human seemingly not bothering her Scion or anyone else. Except me…

That he had fallen out of a literal hole in reality did not sit well with her, especially since she knew that her System had made it. Just not why it had done so.

"I do wish to tell you," Aperio finally replied. "But neither do I know how to do so nor has there been time in which to reflect upon the matter. If you want to leave, you are free to do so. I think I have made it abundantly clear how I stand on free will."

"You did. But..." Laelia sighed, her voice trailing off as she simply stared at the All-Mother for a moment, unable to find the words that would reflect her thoughts.

"You have to understand that you aren't alone, Mother," Ferio said as Laelia continued to remain quiet. "I have told you countless times already, but you continue to march ahead on your own. I know how this feels and I know that it is not the way. Cannot be the way."

"I was alone during much worse than this," Aperio snapped, focusing on her daughter. "You know nothing."

Despite being shown the care she had longed for, she could hear the voice at the back of her mind growing ever louder at the audacity of everyone around her. How could they belittle her? Assume she needed help? She was the Creator of everything! She made their puny lives possible. How dare they assume they knew how she felt?! Knew anything?

"You weren't there," Aperio said, her voice filling every corner of the room, the mana imbued in it causing the crystal lights to shine bright for a moment before they shattered.

"You waited. Unacting. Hoping that time would solve your problem." A tear in the fabric of reality widened with each word the All-Mother spoke, the blinding white light that shone within casting the room in apparent darkness with its brilliance.

"Behold what waiting got you," Aperio began. Tiny bands of the white light started to flow from the rift, wrapping themselves around their mistress. "What betrayal made me."

Her weapon settled comfortably into her waiting hand. Around her hips, waist, chest, collarbones and shoulders coiled multiple strips of bright white, and as the seconds passed they settled into loops. Their brightness dimmed to a shining silver as the separate armoured bands came into being to protect her entire torso, from hip to shoulder joints.

Aperio did not know — nor care — how she formed the armour or why she had bothered. All she wanted was to show her daughter what her time as a slave had taught her. No connections — no weakness.

"You did not raise Gods only for them to betray you; cast you down to life as a slave!" She spat the words, the mortals in the room visibly recoiling as the mana washed over them. "None of you know my pain."

With a quiet clank, the last of her mana-forged armour set itself into place, wings spreading behind the All-Mother as the light from the tear flooded the room and turned the world an all-consuming, blinding white. A few last words echoed through the room as Aperio vanished, a few of her feathers slowly drifting towards the ground.

"None of you will stop me from exacting my revenge."

Crusade - Chapter 84: Turning Point

Aperio let herself fall through the white nothing. While she was not certain what this place was, she knew it was just as much hers as her Void, its warm touch just as calming to her mind as her Void's cold, black emptiness. And my weapon came from here. And armour, too, now, I suppose.

There was one very important distinction between the two spaces, however. Her Void, in its usual state, was cut off from the world. It was isolated, protecting and cleansing the souls of the mortals that died. This white abyss was not divorced from the world.

Aperio could feel her aura pierce the thin veil that separated her from the outside, her senses spreading further than they normally would without her focus. She could see the group she had left behind, talking to one another. Could see the [Grandmaster] pace rapidly in front of her desk as she read a note that bore the sigil of the Terenyk family. She could even see Roots — the tree somehow looking back at her with an invisible smile on its nonexistent face.

There was something else the All-Mother could see, however. The extra drop that had caused her emotions to overflow and her to finally tell her closest companions what had happened to her. Aperio could see the armies, just like Lord Terenyk had said, marching from cities and countries she did not know towards Ebenlowe. She simply knew it was their destination.

A part of her regretted what she had said; that she had openly announced her life as a slave. Her failure. Seeing the people march on the city that was rapidly becoming her new home extinguished those thoughts.

She would have to tell the world sooner or later regardless, now that her secret was finally out. Of course, she would have to apologise for her outburst, but she simply had had to speak her mind. The anger still flowed through her, the tiny voice at the back of her mind continuously yelling that she should show them the pain she had to live through.

That idea was rejected immediately. Aperio might have been angry, but she would never force her will, or her physical self, on someone. All she wanted was to live her life in peace, but to do that she would have to stop people from marching on the city she wanted to call home — would need to force her will on the mortals despite her wish not to do so.

Were they not slavers, Aperio might have considered something else. But once someone disregarded the life of others in a way she had always considered worse than death, they lost the last bit of good will the All-Mother might have extended.

A thought was all she needed to pierce the veil of the white abyss and appear far above one of the masses of people marching towards Ebenlowe. Her wings spread behind her, keeping her in the air with lazy beats as she directed her gaze at the people below.

While at first she had assumed it to be an army of angry mortals, Aperio now saw with horror that they had people in chains in their midst, branded with markings she knew all too well. The slaves were forced to draw carts filled with equipment and food — all of which was undoubtedly something they themselves would never get to use.

The All-Mother gripped her weapon a little tighter, drawing on her well again. She could kill them all — wanted to — and they would be unable to stop her. It would only take a thought to burn them all; to stop them from defiling her creation with their presence.

Her anger caused her mana to arc across her skin and feathers, leaving silver trails in the air. A few of the mortals below began to notice her, undoubtedly feeling the change in her aura. They started to shout, pointing in her direction even though Aperio was sure she was nothing more than a tiny dot to their eyes. Or they somehow can see as far as I can.

She doubted that as she was only able to make out the details of the people below her through her aura, the distance too great even for her eyes. Maybe they can tell where the source of an aura is? Aperio thought, before she shook her head. It doesn't matter.

Aperio stopped beating her wings, tilting herself forwards and folding them close to herself as she dove down. The air rushed past her, pressing itself and her dress against her body and sending her hair whipping behind her. The mounting pressure did not bother her, nor did the deafening crack that echoed through the air as she sped herself up with a small flex of her mental muscles.

A toothy grin spread across her face as she sensed the mortals panic; felt their hearts beat faster and breath quicken. They feared her — knew that they were powerless — and she enjoyed it. They would not force their will upon anyone, especially not her. She would strike them down just as she had done with their traitorous Gods.

Aperio tightened the grip on her weapon as she increased her speed yet again. The army below was the object of her anger, but she would still offer them a chance. Much like the followers of Natio and Vigil that had marched on the house of healing, she would let the people themselves decide their own fate.

Keyno ignored the commotion that started around him, instead pulling the cart further along the gravel road. Of course he had felt the change, how could he not? The cold crept into his bones, the pressure making his already laboured breath even harder. But he also knew that if he stopped his work the pain would be worse.

He, like most around him, spared a quick glance upwards, trying to spot what their handlers were shouting about, but was unable to see anything. What he had no problem noticing was the deafening crack that washed over him, the noise leaving his ears ringing.

Keyno felt a pressure settle onto his mind, followed by a burning pain spreading across his back where his [Mark of Servitude] had been etched into his skin. The shouts and cracked whips of his handlers did nothing to spur Keybo on, and neither were they necessary, as his body resumed its task without his input. Not being in control did not mean he could not feel the ropes cutting into his skin, it only meant that his wounds would be worse as neither the magic nor his Lord cared how he felt — just that he did what he was told.

When he had gotten the message that Vigil had died, there had been a sliver of hope that the cursed magic keeping him chained to his Lord would fade. That notion was quickly squashed, however, as the mark on his back was as dark and scarred as it had ever been and he was soon ordered to pull this carriage. Bidden, and forced to obey, his participation in a war his Lord wanted to start against something that could kill Gods would also, no doubt, result in his own death.

He did not have a choice, and he was long past the ability to care. Keyno had accepted his place in the world long ago, his only chance at freedom a change of mind from his Lord or divine intervention that, while more likely now, was probably not going to come. Hoping would only lead to more pain, and Keyno did not want more pain. All he wanted was to do his duty well enough to earn some food and a good night's rest.

That chance was taken from him as the coldness that had started to seep into his very being turned into a sharp pain that pressed on his mind, quickly followed by something impacting the ground in front of his Lord's army with such speed that it sent him, and quite a few of his fellow slaves, flying into the cart they were supposed to pull.

Keyno groaned as he slowly removed himself from the sacks of armour and provisions, wincing slightly as he tried to put weight on his arm only for it to give under him. It only lasted for a moment, however, as a pleasant warmth began spreading through him, one that quickly removed the pain and coldness from his bones.

He had no time to take in the pleasant feeling of the healing magic as it turned into a scorching heat as soon as it reached his back. Keyno knew better than to scream as he grit his teeth and continued his climb out of the wagon. Why his Lord decided to waste his precious healers on him, he did not know, but he would not waste the goodwill shown.

The first thing he saw once he had finally managed to free himself of the sacks and errant pieces of armour were the people strewn across the ground. Whatever had fallen from the sky had done more than simply knock over a few slaves, seemingly impacting the others even more than those as low as himself.

How?

The thought quickly vanished from his mind as his eyes stopped on what appeared to be a winged Elf standing in front of his Lord's army at the edge of a crater he was sure had not been there before. Silver lightning danced across her skin and flared wings, the weapon in her hand brimming with a power he did not recognize but could nonetheless feel. Every time it moved even the tiniest bit, Keyno thought he could catch a glimpse of something beyond. Death.

"Your Gods are dead," the woman announced, her voice slamming into him like her earlier landing. "Free the slaves and leave, or die."

Keyno averted his eyes at her words, knowing that his Lord would never part from his prized slaves. He could already feel the mark on his back burn itself deeper into his flesh, the searing heat the fore-bearer of a command he would have to carry out no matter what.

Before he went to actually carry out the orders he was sure would come, Keyno looked over his shoulder as he picked up a fallen sack of provisions, trying to catch a glimpse of the Elven woman once more.

Whatever deity she served had given her more power than he had ever felt, but standing against an army seemed foolish to him. Especially so when he considered that his Lord was blessed by Epemirial herself. The Goddess of Duty and Loss might have odd Domains, but was still considered one of the stronger deities.

Lord Jinto Sheltan could feel the presence of his Goddess. Epemirial was watching, the stranger that had attacked his army seemingly extraordinary enough to warrant her attention.

He had to admit that her entry was quite grand and the power flowing from her was nothing to scoff at, but he still trusted in the gift of his Goddess. His hand closed around the small black and white pendant he had had been given by Epemirial herself, the comforting warmth of her power giving him the resolve he needed.

Some of the like-minded Gods may have fallen, but he knew his Goddess was stronger than they had been. She had played them, letting the naive deities take the fall for her. Jinto's family had long been the instruments of Epemirial's desire, and he knew all that and more.

"Stand up, soldiers!" he shouted, moving his hands away from the pendant so that he might manipulate his [Slaver's Bracelet] to get his property to move. "Don't let a bit of magic deter you! Epemirial is watching!"

The men and women in his army quickly got to their feet, some shouting while others banged their weapons against their shields. He himself grabbed the sword by his side, an heirloom long passed down his family line.

The blade, too, had been a gift from Epemirial from ages past. Only one in his line could wield it and they would be the rightful ruler of the house — the only one that could make new [Eternal Slaves]. Jinto caressed the blade as he set his eyes on the woman that dared bar their way, the ancient runes engraved upon the metal glowing a faint yellow at his touch. You will make a fine addition.

"Death it is," the winged Elf declared, breaking the ground as she disappeared with another crack.

Lord Sheltan had no trouble telling where she had gone, the screams of his men quickly echoing across the field as they were ripped apart by the Elf. No matter, he thought to himself. They're expendable. His plan would work whether they were alive or dead.

What did cause him worry, however, was the fact that his slaves had not yet performed the task he had ordered them to. His bracelet had taken his mana and indicated that the command had been conveyed, but his slaves were still helping each other up and meekly putting his provisions back into the carts.

His advisers had told him that they were facing someone vehemently opposed to slavery; that whoever they sent had a way to disable the [Mark of Servitude] was a possibility. He had not truly expected that to be the case but, in the end, it also did not matter.

The Elf might be able to slice his army apart, throw his soldiers like dolls or burn them, but she would be powerless in the face of a true Goddess.

Jinto grabbed the pendant and ripped it from his neck as a wave of mana washed over the battlefield. He watched with wide eyes as his slaves simply vanished, leaving only himself and his soldiers. Less bodies was bad, but the plan would still work.

He poured every bit of mana he could into the pendant, his eyes never leaving the winged fury that had started to rip orbs of light from his soldiers. A shiver ran down his spine every time she plucked a shining sphere from one of his men. He knew without a doubt that whatever she was doing to his servants was a vile magic. It won't matter.

Clasping the by now scorchingly hot pendant to his chest, Lord Jinto Sheltan lowered himself to his knees. Even when the Elf appeared in front of him, stopping him from completing the motion as her hand burrowed into his chest, he did not stop his silent prayer. Even when he could see his body fall limp, the pendant floating above his corpse, he did not stop.

Only when the pendant flashed with magic, and his almost frenzied need to complete his chant vanished, did he realize he was firmly held in the hand of Death and his prayer ceased. What was left of his mind began tearing itself apart as it tried to make sense of what had happened. A quiet chime that came from everywhere and nowhere dragged the last remains of his attention to the notification that appeared before his eyeless self.

You have died. Your sacrifice has been accepted.

Crusade - Chapter 85: Heart of Creation

Aperio creased her brows at the flow of the System's magic. What does it want with this soul? All the message said was that he had died and his sacrifice had been accepted. The only problem was that Aperio could not figure out what the sacrifice was for. And who was sacrificed.

Her question was quickly and unpleasantly answered. The lifeless bodies, the ones whose souls she had not directly removed, began to shift and rise. They did not ask questions, perhaps incapable of speech. The corpses only groaned as they looked around and, spotting Aperio, began to advance towards her.

The soul in her hand, too, wanted to return to its body, but the magic drawing on it was far too weak to elicit a response from Aperio. Instead of letting another undead rise, she let the soul of the slaver vanish into her Void, her eyes wandering to the sword that lay next to his limp body.

It glowed in the same faint yellow light she had come to associate with her collar, its mere appearance causing her hand to briefly brush against her neck. Of course her fingers found nothing but unblemished skin, but her mind still somehow thought it should be there.

A wave of her hand caused the newly risen undead to burst into flame, the silver-blue fire sending their souls into her Void. Disgusting. Another thought caused a burst of her fire to rid the world of the sword and its vile yellow light. She knew it had somehow been related to the slaves she had freed, the runes for Servitude and Obedience unmistakable.

While she might have removed their souls, their mortal shells were still there. The smell of burnt corpses tickled her nose, producing a smell Aperio would rather not remember. An unneeded wave of her hand caused a breeze to sweep over the desolate field and crater she had made. For a brief moment, she considered fixing the damage she had done, but decided against it.

She was far from any city or semblance of civilisation, the ones passing through here likely more armies on their way to Ebenlowe. A warning as to what would await them seemed fitting. To that end, she also brought forth the other corpses she still had in her Void — all of which had somehow been related to the insurrection Vigil and Inanis had started. And I don't even know for what.

Aperio sighed as she looked at the death she had wrought. The lack of emotions at the sight of hundreds dead was something that perhaps would have given her pause before, but did not now. The life of mortal slavers did not mean much to her, even if they had only been followers. They could have chosen to leave but they didn’t — instead they followed someone who bound people to him against their will.

She shook her head as she kicked off of the ground and took to the skies. A small mental query informed Laelia of the new arrivals the All-Mother had deposited outside the house of healing. Aperio considered offering an apology for a moment, but could find neither the words nor the courage to speak them. It wasn’t even that the idea felt wrong as it had in the past — that particular feeling seemingly having vanished after her breakdown in the Terenyk estate — but simply that she had no idea how to approach the issue. What she had said was true. She had also meant every word of it.

Why is this so hard? Aperio shook her head at the thought. Having to watch her words and choose for herself what she wanted to do with the mortals that crossed her path was still something new for her, despite all the time she had already spent on Verenier. Ridiculous.

A thought caused the blood that still clung to her form to flow, pushed away by the wind pressing against her. Much easier than using soap. Another touch of her magic also cleaned her weapon, the blade still somehow dirty despite being able to cut through reality itself. How can anything stick if it cuts space itself? …What does it even cut?

With a shake of her head, Aperio stored the swordstaff in her Void. Figuring out how exactly her weapon worked was a task for another time. For now, she wanted to figure out who Epemirial was without having to face her daughter or her followers. While asking them would undoubtedly be the fastest way to answer her question, approaching them at the moment was not something the All-Mother was ready to do.

Focusing on her aura, Aperio let it guide her to the nearest city. She might still be on Vetus, but her trip through the white abyss had taken her a long way from Ebenlowe. She mentally sighed at the prospect of having to hide her wings, but at the moment she did not want to stand out.

To further decrease the stares she would receive, the winged Goddess also lowered the amount of mana she drew from her well again. The wisps that danced around her soon melted back into her body to continue their unending task of improvement.

For a brief moment she considered trying to lower her height a little, but ultimately decided against it. It would likely be painful for her, and she quite liked being able to tower over everyone. Maybe it will also stop the mortals from asking silly questions.

She had been told that she was intimidating, something she very much wanted to take advantage of now. To a degree, at least. Scaring the mortals so much that they would bar her entry was definitely counterproductive, but a taller than average Elf with a weapon, armoured dress, and voice laced with magic should probably be good enough. That one Adventurer did think I was some kind of Elder, perhaps that could work.

As she raced through the air, another thing came to Aperio's mind. A mortal had been in possession of something that could raise the dead. It was a fact that unnerved her. She might not know how common the objects were, and they did not offend the seemingly ever-present primal Creator in her, but she still found the idea of someone being able to raise an army of the dead by simply giving a little bit of mana to an amulet to be deeply disturbing. That it bound the souls of mortals to their dead bodies just furthered her dislike.

But why does it not feel wrong if it binds souls? Aperio thought to herself as she fell into a comfortable rhythm of beating her wings and gliding just below the clouds. Teleporting to the city was certainly an option, but at the moment the All-Mother wanted some time to think. Matters of the soul were a mystery to her that she would like to solve. Anything else that messes with souls feels so wrong.

She could vividly remember the small pendant floating above the corpse of the slaver; how small and unassuming it had been. Just before the magic had been released and the amulet faded into nothing, it had split in two, revealing an inside that reminded her more of a geode than a piece of jewelry.

Aperio did not exactly know how geodes related to magic, but she had seen quite a few of them scattered around the various laboratories she had had to clean... or had been the subject of experimentation in...

She shuddered. That such a small thing could turn a few hundred mortals into shambling corpses was not a good thing. Though, it might've only worked with the sword and the sacrifice of his life …or did the entire army, knowing what might come to pass, willingly agree to return as undead?

Something about that specific idea did not seem quite right. Aperio had a hard time believing anyone would be willing to let themselves be turned into an undead just so they could fight on for their Lord. Or were they also slaves?

She had examined every mortal in the army and transported anyone who had the markings of servitude either etched into their skin or on a piece of equipment they held to Ebenlowe — she had even gone so far as to check the soul of each mortal before fighting them. Did I miss something?

A shake of her head dismissed the thought. She had looked at everything that could have been used to force the mortals to do something they did not want. She had also offered them the choice to leave; an option that nobody took, much to her dismay.

Killing them had been laughably easy. A part of her still enjoyed the fact that she had fought at all, even if the thrill of an actual battle was not present. How would I even know the thrill of battle? She had never been in a real fight; it had always been a one-sided beatdown. And now I am the one that they can't fight against.

All she had done was switch sides, in a way. Fighting with her swordstaff had also been a breeze, the motions almost as easy to perform as moving her wings. The knowledge of how to handle the weapon, how to shift her weight, just how far her reach was had simply been there. Just as she instinctively knew how to fly, she knew how to fight with what she had. Although I had to retrieve my weapon to remember…

With another shake of her head, the All-Mother pushed those thoughts from her mind as well. In the end, it was a good thing that she could recall fragments of her past, even if it required her to use things her old self had created. Her brief excursion through the white abyss had also left its mark on her. She now knew how to get there, but not what it was.

A thought and a small flex of her mental muscles opened a tear in reality that always stayed next to her despite the speed at which she was flying. Letting her senses sweep across the white nothing revealed nothing at first, and the idea that she might find something her old self had made quickly dwindled. That was, until she stumbled across what she could only describe as a temple. A temple she recognised.

It was the very same building Vigil and Inanis had ascended in, the black stone it was made from exactly as she recalled it in her memory. However, neither the silver lines snaking their way across the entirety of the building nor the braziers dotting the walls were active. No blue flames flickered where they had in her memory — none of her mana flowed through now-dull conduits of the building, and not a single soul resided within.

A thought was all the All-Mother needed to appear before her temple; the lines of silver coming alive with her mana as soon as she ran her hand over the closed door.

It felt like home.

Not like the cold comfort of her Void, but the warmth of family and loved ones. A feeling she had not felt in her past life but still could point out without much trouble. This is where I lived?

She could feel the temple thrum with energy, her mana ripping the building from its slumber. At the fringes of her mind, memories she did not know she had crawled into the view of her mind's eye. A young Ferio chasing after a Beastkin clad in red robes with a single black sphere on it, the man nimbly swinging from the branches of Roots-Beneath-All. Though it had no face, the tree was still seemingly happy.

"Roots, Chellien..." Aperio said, somehow knowing the name of the Beastkin despite having never seen him. There was nothing now where she remembered the field of green grass and blue flowers to be. Only pieces of rock floating in the white abyss.

A gentle shove opened the door and Aperio turned her head away from the empty nothing she had been staring at to face the inside of her temple. The hallways quickly filled with light, the blue flames flickering to life as soon as the lines of sliver that connected them all lit up with her mana.

She let her instincts guide her feet. A part of her knew where she wanted to go even though it was her first time setting foot inside the temple. Aperio soaked it all in, every painting that adorned the walls, every little detail that entered her sight.

The further she got, the more seemed off to her. Things were no longer how they should be. The paintings hung slightly ajar, the usually spotless construction showed tiny cracks, and, most importantly, the flow of mana that ran through every wall of her temple felt distorted. Wrong.

Aperio quickened her pace, each step filling her with more and more dread as her mind focused on at the heart of her temple and the feelings of vile disgust it brought to her mind. Soon she was running, ripping holes in the fabric of space and time that should take her where she wanted to go but only ever managing to bring her a dozen steps closer.

Her swordstaff appeared in the All-Mother's hand as she stepped through the final tear she had created and into the heart of her temple. She knew this place. The polished black marble floor, the blue carpets with their silver embroidery — the altar and her throne behind it.

What she could not remember in this place was a crystal easily ten times her size floating in the middle of the room, slowly spinning as the blood red mist inside tried to break free. Every time the mist crashed against the confines of its crystal prison, Aperio felt a wave of disgust roll over her.

The first caused her to flare her wings and draw on her well, the arcs of her mana singeing the air as they danced across her skin. Another led her to grip her swordstaff tighter, more and more of her magic flowing through the weapon.

She knew what that crystal was, what it would try to do. This time there would be no talking; she would take back what was hers. Another wave of vile magic rolled off the crystal and washed over the All-Mother. Aperio let out a scream as she kicked off of the ground and beat her wings, throwing herself at the crystal to end its existence.

The stone and metal chairs, tables, and benches that were dotted around the room were thrown into the walls as Aperio crashed into the crystal. Her weapon easily pierced the vile construct, and the mana that had been taken from the All-Mother eagerly flowed back to its mistress, burning the remains of its prison as it did so.

Aperio let out another scream, this time in pain, as untold amounts of mana rushed through her body. Despite the feeling of molten rock flowing through her veins, her bones breaking and mending and breaking again at a speed too fast for a mortal to comprehend, Aperio did not fall.

The magic in her well shifted as more and more excess that her body could not handle flooded the endless ocean, a part of it flowing into what she knew was the System. Aperio did not care. She stood at the Heart of her Creation, closing her eyes as a new set of memories slowly returned to her.

She was home.

Crusade - Chapter 86: Home Is Where the Heart Is

Aperio took a deep breath, the fires in the braziers flaring higher as she did. The world itself then appeared just a little brighter to her, the few colours present in the abyss somehow more vivid. Only after she took another breath did the All-Mother notice that she was breathing air, and not the nothing that had filled the white space before.

The change in her surroundings was quickly dismissed from her mind, however, as the newly-returned memories started to unravel themselves. What she had retrieved from the dungeon in Ebenlowe, and from Vigil and Inanis paled in comparison to the mess of memories she now received.

Remembering scenes of her daughter playing with the red-robed Beastkin brought a smile to the All-Mother's face, a comforting warmth spreading through her chest that pushed away the pain of her body's multitude of breaking changes.

The fire flowing through her veins was a paltry price to pay to remember more of her life. It was nothing she had not been through before and neither, she observed grimly, was it the worst pain she had ever experienced. That she knew she would come out even stronger than before, however, left a sour note in her mouth.

She was already far beyond anyone else — even beyond what her previous self had been, if Ferio was to be believed. Something Aperio was quite willing to do, especially now that more memories of her daughter were returning to her.

Most scenes playing before her mind were those of a young Ferio, playing with an assortment of other deities that Aperio did not yet recognize. A few, however, featured a more mature Ferio successfully building her own Dominion; a process Aperio had not known was necessary, or possible.

But then, neither my Void nor this place are normal. Her Void was home to the River of Souls, a vastly important place in itself, and while the white abyss seemed not too far removed from Ferio's own Dominion, and only held her temple, Aperio was very certain that there was more to it. The surroundings here reacted to her more than the mortal world did — everything here felt like more to her.

With an unsteady gait, courtesy of her continuously breaking bones, the All-Mother made her way to one of the few chairs that had survived the dismantling of the crystal. One she could only describe as a throne. That needs replacement.

Aperio had no desire to lord over potential subjects from a throne in her temple. Perhaps Ferio would enjoy this? she mused to herself as she slowly set herself down on the surprisingly comfortable piece of furniture.

The slight doubts that it might not have been hers vanished as she found she did not need to hide her wings. The feathered appendages simply phased through the backrest, a pleasant tingle spreading through them as they did. Aperio let out a sigh as she let her full weight fall into the chair, the unexpectedly cozy stone showing no sign of distress.

She could lean back, too; only her wings passed through the backrest by means she neither understood nor cared about at the moment. Currently, the All-Mother was content to sort through the new memories she had retrieved — to revel in the warmth of family she felt when the scenes of her daughter played out before her mind's eye.

Aperio did not know exactly how long she had spent simply remembering. There had been more than just her daughter and Chellien that had called this place home. Both Vigil and Inanis had been here; had had their own section of the seemingly infinite temple for themselves and their followers.

The idea that the traitors had lived in her home, had likely taken advantage of the cover of her hospitality to plot against her, filled Aperio with an anger that would have caused her to kill them had she not already done so.

The armrest of her throne had not been so lucky — the stone crumbled as she dug her fingers ever deeper into it. There was no end to the memories of the traitors, now more in number than just Vigil and Inanis.

Aperio remembered Epemirial.

Duty and Loss were her Domains, a combination that had put her at odds with a few of the other deities that had called Aperio's temple their home. Most of the others were nothing more than a shadowy outline in her reclaimed memory.

The All-Mother still knew the Goddess. Just like every other deity at the time, Epemirial carried a piece of Aperio's mana within her — the Seed of her Divinity.

The Goddess of Duty and Loss had never been particularly fond of the All-Mother. Aperio was now able to clearly recall just how the Goddess had talked about her when she foolishly thought she would not be overheard. How stupid.

Epemirial had even gone as far as to bring her own slaves to the temple. The All-Mother in the memory had only sighed and shook her head at the prospect of more mortals being in her home, an action that made Aperio further question her old self. Why would I let a slaver stay in this place? ...Why did I not like the mortals?

It was true that they had a tendency to worship her and were exceptionally fragile, but she still liked them. Laelia, Caethya, and Maria were rapidly becoming a sort of family for her as well. She looked around her vast temple, and thought of all the slaves she would undoubtedly have to free. Having a home she could offer them would certainly be a plus.

With an almost imperceptible shake of her head, Aperio pushed the thought from her mind, the stone of her armrest neatly repairing itself. Finding out her previous opinions on mortals might be useful to a certain extent, but it did not help her in understanding the System nor explained how and, more importantly, why some of the Gods had turned against her.

Attempting to more carefully sort through her newly acquired memories was of little help at the moment, as most of what she had gained was still a shapeless mess in her mind. It was strangely reminiscent of the way she had remembered things as a mortal — misty, unclear, indistinct.

Ever since she had returned, Aperio had been able to recall with perfection every facet of her life. Most of the time the memories were viewed from afar, almost as if she was reading a very detailed recount of what had happened. Only the memories she did not want to remember seemed to replay with an unpleasant vividness.

A sigh escaped her lips as she opened her eyes. The room at the heart of her temple was still in disarray after her outburst and subsequent destruction of the crystal. A touch of her magic righted the chairs and tables but did not repair the broken floor as it had already mended itself. Neat.

She had not felt a drain on her well, the amount of mana needed likely too small for Aperio to notice unless she focused on it. Especially now…

Destroying the crystal had not only brought her more memories than the previous times but also an incredible amount of mana. Despite the fact that there was no limit to how much her well could hold, this new surplus was too massive to fit, and instead it was the System itself that reached out and took the surplus. Or does the System just need more mana to repair itself and did not want to draw on my well?

As most of her reclaimed memories were still too jumbled to make sense of at the moment Aperio chose a better, and potentially more useful task to focus her mind on. Carefully, she followed the excess flow of her mana through the infinite mess of runes that made up the System, seeing if there were any new discoveries or understandings to be had.

Being able to mend her own body while gently untangling the mess of memories and still managing to focus intently on the System was a feat Aperio continued to wonder at. She knew, of course, that as a Goddess her mind was much more capable than that of a mortal, but the extent of that gap was not something she had yet discovered.

The space the System resided in was abuzz with activity. Many of the once-dormant collections of runes glowed with her mana — even the ones that had missing parts were showing signs of life, albeit intertwined with the occasional flicker as whatever her old self had built failed to fulfil its function.

Most of it still made no sense to her. The memories of the System's operations were still buried within the mess she had just retrieved or, perhaps more likely, they were not part of this specific set. Still, despite not having any more tangible knowledge, Aperio found it easier to discern the function of each part. Is it because of the additional mana?

Sensing the flow of mana had become second nature to Aperio, even if she still didn't know how exactly it worked. How can I know without knowing? She pushed the thoughts from her mind, focusing on the countless runes that made up the System instead.

She could feel her mana flow through the sequence of runes that allowed the mortals to view their own [Status], see how it changed its function as it passed through the glyphs. There had been a blockage of sorts before; a big, almost angry-looking rune, one that had tried desperately, unsuccessfully, to divert the mana. When she had looked at it the first time, it had ceased to function under her curious gaze.

Now, more and more runes brightened into existence in the construct, some of which she could have sworn were not previously present. They set themselves into place with a silent click, glowing with the flow of her mana not a breath later. What surprised the All-Mother was not that she could see all of the System repairing itself at once; but that she could feel it.

Much like the influx of mana — of strength — after retrieving a part of her memories, she could feel herself changing with every bit of the System that repaired itself. The only difference now was that instead of growing stronger, her mind was now becoming clearer — an unseen weight lifting from her shoulders. Sorting through her newly retrieved memories became easier with each passing moment, almost as if most of her mind had been preoccupied with the System without her knowledge.

A sigh escaped Aperio's lips as she leaned further into her throne, the chair’s stone shifting to better support her back. She could feel her mana pulsing throughout her temple and the white abyss that housed it. Repairing the System had more far-reaching consequences than she had initially assumed, but she probably should still have expected as much.

Everyone was connected to it — to her. Even the Gods that had a piece of her mana as their Seed of Divinity still relied upon her omnipresent creation to guide and reward their followers. And enslave them, Aperio thought to herself.

She had no doubts that the System had somehow aided the deities that chose to enslave others in their endeavour. It did not think on its own — at least as far as she could tell — simply doing the job her old self had given it. What exactly that job was, was becoming less and less clear as more rune chains were automatically restored to working order.

Every bit of the world seemed to be somehow related to the System, not just living beings as Aperio had first assumed. She could feel its magic run through her temple in harmony with the mana she directly controlled.

Of course, that was how it should be — the System's mana was still hers, she simply allowed the System to control it. Her temple also reacted differently to mana that was controlled by the System, directing it to runes that had been drawn out of the same silver material as the veins that carried her mana throughout the building.

They were everywhere. Some were hidden between the walls where mortals would not spot them, others etched into the doors, prominently displayed for all to see. What every rune had in common, however, was that they were all connected to one another and, perhaps most importantly, to a formation that ringed the entirety of her temple.

Much like herself and the System, her temple now seemed to be even more lively — even though she was still the only one present. The blue flames burned just a little brighter in their braziers, managing to fully light the rooms and hallways despite their rather small size.

The smell of flowers caused Aperio to open her eyes, her attention taken from both the System's rapid repair and the mess that was her memories. She stood up, a touch of her magic keeping her steady as she made her way outside.

Aperio could sense movement in her aura; things walking in- and outside her temple. They were not alive, she knew as much, but neither could she tell what they were nor why the smell of nature had so suddenly flooded her home. She was still in the white abyss, all her senses told her so. Her eyes couldn't yet find a trace of the nature her nose was so sure had to be there.

Stepping outside her temple, the All-Mother tilted her head in confusion. Both her nose and the rest of her senses had been correct. She was still in the white abyss, but at the bottom of the stairs the System's mana was flowing into a formation of runes that, every now and then, unwound the threads of reality to show the tiniest fraction of the mortal world.

A bit more focus on her part could've easily spotted this through her aura, but despite using her magic as effortlessly as she did, the All-Mother still clung to a few mortal habits such as looking at things with her own eyes.

Intrigued by the System's attempt to breach reality, Aperio guided more of her mana into the formation. Her involvement caused the tear that had previously winked in and out of existence to widen and stabilise. A moment later, she felt a noticeable drain on her well as a dome of her mana formed around her home.

Aperio tilted her head to the other side as the white abyss outside the dome vanished, only to be replaced by a tree she knew, in a field of grass and blue flowers that she immediately recognised. She ignored the clouds that passed by her home, taking a step forward that broke the laws of the universe and brought her to the place where her daughter had once played without a worry in the world.

"Your might is in full bloom," Roots said, the deep, rumbling voice sounding like bark peeling off a tree. Aperio looked up at one of the few divines that had remained loyal to her as it added, "Does this mean it is time for a new spring?"

Aperio sat herself down, leaning against Roots who had no problem supporting her weight. She did not answer, instead letting the scene of Ferio and a long dead friend playing in her home repeat itself before her mind's eye again. And again. "I'm home."

Crusade - Chapter 87: A Moment of Clarity

Caethya directed her eyes at the ceiling as she felt the aura of her Goddess settle over her. It had changed yet again, the strength of it no longer in a realm the Elf could even properly perceive. Only a sense of overwhelming power remained. Was she holding back before?

After Aperio had told them that she had at one point been a slave, her Goddess had not left her mind. She was worried for her well being, something she might have previously considered foolish. She no longer did — if the All-Mother could somehow be enslaved once, it could happen again.

Ferio had tried to reassure her that Aperio was already leagues stronger than she had previously been; a feat the young Elf was not sure what to think of. Her Goddess was the Creator of everything, shouldn't she already be the strongest?

The Gods and Goddesses of Verenier themselves depended on the system, something that ran on her Goddess' mana. At least, that was Caethya's theory. While the mana directly controlled by her Goddess bathed her in comfort and warmth, the feeling of it was also familiar in a way she couldn't quite place until she remembered the flows of the System after having gained a level.

The Goddess of Life and Light had not been able to tell her if the System indeed ran on the All-Mother's mana, and neither had Caethya wanted to push. Ferio was visibly distraught after Aperio had, perhaps blinded by rage, announced to their small group what had happened to her.

After the Creator had left, her daughter, no longer caring for the appearance of divine dignity, broke down and cried openly. Caethya had tried to comfort her, but her mind always wandered back to Aperio as it so often did recently. Maybe Ferio is right…

The young Elf had never really felt anything for anyone. She had her fun, sure, but that was to enjoy herself in the moment, not part of a search for anything more. Perhaps she had never stopped to consider a relationship as she was always searching, always working to become stronger. Once she had found Aperio, she had also found strange feelings. She felt something.

She felt more alive in her presence, her heart beating faster and her mind throwing itself in circles as she could never quite say what she wanted. There was, of course, the possibility that it was the blessing she carried that made her react that way, but she highly doubted that.

Laelia was the Scion of her Goddess, and if one went by the sheer amount of mana that flowed in and around the Human, she carried an even bigger blessing. Caethya was very sure that, despite having more than a hundred levels on her, the Scion could beat her quite easily in a fight. Her level can't be accurate anymore

Though she had also been blessed, the Human had never shown anything close to her own reaction to Aperio. The other woman seemed to have nothing but respect for the winged Goddess, even more so after Aperio started to share more of her past.

Caethya respected the All-Mother — how could she not? — but the more she learned of Aperio's past the more worried she grew. She did not want her to be in pain, she wanted her to be happy — happy like Caethya herself was whenever she was in her presence.

That tiny tingle that ran down her spine when she touched her, the slight skip of her heart when she entered the room. Caethya wanted Aperio to feel these small moments of joy too — wanted to give her the same happiness she was receiving.

The Elf sighed as she stood up, shifting her eyes away from the ceiling and her senses from the aura of her Goddess. Aperio was close and, going by the omnipresent feeling of sorrow in her aura, not doing that well.

Folding her hands in front of her chest and closing her eyes, Caethya mumbled a prayer to her Goddess. She wanted to help Aperio if she could, her stomach turning in on itself as she tried to think of what might have recently happened to bring such sadness to her.

Laelia and Ferio had undoubtedly noticed Aperio's aura as well, but both of them were busy organising the now-free slaves the All-Mother had brought. Many of them were understandably confused as to what had happened, and some wanted to be brought back to their master. They did not want to be punished for an escape attempt they had not asked to partake in.

She could understand the worry, even if she could not see why someone would willingly return to a live of enforced servitude. If they did go back, the punishment... would be harsh. She doubted that Aperio would let that happen. The All-Mother had always been clear on what her stance towards slavery was — one that made even more sense now that she knew the Goddess had somehow been one herself.

The comfortable warmth of Aperio's mana spreading through her body took Caethya from her thoughts. It seemed to pull her upwards despite her not moving. An invitation, she realised a moment later, letting her own mana cling to that of the All-Mother.

As soon as she had accepted the call, Caethya felt herself fall backwards despite knowing that she was not moving. The sensation only lasted for a moment, however, the room she had been in instantly replaced by a field of blue flowers. Leaning against a tree that dwarfed any she had seen before was Aperio, eyes closed, perfectly still and not reacting to Caethya's arrival.

The All-Mother was surrounded by the tiny wisps of her mana Caethya had grown used to, though now they carried a vividness that she had not seen before. The same was true for her dress — and still-present armour, too. All of it flooded the area with mana; the magic, intentional or not, causing even the flowers to also take on the vivid glow the All-Mother was exhibiting.

While the Creator might have looked motionless to an outsider, Caethya herself was very aware that Aperio had noticed her arrival. Even if she discarded the fact that her Goddess had brought her here, a warm touch of mana was flowing around her in ways that required the guiding hand of the All-Mother.

"The first visitor sprouts from the gates," a deep voice intoned, the sound that travelled across the field somehow sounding like leaves rustling in the wind. "Welcome to the Heart of Creation, Caethya."

"Roots?" Caethya asked in shock, the voice of the [World Tree] unmistakable. "Did Aperio bring you here too?"

"In a way," the [World Tree] replied, some of its branches dipping in what Caethya guessed was a nod. "Her Highness planted me here long ago — before any of your kind was more than a budding seed, waiting to bloom into existence."

The Elf shook her head, the idea of the tree being older than her species intriguing but not why she was here. Her eyes landed on Aperio again, the Goddess leaning against the tree in a way that could not have been comfortable with her wings.

"Aperio?" Caethya inquired, taking a few steps forwards through the sea of flowers. "Are you okay?"

"Her Highness is adjusting to the mana she has retrieved," Roots explained. "It is of no danger to her."

The young Elf scrunched her brows at the [World Tree]'s words. She wasn't worried about Aperio getting a mana burn, but about what else she had likely retrieved.

Vigil and Inanis had lost their lives the last time the Aperio had put this much mana on display — after she had destroyed the dungeon in Ebenlowe. The All-Mother's aura had changed back then, too, carrying a sense of melancholy. Now, even more mana swirled around her Goddess, leading Caethya to believe that there might have been another crystal, and a sinking suspicion that they stored more than just mana.

Aperio kept her eyes closed, ignoring the conversation unfolding between her disciple and Roots. Instead she took slow, measured breaths that, while not needed, helped her remain calm. The more of her memories she unraveled and viewed, the more she wanted to rip the souls out of a variety of deities and crush them. But there was someone who she was even more angry with: Herself.

They had defiled her home and she had just let it happen. She saw how they figured out how to make the very same collar she would wear for her entire mortal life and she did nothing — just let them do with the mortals as they saw fit. Disgusting.

She would have to fix what those Gods had set in motion — take their divinity and free those they enslaved. And figure out why I let that happen.

How she could simply disregard the mortals in the past was not something she understood. They were people, but people unable to protect themselves from the deities she had made. Were there no rules?

After she took another, deeper breath, Aperio opened her eyes and set them on Caethya. The woman had crossed the ocean of what were now blue-glowing flowers but had stopped a few steps away from the All-Mother, looking quite unsure if she should come closer or not.

"Do you plan on standing there forever?" Aperio asked, trying and failing to smile at her disciple. She let out a sigh as she looked over to her temple looming at the the end of the flowery ocean. It still was — felt like — her home, but the memories she was still unraveling tainted that feeling of comfort with disgust and hatred.

The All-Mother did not have to worry about that at the moment, however, as Caethya shook her head and replied. "No, I just didn't know if I was allowed to approach you or not."

"If you were not allowed to approach me, I would not have brought you here." She paused for a moment, seeing her disciple fidget slightly in the corner of her eyes. "I had hoped that you would see me as myself, as Aperio, not just as the All-Mother."

Caethya hesitated for a moment longer before she took the last few steps and sat herself down next to her Goddess. Aperio spread one of her wings slightly further, allowing the Elf to rest her back against it and not the hard wood of Roots. Much like her own, Caethya's dress was back-free and while Aperio was sure the Elf had no problem leaning against a tree, she still somehow disliked the idea.

"So soft," her disciple whispered under her breath, probably not thinking that Aperio would hear it. Caethya did not speak again for a few breaths, the woman having closed her eyes as she leaned slightly to the left, almost resting her head on Aperio's shoulder.

The All-Mother creased her brows a little at the action. "Are you resting enough, Caethya?"

Her words caused the Elf to quickly straighten herself, the tips of her ears taking on a reddish hue. "I don't need to sleep, but with all that has happened lately I have had a lot on my mind. Helping Laelia with her duties, trying to figure out what I should teach Maria, and what to do with Adam." She let out a sigh, dropping her head slightly. "And then there is the matter of what I feel whenever I even think of you."

"Is it because of something I did?" Aperio asked, turning to fully face her disciple. "I know that my interactions with mortals are… flawed, but I try."

"I…" Caethya's voice trailed off, her cheeks taking on the same red colouring as her ears. "It pains me to see you sad — so much so that it makes me feel sick. Ever since you told us of your past, I can't stop thinking about what you might have been through. Trying to figure out what I could do to make you feel the same spark of joy I do whenever you enter my thoughts."

"I'm sorry," Aperio said, lowering her head. The only reason for Caethya's feelings — the only thing that could possibly change a person that much — was her blessing. Her soul might not have been damaged like Maria's, but she had still altered the Elf's mind. "I never intended for that to happen."

After a moment of silence in which Caethya raised and lowered her hand multiple times, she finally came to a decision, reaching out and taking Aperio's hand. "Why are you sorry? And what do you mean you never intended for this to happen?"

"The blessing," Aperio replied, lifting her head to look at the woman whose life she had potentially ruined. "I cannot shake the feeling that it is the cause for your feelings. You barely know me, after all."

"You think I like you because of the blessing?" Caethya asked, the redness slowly receding from her face. "I don't think so. It is you who brings me joy, who confuses me; not the blessing. That only makes me stronger. …Something I'll need if I want to catch up with Laelia."

Aperio cocked her head to the side in reply. "How can you be so sure?"

"That the blessing does not influence my actions?" Caethya asked, shifting herself around to better face Aperio. "I can't be one hundred percent certain. However, when I first met you in the dungeon, I wanted to kill you. I thought you were something it had cooked up to enslave me.” The redness that had begun to recede from her face made a furious return, causing the Elf to lower her head slightly. “Even if I don't fully understand why my feelings are what they are, I know how I feel."

The All-Mother let Caethya bring her other hand over to cover their joined hands, enjoying warmth that flowed from the Elf's own. She wasn't sure if she felt for Caethya as the woman did for her. There was something, a comfort that she felt when the Elf was around that neither Laelia nor her daughter evoked in her. Still, Aperio did not know if that was the spark of joy Caethya was talking about.

With her hand clasped between her disciple's own, Aperio couldn't help but notice differences she had never really seen before. There were slight imperfections to be seen on Caethya — tiny errant hairs, slight discolorations of skin, many minuscule wrinkles. It was a mortal hand, one that did not get torn apart and rebuilt as her own did, one that could very easily be broken if her grip was just a little to tight.

"I understand that you need time, and I am willing to wait," Caethya said, giving her hand a tight squeeze that caused the All-Mother to meet her disciple’s gaze. "But, what you went through in the Terenyk estate — I don't want to see you go through that again, especially not alone."

"Neither do I," Aperio mumbled, wincing slightly as the muscles in her arm shifted uncomfortably in response to the excess mana doing its duty. She sighed, gently removing her hand from Caethya's before continuing.

"I do not know if I feel the same for you. Being with you is… calming, in a way. It is not the same as with Laelia or Ferio. The closest would be Maria, but that is different in another way." A small smile spread across Aperio's lips at the thought of her youngest follower. "She is like a daughter to me. One I can actually remember.

"But then there is you," Aperio continued, shifting herself to rest on her knees to better face Caethya, making sure her wing securely held the woman in place. "You are neither a daughter, nor a follower like Laelia. But neither do I know if you are more than a friend, and for that I am sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry," Caethya said, the redness again appearing at the tip of her ears. "I half expected you to reject me outright or excommunicate me. But, like I said before, I am willing to wait. Time is something I have plenty of."

The All-Mother chuckled at the words, smiling just a bit wider than before as a foreign warmth joined the burning mana in her veins. "I guess you do."

Crusade - Chapter 88: Life Returns

Aperio looked at her disciple for a few moments longer as the pleasant warmth that spread through her body was joined by a tingle that ran down her spine. What was that? She had not really felt anything like it before. There were things she knew of that could be the cause, but none really applied to this situation.

"Thank you, Caethya," Aperio said, smiling slightly. "That meant more to me than you might think." Even if I don't understand it myself.

Her disciple simply nodded her head, her ears and cheeks bright red. Aperio shifted her wing in response, making sure she was still securely held.

"Should I remove my wing?" the All-Mother asked, tilting her head slightly as Caethya's ears took on an even brighter shade of red and her breathing quickened. "It seems to affect you negatively." The idea that someone would blush so profusely simply because she touched them did not sit quite right with Aperio. Caethya's reaction seemed a little excessive, but at the same time, she did not want to stop.

"It's fine," Caethya replied after a moment. "The softness of your feathers together with the mana that flows at your touch are not something I am used to." She paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. "Not to this degree at least."

Who else bathes their surroundings in mana? Aperio thought as she shifted herself to sit cross-legged. The mana still burning through her body had decided that her legs were in dire need of rather drastic enhancement, making her previous kneeling position quite uncomfortable.

"If you are fine, then so am I. I simply do not wish for you to feel uncomfortable." A small twitch of the branches above her caused the All-Mother to direct her attention towards the tree. "Do you have something to say, Roots?"

"I merely wished to inform you that the temple has almost finished regrowing its lost leaves." Its branches shook in chorus with the deep rumble of its voice, almost as if it wanted to underline its flowery speech. "Should you wish to, your followers could soon come here to plant new roots for themselves. They will not want for anything — your temple will provide."

"Your temple can make food?" Caethya asked as she slowly leaned herself back and into Aperio's wing, seemingly not trying to draw attention to her movement. "How does it do that?"

The All-Mother tilted her head at the question, spreading her senses into her temple. She did not know what her temple could do, nor had she assumed it would be able to provide for her followers. It does make sense, though. Her old self was very much not the type to take time out of her day to care for mortals and, despite allowing other deities to have slaves, Aperio doubted she had any that could take care of the temple.

"I do not know," she said as her mind inspected every detail of her home. It did not take long for her to find a kitchen, one filled with more runes than most other rooms. "But I do have an idea."

A thought sent a minuscule wisp of her mana into a rune — one she could identify as 'Dawn' even though she had never before seen it in her life. A moment later, the entirety of her temple shone bright in her aura. The amount of mana that drained from her well gave the All-Mother pause.

"What was that?!" Caethya exclaimed, moving herself a bit closer to Aperio as her head spun around, undoubtedly trying to figure out where the monstrous amount of mana was heading.

"I activated a ward in the kitchen. It is quite fascinating." As silly as her words might have sounded, watching her mana flow through her temple and the island it resided on was fascinating to her. Aperio could feel every detail of her home, her mana almost eagerly letting her know what it was doing.

She knew a large portion was flowing to a field behind her temple, that it wanted to grow plants that her followers could eat. How exactly the runes accomplished that, however, remained a mystery to her. At least these don't break.

"How far does your aura reach?" her disciple asked, seemingly not as interested in kitchen runes as Aperio herself.

The All-Mother shrugged slightly, the shifting motion of her wings eliciting a small murmur from her disciple. "I have not yet found the end of its reach, nor do I plan on searching for it. Even without my aura, I already perceive more than I truly wish to know."

At least her mind was getting better at filtering out all the sounds the mortals made by simply existing, a fact Aperio greatly appreciated. Now if only I could do the same for smell…

With very few exceptions, the world the mortals called their home was rather offensive to her nose. Even the people that roamed it were little better. Caethya and Laelia both were exceptions to the rule, but both of them were probably more of a fledgling divine than a normal mortal.

"Is something wrong?" Caethya asked. "You don't usually frown for nothing."

Aperio waved her off. "Just a minor annoyance; nothing to worry about. I do, however, have a question for you."

Her disciple straightened herself a little at the words, her eyes focused on Aperio. "Yes?"

"If I hide my wings, is there any possible way I could pass as an Elder? I have been confused for an Elder of the Moons before and I do not wish to stand out as much as I currently do when I finally leave for Procul."

"Perhaps?" the Elf replied. "Could you show me again how you plan to look?"

Aperio gave a nod in reply, carefully removing her wing from behind her disciple before standing up and letting her feathered limbs vanish — her swordstaff settling comfortably in her hand at the same time.

A small touch of her magic straightened out the wrinkles in her dress, another adjusting the armour pieces to be slightly more comfortable to wear. The small weight they had previously carried had vanished, too, her body having become stronger yet again thanks to the mana she had retrieved. Will I ever stop gaining strength?

Caethya looked her Goddess up and down, her eyes lingering briefly on her weapon and the pieces of armour that slowly shifted over her shoulders and chest.

Even without her wings, Aperio would attract attention. She stood at least two heads taller than Caethya herself, and, as an Elf, she was already taller than most other races. She probably has to duck through every door…

Her choice of weapon and fit physique was another thing that would draw attention. Most Elves chose to be mages or rogues of some kind, very few training themselves to become warriors to the point that that it would show. The ones that did want to acquire more brawn usually did so through the System, hunting titles that would increase their strength.

Aperio shifted her weight from one leg to the other, her hair flowing behind her in a breeze that Caethya could not feel. The All-Mother also carried a subtle glow with her — a silver sheen that seemed to flow just below her skin.

"You look… divine, even without your wings," Caethya said, a bit of heat flushing through her ears. "Not many of our kind are as… fit as you are either." I doubt a mortal could even accomplish that.

The longer she simply looked at Aperio, the more obvious it became that she was something divine. At a glance it would be fine, just an outlier that had not perished like so many did. But people would notice, especially ones that could read auras better than Caethya could.

"Thank you?" Aperio replied, slightly tilting her head again. Her hair shifted, and Caethya's eyes were drawn to its blue sheen. "But, I assume that means I cannot hide? The goal was to not stand out, after all."

"You will always stand out, but I don't think you would be recognised as a Goddess or the Creator like this. As for passing as an Elder…" Caethya's voice trailed off as she glanced over Aperio again.

The way she held herself, how she somehow seemed to be in command despite not doing anything certainly fit with the few Elders Caethya herself had met. Aperio also had a certain feel to her, one that seemed to be almost ancient in nature. The Elf was not quite sure if that was because she knew who her Goddess was, or if everyone would feel like that.

"I think it could work for short periods of time," she said after a moment. "But, do you know what the Elders usually do? Have the proper identification if someone asks? …Do you even have any form of identification?"

The All-Mother sighed at her question, her swordstaff vanishing as she sat herself down. "I do not have anything I could use to identify myself with. Except perhaps my voice and the wisps, but that is not something truly unique."

"I forgot about those," Caethya quietly admitted. She had gotten used to the power in Aperio's voice and the wisps of her mana. It was not exactly a common occurrence — enough so that it would seem off to the average person — but she had seen quite a few adventurers that displayed their mana in physical form. She herself had done it a few times, mostly to scare off some annoying patrons in a certain bar she used to frequent.

"You can hide the wisps," Caethya said, though the inflection was more that of a query. "While it is not that uncommon, it is usually only done as a show of strength. Condensing your mana into physical form like that is not exactly easy. As for your voice… It might actually help you sell yourself as an Elder."

Aperio tilted her head to the other side, the tick of her Goddess bringing a small smile to Caethya's face. "Oh? How would that help?"

"Well," Caethya began, her hands brushing over her dress as she tried to banish from her mind the idea that an Elder might somehow be listening in. "They like to play themselves up; intimidate people. Infusing your voice with mana is not that hard, but doing it every day for every word you speak? Not something the average person can do."

"So I will be seen as either an unusually strong Elder or an especially pretentious one? I assume the way I speak will lead people to the latter."

"Perhaps," Caethya said, nodding slightly. "But there are many noble houses that prefer your way of speaking. My parents do it too when there is someone not from the family present, and we are not even nobles per se."

Aperio paused for a moment at the mention of her parents — or perhaps her status. "Have you told your parents about me?"

"I did," she replied immediately, her heart beating faster as the aura of her Goddess changed almost imperceptibly. "Should I not have?"

"You are free to do as you please," the All-Mother replied. "I just realised that I might be keeping you from your family. If you wish to visit them, all you need to do is ask. …And tell me where I should bring you when you do."

"You have not been keeping me from anything. I chose to stay with you. Honestly, I never really thought I would find you, and never planned on going home until many years from now. Vetus is huge, after all. It would have taken me centuries to explore it all."

Aperio's brows creased lightly at her words, the All-Mother perhaps aware of the workings of the universe that she herself would chalk up to Fate or Destiny. But then, she does not seem to be aware of the world at all sometimes. Almost as if she had forgotten about it…

Caethya's thoughts were interrupted by a surge of mana washing over her — the tingling of Aperio's mana replaced a short moment later by the confused chatter of people. Laelia's voice rose over those of the crowd as she tried to get their attention, the sound reaching her ears despite the fact that the people were not close at all.

"I am sorry to cut our talk short," the All-Mother said, lowering her head slightly. "But Laelia asked if there was a space more suited for the freed slaves." A small sigh escaped Aperio as she looked in the direction in which Caethya assumed she had teleported the group. "I have freed them, and now I have to care for them. I hope you understand that I have to do this, and that it is not something I do to get away.

"Spending time with you is… calming to me," Aperio continued. "Enough that I would consider asking you to accompany me to Procul had we not made prior arrangements with Lord Terenyk."

Caethya averted her gaze at the potential option of travelling with Aperio. She would very much like to do that, but much like her Goddess, she had made a promise that she intended to keep. There was, however, an option that the All-Mother had not — or did not want to — consider.

"I think both Maria and Adam could use some actual experience in the world from time to time," Caethya said. "And who could protect them better than you?"

Aperio tilted her head slightly at the question. "They would be better protected if I did not put them in danger in the first place. I have no intention of letting any harm come to Maria, and I do not know what awaits me on Procul. Not truly, at least."

"Maria is stronger than you think and Adam will need to learn the ropes of this world. From what he told me, where he came from is… very different. Neither monsters nor magic, for example."

"I know," Aperio sighed, quietly mumbling her next few words. "Another thing that is broken and requires repair." With a shake of her head, the All-Mother stood up, extending her hand towards Caethya. "I will think about it."

The Elf took the offered hand, letting Aperio pull her upwards. "Do you wish to listen to the address?"

"Of course I want to join," Caethya replied with a smile, giving the All-Mother's hand a slight squeeze. Perhaps the gesture did not mean much to Aperio, but it did to her.

The smile did not leave her face as she felt the warm touch of Aperio's mana wash over her entire being for a brief moment. Then, the magic of her Goddess ripped the both of them from the field of flowers. When they reappeared, Caethya could only describe her surroundings as a throne room.

Crusade - Chapter 89: Upsetting the Balance

With Caethya still holding her hand, Aperio appeared in the main hall. Away from the throne. She had no desire to be seen as the new master of the freed people before her. If she was honest with herself, she did not truly wish to speak to them at all.

The All-Mother sighed slightly. The chance that they saw her as their new master simply because she killed their old one was there, and she did not like it one bit.

Laelia was the first to notice her arrival, letting out a breath as she gestured towards Aperio; the cluster of freed slaves she had been talking to turned around. It only took a moment longer for the general chatter to die down as the rest of the ex-slaves followed suit and turned.

Letting go of Caethya's hand, Aperio took a step towards the crowd, causing a few of the freed people to take a couple steps backwards. Her shoulders dropped slightly at the reaction, even she should have expected it.

Even if they had not seen how she had slaughtered the army, they had all witnessed the impact she had made with her landing — had all been teleported by her. Why those things frightened them was not something she could claim to understand, but neither did she know what they had been through.

She might have once been a slave, but it was very obvious that, even when she was a mortal, her mind had always worked differently than those of other people. For some reason she had never been broken like the others — did not know for certain what the mortals in front of her felt.

"My name is Aperio," she began, lightly inclining her head in greeting. "Most of you have likely never heard of that name. But, it is not the only name I have."

She did not know if Laelia or Ferio had told them about her, but going by the murmurs of the mortals she suspected that many of them were indeed unaware.

"You may have heard of the All-Mother — the Creator. That is me." She paused for a moment, waiting for a reaction that did not come. "During my absence, things that were never supposed to happen...did. Now it is my duty to correct those mistakes.

"Your master is dead," Aperio said after a moment, her eyes flicking over each and every mortal in front of her. "He cannot reach you here, nor will I allow the followers of his house or Goddess entry to my home. Should you wish to stay here, you are welcome to; should you wish to leave, you need only tell me where you wish to go."

A few of the ex-slaves moved to bow or kneel at the words, an action that caused Aperio's brow to furrow. "I do not expect your worship, nor am I your new master. There will be no slaves in my home."

Her last words were accompanied by a flare in her aura, the wave of mana washing over the mortals in front of her. Pieces of jewellery, bracers, and greaves fell free from the people in the crowd, and the clanging of metal as it fell to the floor filled the room. The runes on them had not survived the teleportation, but removing them seemed like a good gesture that those present in the room would better understand. Even if it is only symbolic.

"You do not have to fear for your freedom," the All-Mother continued, trying to restrain the power in her voice at least a little. "Not anymore."

Aperio had not noticed the slight shake of her hand, and it was only when Caethya gently took hold of it that she realised she was trembling. She spread one of her wings behind the Elf, gently resting it against her back. At the moment she did not care that it might harm her image as the All-Mother. Quite the opposite in fact; if it helped the mortals see her as something closer to their own, she would welcome it.

There was a moment of silence before the crowd erupted into frantic murmurs. Aperio used the time to reach out to her daughter. Ferio had not been near Laelia or the freed slaves when Aperio had brought them to her home, and it was only now that she remembered to reach out, to ask if her daughter was all right.

The All-Mother knew where her daughter was, a wandering thought having procured the information from a deeper part of her mind. Ferio was in her temple, alone in a room at its heart. I am a terrible mother…

Even if her daughter did not reply, she could still know how she felt — a few of her emotions flowed back through the link Aperio had opened with her mental query. Her shoulders only dropped further as she felt a small fraction of Ferio's sadness — her pain.

The All-Mother gave her daughter another small mental nudge, trying to convey her own feelings with the mana she used. Whether the attempt had succeeded or not, she did not know but Ferio did show a reaction; the smallest of smiles tugged at her lips. A moment later the Goddess of Life and Light disappeared from her temple, the trace her magic left behind filling Aperio with the warmth of Ferio's Dominion.

Does she want to be alone? Aperio would grant her daughter the wish; when Ferio was ready to talk, she would come back. She can enter my home, right?

A quick mental query to her favourite tree confirmed that, yes, Ferio was allowed to enter Aperio's temple as she pleased. Another confirmed a hunch that the All-Mother had: Roots could take care of most of the temple on its own. It had only needed a bit of help from the All-Mother to get going again.

"Your holiness," one of the mortals called out with a shaky voice, the woman shrinking as the All-Mother set her eyes on her.

"You are free to call me by my name, I am not very fond of titles."

The woman swallowed slightly, looking at the people beside her for strength. None of them spoke up, leaving her to be the one that would talk for their group.

"A-Aperio, my Lady," she said, wincing slightly as she added a title despite being told not to. "What are we supposed to do?"

The All-Mother tilted her head slightly at the question, her wings twitching faintly. "Whatever you wish to do. I am not your master or anything of the like. You are free."

Her words fell on deaf ears, only a few of the ex-slaves seemingly understanding what she meant. The woman that had asked just looked lost, tears forming under her eyes as she slowly fell to her knees.

Aperio frowned at the reaction. At first she had assumed that the woman simply needed more time to understand that she was free, but now the ex-slave was looking at her with pleading eyes, almost as if she could not live without receiving a command from her.

A gentle squeeze of her hand caused the All-Mother to direct her gaze towards Caethya. Her disciple gave her a reassuring smile as she lightly inclined her head towards the crowd, and a small prayer urged her to approach them.

After a moment's hesitation, the All-Mother did. Folding her wing back behind her back so as to not accidentally topple Caethya, she took a couple of steps towards the crowd. Aperio did not quite understand why her disciple wanted her to approach them as most of the mortals seemed to be scared of her.

Nevertheless, she continued onwards, trying to appear as non-threatening as she could. Or is this more threatening? She was not sure how her approach appeared to the mortals. The magic she was using to steady herself, her body still using the recently retrieved pool of mana to improve itself, the slow steps she was taking because of these factors — what was the impression they were getting?

Did they think she was coming to take their souls after they failed to submit themselves? Or did they think she had injured herself by freeing them? In the end, how she appeared to the mortals mattered little. Aperio would not change how she looked. They would learn that she was not like the other Gods or their masters. She would not change who she was to fit whatever mold the mortals had made for her.

Lowering herself in front of the kneeling Human, Aperio very slowly stretched out her arm and brushed away the tears on the woman's face. The All-Mother was not sure what Caethya expected her to do and neither did she know herself what the correct course of action was. She simply did what felt right to her in the moment.

A small mental query towards Roots caused the lights in the hall to shine slightly brighter as a few of the runes embedded in her temple came to life. The mortals around her started to look around, trying to figure out what was happening.

The one who currently knelt in front of the All-Mother tried her best to remain calm, but Aperio could her the frantic beat of her heart, the rapid breaths she took. A thought sent a minuscule amount of her mana through the woman, looking for anything that might be off. She could not find anything aside from a few old injuries that had not healed properly, something her mana fixed in passing after a small nudge.

"I am not your new master," Aperio said slowly. "I do not expect your devotion or gratitude, only that you live a life you enjoy."

The confusion of the mortals around her died down as various foods started to appear on tables spread through the hall, courtesy of Roots. The tree was also kind enough to remove the last pieces of broken furniture the All-Mother had left behind. Aperio herself had no desire to eat any of the banquet's offerings, but she hoped that it would at least show the freed slaves that receiving care was not something that required their servitude.

How long she would grant them hospitality in her home, Aperio did not know, but she knew how she still felt about her captors — how her mind drifted on its own to places she did not want to go. The mortals would need time and help, both of which she intended to give them until they could care for themselves once more.

The first pieces of a plan started to form in the back of Aperio's mind, and the All-Mother gave the slave in front of her a smile as she withdrew her hand. "I do not expect you to know what to do right now. You are free to stay here for as long as you need."

Standing up, Aperio vanished from where she stood, reappearing next to her Scion. "Laelia," she said, a small touch of her magic preventing their conversation being heard. "I have a proposition for Mister Penbrooks, and would like you to convey it."

"You want his establishment to move here, do you not?" her Scion asked, turning slightly to face her Goddess.

Aperio nodded in reply. "I do, yes. They might have experienced what I did, but it is obvious that I am not affected by it in the same way most of them are." She lowered her head slightly, looking at her hand as a few arcs of her mana danced between her fingers. When next she spoke, she mumbled her words. "What makes me so different?"

Her Scion did not respond immediately, her eyes flicking between the group of freed slaves and Aperio. "You are the Creator. Comparing you to a mortal is a foolish thing to try; your mind works in ways that do not compare to ours, or even that of the Gods.

"I know that there is more to your past that you have not shared," Laelia continued, glancing at Aperio's disciple. " Your aura has been much calmer ever since you brought her here. I think you should talk more with Caethya. Perhaps she can help you understand yourself."

"Perhaps," Aperio agreed, setting her eyes on the Elf in question. She had started to talk to the freed slaves, clearly taking demonstrative samples from each food item before the others would begin eating. Do they think it is poisoned?

"Your daughter did not take your departure well," Laelia said, shifting slightly as she brought the topic up. "She tries to help, but you keep pushing her away. I cannot claim to know what you have been through, but please. Let us help you."

Her Scion gestured to the mortals in front of them. "How you feel about them is how we feel about you. You want to help them, but they push you away — don't trust you."

"I try," mumbled Aperio, a part of her noting that no disgust was present as she prepared to say her next words. "I am not perfect. I barely understand why I feel the things I do. But, that is not an excuse. I must do better." Be better.

"We are all simply worried, Aperio. Even Brenia." Laelia waited for a reply that did not come. Then, after noticing the portal that had silently formed behind her, she sighed. She stepped through it, giving her Goddess a last look before it closed.

But what can I do better? Aperio thought to herself as she appeared on her throne. She did not know how she could magically make herself trust others more. The only one she somehow could speak more freely with was Caethya. But why? Ferio knows more about all of this than she does…

The All-Mother loved her daughter, but could not bring herself to broach the same topics as she did with her mortal disciple. A part of Aperio's mind continued to try and figure out the why behind her feelings as another set itself to building or finding a portal the mortals could use to freely leave her temple.

On the fringes of her perception she had to grimly note how every single slave she had freed had calmed as soon as she had sat herself in her throne. Almost as if everything was back to how it should be. She despised the idea so much that she considered removing the throne right that moment but, in the end, she decided against it.

It was something her old self had made and, perhaps more importantly, was a chair she could actually sit in. The mortals would learn that she had no desire to command them — no desire to own them. That everything in existence was still connected to her in one way or another was pointedly ignored.

Crusade - Chapter 90: A View Inside

Aperio looked into her Void, trying to take her mind off of the freed slaves and the awkward talk she just had with Laelia. It helped that there were a few things she had left in her Void that should be taken care of. A book on the Common the Humans spoke for example, and an identification card the guard Captain had given her that she had completely forgotten about.

Didn't he say the [Grandmaster] could make something more permanent? She would have to visit the woman again before leaving for Procul, as the card Lerendil had given her was marked with big red letters reading 'temporary'.

She absentmindedly spun the card in her hand as she directed her senses towards the River of Souls. The tiny orbs of light floating through it seemed to shine slightly brighter at her attention, almost as if they wanted her to notice them and step closer. That's new. Not only were the little lights more active, but they were also more numerous; all of them being ferried to a new life by the river.

Despite having more souls in her Void, the All-Mother would not grant the lights their unspoken wish. Neither she nor the world needed more blessed, especially not if their souls could be damaged in the process.

With a silent sigh, Aperio set her eyes on the mortals in front of her, the card vanishing back into her Void. Most of them were now eating the food she had provided, seemingly happy that they had any food at all. She could hear Caethya talking to them, and she took a moment to listen in. While not every ex-slave was asking what they should do, the ones that did were in the majority. Caethya gently rejected each and every plea for a command or directive. Do they not know how to be themselves?

Aperio had seen a few of her fellow slaves turn into nothing more than a husk that wanted to please their masters, a fate that thankfully never befell her. But neither did Moria budge…

The Beastkin had not changed much over the years Aperio had known her. The only differences had been the scars they had both accumulated as time went on. How could I have ever thought that was normal?

In hindsight, it was painfully obvious why she had been singled out for so many of their experiments — why she had had to endure so many procedures that had broken the other slaves.

All the torturers and magicians of the Inaru Empire had achieved was to make Aperio hate them even more, not that they cared. Why would they even need to break the will of a slave?

They had the collars to control them, something that was still practiced today if the freed mortals in front of her were anything to go by. Some of the less fortunate even had the runes etched directly into their flesh, a practice Aperio had narrowly avoided due to the Emperor's son not wanting his plaything to have such unsightliness carved into her.

With a shake of her head, Aperio stood up, vanishing from the main hall a moment later. A small mental message informed Caethya that she would be outside with Roots, and that she should call if she requires anything.

For the moment, the All-Mother required a bit of time away from all the new arrivals in her temple. The longer she looked at them the angrier she became, and the more she remembered of her mortal life. All things that would not end well for anyone.

"Are the mortals taking root in their new home?" Roots asked as Aperio gently leaned herself against the tree.

"Not truly," the All-Mother replied. "But neither are they supposed to stay here forever. I will not remove them should they choose to stay, but my goal is to help them return to a normal life."

Roots' leaves rustled in reply to her words. "The teleportation array will need your attention if you wish for the mortals to use it. I am barred from using it at the moment."

"Barred?" Aperio asked, spreading her senses through her temple in an effort to find the array Roots had mentioned. The tree only rustled its leaves again in reply, the All-Mother not needing more confirmation.

Finding the set of runes she was searching for turned out to be surprisingly easy. While she had not known what the formation was supposed to look like, the giant arch at the other side of her temple left little to the imagination.

Made from the same silver-lined black marble as the rest of her home, it stood taller than most buildings she had seen in Ebenlowe. Though it was currently not working, Aperio could feel an almost frightening amount of mana flowing through it, tiny tears in the fabric of reality connecting it places unseen.

"Where does it lead to?" she asked, her mind already tracing the mana that flowed through the tears.

"Every major town had a temple dedicated to you," Roots rumbled in reply. "Most have been taken over by the [Guides], though some are wrapped in the ivy of various other orders."

"I assume not all of those orders think of me as highly as the [Guides]?"

"Yes," Roots said. "The Order of Inaru follows goals almost exactly opposite of those you have expressed."

Aperio's mind blanked as she heard the name of the Empire that had enslaved her for so long. She wanted to crush those that had taken its place, inflict onto them what the Empire had done to her; slowly burn their souls until nothing remained.

She took a deep breath, directing her senses on the calming presence of Caethya at the heart of her temple. Watching the Elf help the other mortals served as a good reminder that not everything in the world was bad.

"Where did they get that name?" Aperio asked after a moment of silence.

"A misinterpretation of history. They believe Inaru to be a dead God they could revive when it was only ever the name of a few empires and sects that once existed on this continent.

"They also believe the Demons to be parts of their fictional God," Roots continued after a moment of silence. "Mistaking lost and tortured souls for a dead God is truly something only mortals would do."

So that is why the Demon in the forest bowed after I killed it? Aperio thought as she fed a bit of her mana into the rune reading 'Dawn' at the base of the gateway. She wasn't entirely sure if that would start it, but it felt like the right thing to do. It worked for the kitchen…

"What do they hope to achieve?" she asked, trying and failing to keep her mind from bringing forth more memories she did not want to see. "Revive a God that does not exist?"

"Perhaps," Roots rumbled in reply. "The more likely goal is the ascension of one of their own. They even tried to harvest the souls remaining in the Eternal Forest, not that they had any luck uprooting my children."

"Is that why the trees there could hurt me after I returned?" Aperio did her best not to think about what kind of God might spring from an Order that got its name from a slaving empire. Instead, she focused her mind on the task of gently guiding her mana through the teleportation array. A task that required more concentration that she had thought it would. Not knowing what the runes mean definitely does not help.

Her question was met with silence, only the ever-present breeze flowing over the sea of flowers surrounding her. The empty space in their conversation allowed the possible explanation of the forest to settle in her mind. …Do the trees have souls? "Why do you call the trees in the Eternal Forest your children?"

"Because they are my offspring," Roots replied after a moment of hesitation filled with the low rustle of its leaves. "After you disappeared, this world was cut off from the Beyond. Whenever a mortal died, their soul would remain here, doomed to wander the world until it faded."

Aperio could feel the tree lower its branches as it spoke, the topic obviously not one it enjoyed talking about. "I followed the directive given by you as best I could — tried to preserve this world. It pains me to admit that I had to break one of your rules, but the creation of the Dryads was a necessary step in upholding the Cycle."

Dryads? Aperio thought, her mind wandering to the [Grandmaster] and her suspiciously leafy hair and connection to Roots. She is also nearly a millennia old… "Is Miss Videns a Dryad?"

"Half-Human, Half-Dryad," the tree replied. "Her father was one of my own, but he had taken his final rest in the Eternal Forest centuries before you returned."

"Every tree there is a dead Dryad?" Aperio asked, her stomach starting to twist as she dreaded the tree's reply.

"Yes."

The All-Mother remained silent, her mind trying to recall how many souls it would have taken to construct the vast Eternal Forest."Why?" she finally asked, the idea of it all still seeming wrong — dreadful — to her.

"It was the only thing in my power that would give them enough time to rejoin the River of Souls," Roots replied, its barking scraping voice somehow barely a whisper. "Leaving them unattended would see this world overrun by them as they tried to claw their way into a mortal body to call their own."

"The Rage," Aperio mumbled to herself. Did Vigil force souls into bodies to see what would happen? The mere idea caused a fury to bubble up in the All-Mother, one that would have driven her to remove the stain that was Vigil from the world had she not done so already.

"The mortals' name for a gruesome affliction," Roots intoned. "It rarely forms on its own; a consequence of mortal or divine experiments."

"Disgusting," Aperio spat, a few of the nearby flowers wilting away. "Why would the other Gods encourage such behaviour and not work to fix it?"

"It is not their duty to care for the world; that task falls to Diskrye and myself. Some members of the Pantheon try to find solutions, but most are content as long as their power grows. Your absence brought out their true colours. But, as much as I wish to cull the weeds, I am but a Caretaker. Not an Administrator."

"Then I will do it myself," Aperio declared, a last flex of her mental muscles providing the mana the teleportation array needed to start. A shudder spread through the threads of reality, a large flood of mana flowing from her well into the runes that made up the archway connecting her home to the world below. Or worlds below. Aperio could not help but notice that some of the connections lead not to Verenier but to realms she did not know.

Before she left for Procul to retrieve more of her memories and tried to find a way of righting the wrongs that had befallen the world during her absence, the All-Mother had a few things to take care of.

Aperio appeared in front of the gateway at the other side of her temple. A brief moment later, she was joined by Caethya. Her disciple had noticed the large amount of mana coming from the teleportation array and asked to see what it was, assuring her that the freed slaves would be fine if she left them alone for a little while.

"Where does it lead?" Caethya asked, stepping a little closer to Aperio.

The All-Mother gently folded a wing over her disciple, a motion that was quickly becoming second nature to her. To Aperio it was like a hug she could actually tolerate at the moment, a gentle reminder that someone enjoyed her presence without expecting more.

"A great many places," she replied. "Most of them on other worlds." Unlike the System, her home seemed to know what she wanted, the connections to the other worlds slowly drawing less mana as they returned to inactivity.

She knew that even a mortal could step through it and the gateway would pick the correct destination.What troubled her about that fact was that she had no idea how her creation did what it did, and that if a mere construct like a teleportation array could somehow figure out what she wanted to do, a God could too. How can it read intent? Or does it use the System?

The All-Mother creased her brows as she let her senses flow through the space the System occupied, trying to find any connection to her home she might have missed.

"Is something wrong?" Caethya asked, carefully brushing her hand against Aperio's arm.

She pulled away from her disciple, not quite understanding what prompted the motion. "Not necessarily," she replied, having found a small connection to a section of the System that prominently displayed the runes 'World' and 'Link'. Does the System know what everyone thinks?

Somehow, that idea felt even worse to the All-Mother. The notion that her System could somehow read minds was not one she wanted to entertain, but it was the one that made the most sense. Everyone — everything — was connected to it in some way. Was connected to her.

"Did I make it so I would not have to look at it all?" Aperio mumbled to herself as she examined the black and silver archway in front of her. Her mana flowed through it happily, eager to be used.

This time, the All-Mother did not shy away from Caethya's touch, the warmth that had fled their surroundings replaced by a note of comfort in her mind. Her disciple carefully wrapped her arm around Aperio's waist, giving the Goddess a hug that was only answered by a slight shift of her wing.

"It's okay," the Elf said. "We are in this together."

Crusade - Chapter 91: Unforeseen Progress

One of the things Aperio had previously noticed in her aura had diverted from its previous path and was now heading straight for them. The All-Mother could feel her mana flowing through the construct, could see the enchantments glow in her aura.

Caethya, too, seemed to notice the machine come their way as she shifted slightly and Aperio could sense a touch more of her disciple’s magic flow through the air.

A moment later, a small silver-bodied machine emerged from a tiny hole in the floor that vanished as soon as the thing had passed. Aperio tilted her head as her eyes flicked between the small machine and the threads of reality. They seemed to flow around the construct in a way that felt unnatural, but yet carried no sense of wrongness.

"What is that?" Caethya asked, moving closer to her Goddess. "I can feel it in my aura but can't see it."

"A machine," Aperio replied, focusing on the runes engraved all over its silver body. "A caretaker?" she mumbled as her mind helpfully supplied the meaning of a few of the runes.

The small thing did not move, seemingly aware that the All-Mother wanted to inspect it. Aperio's mana flowed calmly through its runes, a small blue stone buried within the machine somehow drawing it from the silver veins of her temple. But what does it do?

As if to answer her question, a few of the stones that made up the archway vanished, revealing a small opening the machine could enter. What exactly it would do once inside was not answered, but Aperio already had a vague idea.

She had kept track of the things once she had first noticed them, not paying them much mind as they seemed to be part of her temple. They were of her make, she knew that, something about them giving her a sense of familiarity similar to that of the temple itself.

"What do they do?" her disciple asked, leaning a bit more heavily against Aperio's wing. "And why can I sense them in my aura but not see them?"

The All-Mother shifted slightly at the words, making sure that Caethya was still securely held by her wing. "They bend the threads of reality around themselves. The only reason you can see them is because you carry my blessing — your very own piece of my divinity." At least I think so…

Her disciple seized up at the words, seemingly forgetting about the small machine that had held her attention before. Aperio turned her head to face the woman, a slight concern taking root in the back of her mind.

"Is everything alright?" she asked, taking hold of Caethya's hand like she had done for her before. "Did I do something wrong?"

Her disciple shook her head in reply, taking a few deep breaths as she let herself be fully held up by Aperio's wing. The All-Mother could feel her disciple's mana run wild, more and more flowing outwards from her soul.

Not knowing what was happening, Aperio picked her disciple up as carefully as she could and ripped reality apart. The room behind the main hall had likely not been used for millennia, but the large bed and rather heavy use of enchantments led Aperio to believe that it was hers.

The All-Mother placed her disciple into the oversized bed as gently as she could, ignoring the fact that not a single speck of dust was present in the room. Her senses slowly followed the flow of the Elf's mana, entering her soul to see what might have brought this change.

If the world worked as Aperio thought it did, what she saw certainly explained the sudden influx of mana. Nestled deep in Caethya's soul was a small, crystallised piece of her own mana; one that was now, for reasons unknown to the All-Mother, supplying her disciple with amounts of mana that were most certainly not suited for a mortal.

Unwilling to potentially damage Caethya's soul, Aperio could only use her magic to try and soothe the Elf who had begun to writhe in pain. She held her disciple's hand, giving her what she hoped to be a reassuring squeeze as her other hand brushed a few errant hairs out of Caethya's face.

Not knowing what else to do, Aperio tried to reach out to her daughter but was only met with silence. She knew that Ferio was in her Dominion, but ripping her from there to help her with Caethya was a decision she would make only if the Elf's life was in danger — something Aperio knew was not the case.

The mana that flooded her disciple’s body was doing what it always did; diligently improving it. What was of more concern to the All-Mother was why it happened now, and so abruptly. All they had been doing was standing in front of a teleportation array and inspecting one of the little things that roamed her home.

But they could not be the origin of Caethya's affliction. They don't do anything… At least not to mortals. She could feel them do something to her temple, repairing and cleaning it if she had to guess, but they had no interactions whatsoever with the residents.

Taking a deep breath, Aperio tried to push the swirling thoughts from her mind in order to concentrate on Caethya. She gently brushed her hand over her disciple’s forehead, a motion that likely accomplished nothing but yet felt oh so right.

"I'm here," she whispered, leaning closer towards Caethya. Her wings flared slightly as another query towards her daughter went unanswered, the All-Mother shifting the fraction of her mind that had called for Ferio to look for her Scion.

Aperio's magic flowed through Caethya, easing the transition her body was undergoing to the point where the Elf was no longer writhing in pain. She ignored the small machine that had entered her chambers, only devoting a part of her attention to it as it halted next to her and offered a potion by floating it above its rune-engraved body.

A quiet chime echoed through the chamber, the small machine moving just a little bit closer to its creator. Aperio shifted slightly, putting more of herself between Caethya and the caretaker as she squinted at it. A unneeded motion let the vial appear in her hand, her aura scouring the liquid within for any sign of danger.

While the swirling silver contents of the vial did not seem dangerous to her, Aperio had no idea what it was or if it would even help Caethya. Something she had presumably made had brought it to her, but as long as she could not remember what exactly the small machines were supposed to do, she was unwilling to trust it.

She returned all of her attention to the woman lying in her bed, easing a bit more of her mana into Caethya in a further attempt to lessen the pain she found herself in. The All-Mother brushed her hand free hand over the Elf's cheek, holding Caethya's hand in the other, leaving the vial to float next to her.

"I'm here," she whispered again, a bit of moisture pooling below her eyes.

Caethya could feel Aperio's mana flowing through her, taking away the pain her foolish decision had brought upon her. The memory of the notification had been burned into her mind, taunting her, reminding her of how stupid she was. She had hoped her progression would impress Aperio, but all she had managed to do was make her worry.

Taking a step on the [Path to Divinity], as the System had called it, had seemed like something she should do, especially after it had appeared right when Aperio had told her that she carried a piece of her divinity inside her. A piece of the All-Mother…

However foolish or even silly it might seem to an outsider, Caethya very much cherished the idea of having a bit of Aperio with her at all times. The System might also be an extension of her Goddess, but it lacked the warmth and comfort the physical presence of the woman gave her.

Taking the first steps on the path towards becoming a Goddess herself had been so tantalising, and accepting a title had never before led to any pain. It had always been nothing more than a slight tingle as the System's mana did its job and applied the bonus of the given title.

Caethya could hear her Goddess speak but the words made no sense, her ears picking up a mess of voices she was sure belonged to the freed slaves. There was also the noise her body made whenever she shifted on the sheets she now found herself on. For reasons not quite clear to her yet, it was deafening, almost making her wince every time it echoed through her mind.

She slowly opened her eyes as she felt a hand gently brush against her cheek. A few arcs of mana jumped from Aperio's fingers, leaving a slight tingling sensation where they landed on her skin. The face of her Goddess was blurry, her eyes not able to focus on any one thing as she felt a pressure ebb and flow within them that coincided with the mana raging through her body.

Despite not being able to make out the world around her clearly, Caethya was able to spot a vial floating next to Aperio. It was filled with a silver liquid she had never personally seen but had read about a great many times before. Acquiring even a single drop of the [Tears of Creation] would mean you did not have to work another day in your life. Those who could afford it would gladly pay any price to acquire it.

It is said that it can cure any illness and even bring back the dead should you administer it quickly enough. A single drop had supposedly healed Elder Visir from a Dragon's poison, an affliction that normally meant death for anyone that it was directed against, and her Goddess was now preparing to use an entire vial of it.

Caethya tried to raise her hand and gesture towards the [Tears of Creation], unsure if Aperio even knew what it was. It was very clear by now that her Goddess did not know or understand how mortals lived their lives, or what even the smallest favour from her would mean.

Aperio seemed to notice her feeble attempts, her eyes flicking towards the vial even though Caethya had not managed more than a twitch of her arm. Lifting it was already a hard task with her Goddess’ hand holding her own; the woman's arm was nigh unmovable.

A breath later, the potion was in front of Caethya, the weight of Aperio's hand no longer a barrier as her Goddess had shifted with a speed and grace she had not been able to keep track of. She was now looming over her, with her wings slightly flared as if to prevent some unseen spectator from watching.

Ever so gently, her Goddess placed the Vial in her hand, helping her along as Caethya slowly tried to raise it to her mouth. Why Aperio had not just given it to her, she did not know, but the help was still appreciated.

That she remained by her side, helping her through the change and pain of her mistake meant more to Caethya than Aperio would probably know. The worry in her eyes, her calm voice whispering to her; it all told Caethya what she so dearly wanted to be true.

At the moment she wanted nothing more than to reach out and wrap the woman in a hug and thank her for simply being there. But she couldn't. It took all of her concentration merely to manage to take a sip of the [Tears of Creation], and she was rewarded for her efforts by a warmth not too dissimilar from Aperio's magic spreading through her body.

Where her Goddess had shied away from assisting the System's changes, the potion did not. Caethya gasped for air, grabbing hold of Aperio's arm with more force than she had intended as the pain that had been held at bay by her Goddess returned with a vengeance.

The winged Goddess did not seem to mind the strength she had used, simply using more of her mana to ease the pain Caethya found herself in. The Elf could also feel a slight shift in her Goddess' aura, a small area behind the bed being overwhelmed with an amount of mana she had not felt before. For the briefest of moments, she thought she could sense Aperio's Void where the mana had collected, but the feeling vanished as soon as it had appeared.

As she started to writhe in pain again, Caethya felt herself get lifted up, Aperio herself climbing into the bed and wrapping her wings around the both of them as she spoke words that still got lost in the chaos her ears heard.

The last things Caethya saw before the darkness took her were a pair messages from the System, ones that made her heart skip a beat.

You have been awarded the [Demigoddess of Creation] title!

[Demigoddess of Creation]

The road towards divinity is paved with hardship and failure, but you are walking it hand in hand with the Creator. A seed planted, already starting to bloom. Ascendance awaits.

You have been awarded the [Favoured of the All-Mother] title!

[Favoured of the All-Mother]

Be it through cunning or fate, you have drawn the continued attention of the All-Mother. It may bring you closer to the goals you seek, but be warned that betrayal means a fate worse than death.

Crusade - Chapter 92: Past Dues

Aperio did not know how much time had passed, her mind seemingly having lost its ability to track it. All she had done over the last while was hold Caethya close to herself, using her magic to lessen the pain her disciple felt.

She had read the messages the System had given the Elf, and they confirmed what she had assumed was the cause of Caethya's pain. Her own body was still incorporating the mana she had recently retrieved, and despite the time that had passed, it nonetheless burned terribly as it flowed through her. But she was used to pain like this — had had a lifetime of it — while Caethya had likely not experienced anything like this before.

Even though Aperio knew it was not truly her fault, she still felt responsible for the events that unfolded. That she also felt this inexplicable closeness to Caethya only furthered her growing worry. She had largely ignored the newly free mortals in the main hall, only giving them a fraction of her attention to make sure that she would be aware when and if one of them wished to leave.

Thus far none of them seemed to want to take the offer she had made, quite content to eat their fill from the endlessly refilling tables. That fuelling this feast did not even register as a drain on her well did bring a smile to Aperio's lips, one that vanished immediately as Caethya shifted slightly in her arms.

The woman was starting to wake up, the mana in her body having largely returned to its previous, calm flow. The amount of mana was greater — purer — than before, but it was no longer a raging torrent that burst from her soul.

Aperio shifted slightly, lifting Caethya to lie her on the bed beside her. Righting herself and brushing her hair from her face, she noted her disciple had been heavier than before. It wasn't much of a change, but the System's effect was definitely noticeable. But will she simply know how to use it like I do?

Whatever improvements Caethya had undergone would undoubtedly require some time to adjust to. It was probably nothing more than a foolish notion to believe that her disciple would instinctively know what she could do.

A slight groan from Caethya drew Aperio's attention, and she turned to better face her. The woman mumbled something, the words senseless and incoherent, turning to lay on her side.

The All-Mother tilted her head slightly, having assumed the Elf would be waking up. Instead, Caethya's hands were slowly inching across the bed, searching for something. Aperio shifted the unused blanket so that her disciple might grab it, smiling as the Elf wrapped herself in the surprisingly soft fabric. ...Is the blanket made from my mana too?

A quick inspection revealed that it was made from the same sort of magical threads as her dress. In fact, most of the things dotted around the room carried more of her mana than the world usually did. It made sense, in a way; she had made everything, why wouldn't she take the time to personally make the things in her room?

The only thing that did not quite ring true in Aperio's mind was that while everything was connected to her, it did not bear the same marks of her creation as her dress or the blankets. She was certain that even a mortal would be able to tell that these two items were special, the world itself not really having her personal mana running through it.

As a part of her mind continued to wonder about how exactly her creations came into existence, another was directed at the freed mortals in the main hall. They were fewer in number, a change that made sense once Aperio discovered their presence in other rooms, further down the hallway. They seemingly did not fully trust her, for while some were sleeping others kept watch — something that, to Aperio, appeared to be a largely useless endeavor.

If she had wanted them harmed, they would have no way of stopping her; something she was certain they had realised. Or do they think Caethya or Laelia would do something? The fact that they had seen her Scion and disciple leave the hall would likely not have meant much to them, as they had all been teleported here by Aperio.

The All-Mother sighed, gently brushing her hand over Caethya's blanket-wrapped form. Her touch was accompanied by a flow of her mana, just a tiny bit of her magic ensuring that the Elf was indeed fine. Why do I care so much?

She knew that what happened was not truly her fault, not like the damage to Maria's soul had been, and though she still felt a certain level of responsibility for what had happened the amount of concern and worry she felt was not something Aperio had anticipated. Aside from Moria there had never really been anyone she had cared about before, no specific person to draw her attention, but that was not something that had truly registered in her mind at the time.

Aperio shook her head, pushing the line of thought — as well as the question as to how exactly she had made everything — from her mind. Instead, she sent a mental query towards her Scion, inquiring about the decision of Mister Penbrooks.

While she would like him to accept the offer, she doubted that he would. She might be the All-Mother, but that did not mean he wanted to be affiliated with her, or any other deity. …Or maybe he will accept because I am the All-Mother and thinks not doing so would be seen as an insult?

Aperio sighed, lying herself back down in the bed after a moment and spreading a wing over Caethya. The blanket might be nice, but she was absolutely certain that nothing could come even remotely close to the softness of her wings. She still was no closer to figuring out the reason behind her feelings, but at the moment she did not care. Simply laying there and making sure her disciple was as comfortable as she could be at the moment was enough.

Another query towards her daughter went unanswered. Ferio was still in her Dominion, doing something that required her undivided attention. Or perhaps she simply didn't wish to speak to her. This continued state of silence between the two of them was starting to worry Aperio. She had snapped and yelled at her daughter and the others, yes, but she did not think it would affect Ferio this much.

The All-Mother gently wrapped her arms around Caethya, drawing her closer as she tightened the hold of her wing around the woman. She would be glad to bring Maria and Laelia here too, just so she could be certain that they would not leave her, but in the end she knew that doing so would cause more problems than it was worth.

At some point she would actually have to start trusting others; trust that they actually wanted to stick around and not just use her for their own gain.

Aperio was about to ask Laelia again if they had come to a decision when her Scion reached out on her own. The message she sent, however, caused the All-Mother to crease her brows. While Mister Penbrooks had agreed to take the offer, there had also been a member of the guard that delivered a letter, one that Laelia was supposed to deliver to her Goddess at her earliest convenience.

The All-Mother was not entirely sure what exactly the guard might want from her, but had a sneaking suspicion that it had to do with the Vinmaier brat that had tried to enslave her. If the rest of the family was anything like the one she had killed, Ebenlowe might suddenly find themselves a noble house short.

After a few moments of blissful silence in which she enjoyed the comforting warmth of Caethya against her, a small flex of her mental muscles brought the letter to her room. It hovered above her as she gently removed her arms from Caethya. Aperio folded her wing behind her back and carefully left the bed, making sure the Elf was still firmly tucked into her blanket.

She grabbed the envelope out of the air, another touch of her magic straightening the wrinkles that had formed in her dress. Neither of the three seals that were present on the paper meant anything to Aperio. Assumptions could be made, however, as it was likely that the seal that resembled a bunch of islands was that of Ebenlowe itself, and the one that was mostly comprised of a shield could be taken to be the seal of the guards.

The last seal remained a mystery to her however. A sextant and an open book set in a heart-shaped frame made of runes that either spelled 'Learn' or 'Love' — not something she had seen before. And if I had, I would surely remember it.

There was a memory in her mind, foggy and out of reach, that felt like it would hold the answer. Try as she might, however, Aperio could not dispel the fog that clung to it, a sharp pain taking root in her mind that only grew the harder she tried.

With a silent sigh and slightly slumped shoulders she opened the letter, the enchantment that had been present already broken when she had first teleported it. Whoever had fashioned the enchantment was either unaware of what her mere presence would do to them, or they had not expected her to actually read the letter herself — a task that might turn out to be difficult if it was not written in the Common she knew.

Unfolding the letter, Aperio was relieved to find that she was indeed able to read the words written on the page, even if a few of them required her to read them twice. Why can't the language just stay the same? she idly wondered, ignoring the fact that she could likely find a way to make that happen if she truly wished.

As her eyes flew over the letter, a part of her mind was devoted to making sure Caethya was still fine, while yet another thanked Laelia for her time before checking in on Maria. The damage to the young girl’s soul was completely gone, the soul river's water Aperio had never ceased directing simply flowing around the tiny orb briefly before returning to her Void.

A small smiled played at the All-Mother's lips for a moment before her face twisted into a frown. Why does another God want to speak to me over the death of a slaver? Why the God of Knowledge and Love had not asked for an audience on his own was another thing that did not make much sense to her. He obviously knew how to reach her, so why not simply ask to meet?

Aperio shook her head, letting the letter vanish into her Void as she sat down on the edge of her bed. Caethya was still asleep, her breathing slow and steady as her mind was undoubtedly working to understand the changes that she had undergone. She did not know that for certain, of course, unwilling to give in to the whisper in the back of her mind that wanted her to try and look into the mind of her disciple. That it was even a possibility was already disturbing enough, actually trying it out was not something Aperio wanted to do.

Not managing to find any paper in the room with either her eyes or her aura, Aperio tried to produce a sheet much like she had done with her dress. Just as she had hoped, a piece of paper took shape in her hand, shifting slightly as she chose to forgo a pen and directly create the letter with her message on it.

It was a simple thing, letting Caethya know that she would be outside with Roots and potentially talking with another God. Of course, Aperio would still keep watch over her disciple, but she would not let the world wait while she enjoyed the comfort of her home. Doing so seemed a bit selfish to her in a way she would not exactly like seeing in someone else.

Aperio carefully folded the letter, making sure to not accidentally break it, before placing in on the nightstand on Caethya's side of the bed, the name of her disciple clearly visible in the excessively cursive script she had chosen.

Another letter was forming in the air behind her, destined to be delivered to the temple of Edisicio. She might not have personally visited it, or even seen it, but the map Lord Terenyk had used to plan possible routes with Laelia was etched into her mind, as easy to recall as her name. If only the rest of my memories came that easily.

After making sure once more that her disciple could get the rest she needed, Aperio silently vanished from her chambers. As she reappeared in the field of flowers outside, the letter she had created materialized far below in Ebenlowe, in front of someone she assumed to be a priest of Edisicio.

She would have personally delivered the letter, or better yet talked to the God of Knowledge herself, but she did not know where he was nor had she the desire to figure it out on her own. Once she knew how far her aura reached, she would never be able to forget it. For now, Aperio could at least pretend that she was not privy to everything that happened in her creation.

"Welcome," Roots rumbled. "Your guests are slowly leaving their shells. Perhaps soon, they may blossom once more.

"Your Elven friend, too, seems to be blossoming into something more," it added after a moment of silence. "Without your help, her ascension would have been much more arduous; she will undoubtedly be grateful."

"Perhaps," Aperio mumbled, her eyes flicking across the ocean of flowers as she tried to figure out why another God would want to meet her, and why they would choose such a roundabout way of asking.

"Would you happen to know why the God of Knowledge and Love would want to meet me?" the All-Mother asked, turning to face Roots.

"I do not," it rumbled in reply. "But I do have a suspicion. The mortals of Ebenlowe are in turmoil. The seeds of Urol Vinmaier's death had been planted long ago, but they were reaped recently over the death of his son at your hand. I do know that Edisicio has blessed a few members of both the [Guides] and the [Guards]; perhaps he is seeking an audience to spare them from your wrath when the families will foolishly try to take revenge against you?"

Would I have just killed the entire city in the past? Aperio thought, tilting her head at the words. "Why would I go against someone uninvolved?"

The tree remained quiet for a while, only the slight breeze that seemed to be omnipresent on her temple grounds rustling its leaves. "The lake in which Ebenlowe is built was created by you, after the city that once stood there torched your temple," Roots eventually said, its deep voice unusually subdued.

"Just because of a temple?" she asked, not quite believing what the tree had said. "That seems a little excessive." …Was I really that bad?

"The fire would have killed the mortals within," Roots replied. "But you never particularly cared about them before you disappeared. Most of the Pantheon still do not care for them beyond their usefulness in advancing their own power."

Aperio sighed, leaning against Roots as she sat herself down. She had already disliked her past self, but the more she learned the more she hated what she had done. Destroying a city because someone wanted to set fire to her temple was no longer something she would ever do.

"Perhaps tyrant was not all that wrong of a name for me…" she mumbled to herself as part of her mind wandered back to the Elf sleeping in her chambers. Another followed the hurried steps of the priest, the one she had teleported her letter to, as the man rushed deeper into the temple, past collections of crystals that tried to keep Aperio's aura out but failed miserably.

He would deliver her message, and she would have to set the record straight that what the old Aperio had done is not what she would do. The mortals of Ebenlowe had nothing to fear as long as they did not enslave one another. And even if they did, she would give them the choice to stop their vile practices like she had done with every encounter before.

"The Pantheon does not know of your change of heart," Roots said. "Neither your daughter nor myself have told them what has happened. Some of them know, of course; those that conspired with Vigil and Inanis will be wary of you, but the others should welcome the change."

Aperio did not respond, her eyes cast down as she stared at her hand. Small arcs of her mana were dancing between her fingers, waiting to be used. Eager to create her dreams or destroy what she wished gone.

She knew who she was — what she was — but the full extent of what she could do still scared her. The knowledge that she had to deal with Gods and Goddesses that had been appointed by her for unknown reasons caused a knot in her stomach to form that she most definitely did not want.

Another sigh escaped her lips as she closed her eyes, trying to calm her mind as she waited for Edisicio to arrive. Whatever he had to say would only further the headache that had begun to take hold in her mind, she was sure of that. Still, at the moment she could do nothing but wait. Time, the thing that usually passed too quickly for her liking, seemed to slow down to an agonizing crawl.

Crusade - Chapter 93: Audience

With her back against Roots, eyes closed in the ocean of flowers, Aperio waited, her mind's eye keeping watch over Caethya, Maria, and Laelia. She did not know when the God of Knowledge and Love would receive her letter, or if he was able to actually visit her island. Maybe telling him 'above Ebenlowe' was not enough?

When her attention was suddenly shifted away from her followers and the newly-freed mortals by a subtle pressure in the back of her mind, her worries about Edisicio not showing up were squashed. A moment later, the All-Mother sensed a presence a few paces away from the land that made up her flying island.

The man that floated there was undoubtedly Edisicio, the mana that flowed through and around him much purer than that of mortals. Still, despite this, Aperio could not help but scoff slightly at his weakness. The more Gods and Goddesses she encountered, the more she questioned how they could have ever killed her old self. She would need nothing more than a thought to crush the man where he floated; a blink of an eye to erase a God.

Aperio shook her head and wrapped a few threads of reality around the man. She shifted them, and Edisicio was brought through the fabric of space to be deposited into the ocean of flowers, a few steps away from her. He looked around for a moment, seemingly not believing that the All-Mother would simply sit in a sea of flowers, leaning against Roots. What did I do in the past when I had an audience with someone?

"You wished to talk?" Aperio asked, tilting her head slightly at the unwillingness of the God to start the conversation after having asked for it.

"Yes," he replied after a moment of continued hesitation. "There are a few matters I would like to discuss. If you find it agreeable, of course."

The All-Mother cocked her head to the other side, a touch of her magic stopping her hair from falling in her face. "If I did not want to talk, I would not have brought you here, no?"

She had expected a bit more from the God of Knowledge. At the moment, he seemed to her like a child that had broken something and feared the punishment of their parents. Not that those brats ever got punished for what they did.

"Of course," Edisicio replied, nodding hesitantly. "I was simply not expecting this." His words were accompanied by a gesture of his arms that seemed to indicate the flowery sea. "The last time I had the honor to be in your presence the arrangements were vastly different."

"Things have changed," Aperio replied, her wings twitching slightly as a careful touch of her magic adjusted the blanket covering Caethya. "But what, exactly, do you wish to discuss with me?"

"The death of Kereman Vinmaier and the fate of Ebenlowe."

Aperio remained silent for a moment, her eyes narrowing slightly as she looked at the God of Knowledge and Love. The breeze that flowed through her temple had vanished, the world shifting in accordance to the anger that slowly rose within the All-Mother. "Was he one of your followers?"

"No," Edisicio replied, his voice shaking slightly. The mana surrounding Edisicio shifted a little, the God drawing more from his own well. If you can even call it that. The reserves everyone else seemed to have barely qualified as a puddle to Aperio.

"How you plan to proceed will have an impact on a good number of my followers," Edisicio eventually continued, drawing more on his mana, likely doing it for comfort as Aperio sometimes did. "The Vinmaiers do not seem to be aware of the true nature of their son’s misdeeds and I fear that some of my followers might be caught in a confrontation."

"If your followers do not partake in such vile acts as the Vinmaiers, they have nothing to fear," Aperio said, a bit more of her power leaking into her voice. "I do not intend to let slavers run free when I find them."

The other God remained silent at her words, probably asking himself why she had not yet removed every slaver if she did not want them. Aperio herself did not know the answer to that. She did not want anyone to be forced and follow someone else's will, but enforcing a ban on slavery would be exactly that. But it is infinitely better than not doing it.

Edisicio tapped his chin, as he stared at a window the System had provided. The window had shifted for a moment, trying to hide itself from her view, before it seemed to notice who exactly it was trying to hide from and stopped.

What the God of Knowledge and Love was looking at was a map of sorts, one with various seals present. Aperio would have an easier time reading the screen if it was not somehow showing more than one world at once, overlapping them all to a mess that offended something deep inside her.

"Do you intend to change the System?" Edisicio finally asked, his previous hesitation gone. "The Repens Nabu will not like it," he mumbled to himself, not waiting for a reply. "But she already killed three of its members…"

"If there are more deities who have forsaken their duty like Vigil, Inanis, and Natio, they too shall die," Aperio said, a thought removing the window in front of Edisicio from existence. "I have ignored them for too long." Not that I knew of them before…

The other God looked at her, his eyes darting around as if he was trying to spot something off about her. Aperio tilted her head slightly, keeping her eyes fixed on the man. She did not know what he was looking for. The only thing she could think of was that he thought her an impostor. Can't he feel my mana? My strength?

To prove her point, she drew slightly more on her well, the wisps of her mana flowing out of her skin to lazily float around her form. As the slight glow of her skin became more pronounced, small, barely perceptible, lines of silver mana that she had not noticed before were visible on her exposed flesh, overtaking the spots that would usually be occupied by the blood in her veins. Is my blood even blood?

Aperio shook her head, a small flex of her mental muscles teleporting her in front of Edisicio, her wings slightly flared. The man had to look up to meet her gaze, the All-Mother easily standing a head taller than him. She could feel the mana surrounding him clinging to his skin, flowing more closely as he readied himself for a fight.

"Do not stare," she said, folding her wings behind her back and stopping the draw on her well. "It is impolite."

Edisicionodded and took a few steps backwards, obviously not wanting to stand too close to Aperio. The All-Mother simply twisted reality apart again, appearing leaning against Roots a moment later. "Is there anything else you wish to discuss?"

She had no particular desire to continue the conversation — if she could even call it that. Edisicio did not seem confident in anything that he did; always taking ages to think about his answer. Is he scared, or simply confused?

The branches above her shook a bit, Roots seemingly quite amused with the situation at hand. Aperio could only sigh. Perhaps I should not have done the teleportation bit…

She had intended to intimidate him a little, as the way he just stared at her caused her skin to crawl. Like she was something he had to figure out — had to dissect.

"My apologies," he finally replied, bowing his head slightly. "You are simply not as I remember, something that usually does not happen."

"Does the sapling not believe the Creator is who she claims to be?" Roots asked, its voice rumbling across the ocean of flowers. "Can you not feel her mere presence invigorating the seed of your divinity?"

Aperio titled her head slightly at the tree's words. Is that why Laelia and Caethya said they could feel it in their soul? …Though, Laelia did say she knew before that I was different, but that was because I punched a Demon. "Why send a letter if you were not sure that I was the All-Mother?"

"I was sure," Edisicio replied, his eyes shifting between the All-Mother and Roots, "but I still remember the last time someone tried to impose their will on you. Their world is still a nightmare of molten rock and storms of glass, devoid of life on its surface and filled with despair below. Despite their status as a God, all they can do is watch their people suffer."

"Who?" Aperio asked, not quite believing the words.

"Eschengail," Roots rumbled. "The world and the God are one. They tried to enslave you in the same manner with which certain mortals recently made the attempt. You condemned them to a life of torture, to watch until the last of its people perish."

The All-Mother creased her brows at the reply. No matter how she viewed it, the punishment was cruel beyond belief. The mortals that called the planet their home likely had played no part in what their God had planned, but without the relevant memories to hand she couldn't be sure.

"I will look into the matter," she said, rubbing the bridge of her nose, not really caring that the other God might figure out that she had lost her memory. Edisicio had already figured out that something was off and Aperio was tired of pretending to be someone she was not. And it doesn't feel disgusting to just be me anymore.

The problem Aperio faced now was that she had no idea where that world was or how to get to it. She remembered the tunnel Adam had fallen through well enough — how it felt, how the System had twisted the threads of reality to allow the passage of a mortal — but none of that told her how she could pick a destination. No choice but to use my aura…

Edisicio stared at her for a moment. Aperio shifted slightly, drawing on her well again, and the God of Knowledge and Love quickly averted his gaze. It was clear that continuing to stare would not end well.

What would I do if he did not stop? Aperio asked herself. As much as she liked to fight, starting one over this seemed excessive. Doubly so if a mere thought would be enough to end the life of her opponent. But that's true for everything…

A touch of her magic brushed a few hairs out of Caethya's face. Focusing on her disciple did wonders to soothe her mind. Simply having someone she was allowed to care about, knowing she needn't fear the possibility of them being ripped from her life, felt very good indeed.

If it were feasible, Aperio would bring Caethya and Maria into her Void and enjoy an eternity of peace and quiet. Sadly, neither of them would likely enjoy the idea of spending millennia in a space devoid of anything they knew. As her knowledge of what she had done in the past continued to grow, she also had to acknowledge the worry she had about what she might eventually turn into. She didn't want to bring her followers somewhere they could not leave on their own. Not that they could hide from me...

"If you do not require my presence, I would like to take my leave," Edisicio said, the man having taken a couple steps away from Aperio again.

"You are free to leave if you wish," Aperio said, not really paying attention to the God. Most of her attention had shifted back to Caethya who was finally starting to stir.

"If you need to talk to me, simply ask. There is no need for a messenger," she added, as she brought into being behind him a portal that returned him to the spot he had previously been, just next to her floating island.

Edisicio did not speak, simply holding his bow until he stepped through the portal entirely, at which point he vanished from the mortal world.

Aperio lowered her head as a thought brought her back to her chambers. As awkward as the conversation had been, she had still learned something. Not something I enjoyed learning, but it is new information nonetheless.

She was not even sure if she should feel responsible for what the old Aperio had done. That was not her. Not anymore, at least. Did I just do all of that because I could? she thought to herself. She glanced at her hand, balled into a fist, and observed for a moment the way her mana jumped in arcs across her fingers.

"Memories first," she mumbled to herself, taking a seat on the edge of her bed next to Caethya.

After a moment’s hesitation, she laid herself down, flinching slightly as her disciple tried to wrap her arms around her. Even though the idea of being held was not inviting at the moment, Aperio did not stop her disciple. The comforting warmth that she felt was worth the paradoxical discomfort.

A thought let her wings vanish, the feathered appendages a barrier between the All-Mother and the Elf that she did not want at the moment.

The conversation with Edisicio repeated itself in her mind over and over, and with each pass Aperio drew a bit more mana from her well to soothe her growing worry. She did not want what he had said to be true — did not want to remember doing such a thing. But Roots had confirmed what the God of Knowledge and Love had said. In order to fix what her old self had done, she would have to remember.

Trying her best to ignore Caethya's breath brushing against her ears, and the words she mumbled in her sleep, Aperio retreated deeper into the embrace of her disciple.

Crusade - Chapter 94: Memory’s Clutch

The first thing appearing to Caethya's waking mind was the warmth of a body held in her arms, followed by a smell she could only describe as heavenly tickling her nose. When she opened her eyes she was greeted with a world of silver-blue, and it took a few blinks for the image to partially resolve into Aperio's hair, too near to be properly focused upon.

Despite the barriers to her vision, her aura readily supplied all she needed to know. Her arms twitched slightly when she realized that the All-Mother had hidden her wings. But Aperio hates removing her wings... did she remove them just so she could lay here with me?

Caethya wouldn't dare say one word of complaint about this, as it was what she had long desired. Simply laying there with Aperio in her arms was worth the pain she had to go through; becoming a Demigoddess was only a cherry on top.

She could feel Aperio shift slightly, the small movement effortlessly pushing her a bit further into the bed. Caethya tightened her hold on her Goddess, ignoring the purer mana that now flowed through her body and, well, simply enjoying the closeness to Aperio.

Even though the All-Mother's body lacked any give, there was a certain softness to it. A certain softness that felt very appealing, and Caethya tried in vain to pull Aperio closer. Despite the grace and ease with which she moved, her Goddess was substantially heavier than she had first assumed. How the mattress could carry both of them and still provide just the right amount of comfort was a mystery.

Caethya took a deep breath, not minding the small tickle against her nose from Aperio's hair. She had not thought there would be a day where she would lay next to the All-Mother, and her heart filled with a warmth that she had not felt before. Aperio might not reciprocate her feelings in full just yet, but the affection she displayed at the moment was already enough for Caethya.

"How are you feeling?" Aperio asked, a sliver of her mana flowing through Caethya and taking away the last bit of soreness she had felt.

"Good," she mumbled into the back of the All-Mother's head. There had been a tinge of worry in Aperio's voice, causing her to tighten her hold further in an attempt to make her Goddess feel safer. "Stronger."

Aperio nodded slightly in reply, only moving her head enough for Caethya to tell that she had heard the answer. Her Goddess had already been gloomy, but it seemed to have increased drastically. Whatever had happened while she was asleep, it could not have been good. It was as though someone had told the All-Mother that the world was going to end. Not that it would likely be much of an inconvenience for her to stop that.

"What's wrong?" Caethya asked after a few more moments of silence, propping herself up on one arm in an effort to look over Aperio's shoulder into her face.

There was no reply, only a shift in the All-Mother's aura. Fear, and uncertainty. Emotions Caethya knew well, but had never expected Aperio to feel, let alone put on display for her to see. Not yet, at least.

Caethya gently ran her fingers along Aperio's ear, just like her own mother had done when she was anxious or scared. The All-Mother pulled away slightly at her touch, seemingly not quite as comfortable with physical contact as Caethya had assumed, causing her to stop the gesture immediately and retract her outstretched hand.

"I cannot remember," Aperio finally said, curling herself up slightly in an attempt to be smaller. "I have condemned countless mortals to suffer and I don't know why, nor where. I was a monster…"

"But you aren't anymore," Caethya said, trying to use her own magic to soothe the All-Mother’s mind. "You can make amends. Find out what happened, and lift the punishment. You know that I will be by your side; helping you as best I can."

She had wanted to express her support more, wrap Aperio in a hug, touch her arm — do something that would show her affection besides the words she had spoken. But the All-Mother shied away from her touch now, and the almost primal fear spreading through her aura weighed heavily on Caethya's mind.

"You don't have to fear anything anymore," she said, carefully resting her hand on Aperio's back. A tide of mana flowed like molten rock beneath her skin, strong enough for Caethya to feel with little effort. The heat of it was subdued, Caethya was sure of it; with such power, the mana should have been outright burning her hand. What is she doing?

She ignored the heat and mana. Instead, she slowly wrapped her hand around Aperio, trying to pull the All-Mother into the embrace but instead only pulling herself closer. In the end, it did not matter. Caethya held on as tight as she could, her head resting against her Goddess' back as she very slowly stroked her arm.

Aperio no longer resisted the touch, only taking slow, deep breaths as Caethya tried to soothe her in the only way she could think of at the moment. Words did not seem to work; the All-Mother was too focused on her own thoughts to hear. She knew how it felt, being trapped by your own mind, endlessly berating yourself for things you had no part in.

"Talk to me," she said nonetheless, using her hand to tug a few strands of Aperio's hair behind her ear. "Please."

"I…" Aperio began, her voice barely a whisper. "I don't want to remember. I don't want to know what atrocities my previous self committed. All I wanted was a life of my own."

"Then don't," Caethya replied, her hand shifting to stroke Aperio's arm once more. "Nobody could force you to do something you do not wish to do."

"I cannot leave the mortals to suffer for something they potentially had no part in. If I did that I would be no better than before."

Caethya was not sure how to reply. She had tried to ignore the fact that somehow the All-Mother could not remember most of her life, but the issue at hand could not be solved without first diving into this one.

She sat up, nudging Aperio to lay on her back as she was not able to physically turn her. The All-Mother obeyed, her unblinking eyes staring at Caethya. Her Goddess had stopped breathing as well, seemingly forgetting about it while her mind was occupied with other things.

Caethya brushed away the tear that had formed beneath Aperio's eyes, looking into them as she held her Goddess' head in her hands.

"You do not have to remember to help them," she said, her thumbs brushing over pale unmoving cheeks. There were no blemishes in Aperio's skin, only a few tears staining the pale white beneath her eyes. Those sharp and perfect features were Elven but motionless, and Caethya found herself wondering whether the Goddess had taken the form of an Elf, or Elves had been molded in her image. "If you continue to cling to your past, you will only hurt yourself and those around you more.

"You are beautiful and kind," Caethya continued. "But you are also wild — a force of nature. I cannot imagine what you had to live through in order to forget, what you had to endure as a slave, but I know that you care. Perhaps too much, even."

***

Aperio continued to look at her disciple, suppressing the urge to move away. She wanted to be close to Caethya at the moment, but also not. Her touch — the warmth of her palms against her cheeks — reminded the All-Mother of days and nights she never wanted to remember.

The words spoken also seemed hollow to her. She was not kind; she was selfish. Freeing the slaves might be good for them too, but she did it because the mere idea made her sick. That she knew what their masters might do only made it worse; created an outlet for who knows how many years of hatred.

Aperio did not know how long she had been a slave, her nature as an Elf and now the All-Mother making any guess from appearances useless. As a mortal, she could have been two centuries old and still look the same, and as she was now, she could look how she desired.

The changes any influx of mana brought should change her physical appearance, push her further from the realm of mortal possibility, but it did not.

At least that part is true, Aperio thought in a feeble attempt to shift her mind in a new direction. She liked her new form, enjoyed the reaction the mortals had. Even if it is inconvenient. She would draw attention, probably even from unwanted suitors, something she was not sure yet how to deal with.

"Aperio," Caethya said, hesitating for a moment before she simply leaned closer. "Focus on me. Don't think."

The All-Mother did, her eyes flicking from the black and silver hair of her disciple to her eyes. Much like her own, Caethya's hair had taken on an otherworldly sheen, the silver parts seeming to shift away from her focus as if they did not want to be observed. Her eyes, too, had gained tiny specs of silver mana flowing through them that shifted every time the Elf blinked.

"Breathe, even if you don't have to."

Aperio tilted her head slightly but did anyway, taking slow breaths as she tried to figure out what her disciple was doing.

"I said no thinking," Caethya reprimanded, removing her hands from Aperio's face. "I just want to help you, but that doesn't work if you get lost in thought all the time.

"Stuffing your worries down is not good, even for you," she continued after a moment. "It also hurts those that care about you; makes it seem like you don't want us to help you."

"I don't know what to say," Aperio said, casting her eyes down. "I cannot put into words what is in my mind." Nor do I want to…

"Then don't. You have put thoughts directly into my mind before, why not do that?"

The All-Mother simply looked at her disciple, trying to figure out if she actually meant what she had said. She was not even sure she could convey a memory as well as she could a message and, even if it was possible, what she had lived through was not something she wanted others to experience. Especially not someone she had actually come to care about.

"I do not wish anyone to feel what I had to, nor do I know if I even could."

Caethya sighed at the words, her eyes wandering over where Aperio had clasped her hands above her chest, a small touch of her magic straightening the wrinkles that had attacked her dress.

"If I could, I would forget the time I had to live as a slave," Aperio mumbled. "But would I be me then?"

"I don't know," Caethya replied, lying down next to the All-Mother. "Are you the same person you were before you were a slave?"

It was obvious that her disciple wanted to know more — wanted to ask how she had even managed to become a slave to begin with. Of course, she herself did not know that either, but even if she did, she was not sure if she would share that knowledge. If it worked once, it could work again.

"No," Aperio replied, her eyes flying towards the ceiling. "I am most definitely not the same person I was before. If I was, you would not be here, and even if you were, I would have already punished you for your questions." And possibly for being in my bed and touching me.

"Do you want to be someone else?" her disciple asked after a moment of silence, trying to take hold of Aperio's hand. She allowed the movement, clasping Caethya's hand as tight as she could without hurting her.

"I do not."

Even if she wanted to forget her past, she did not want to forget herself — did not want to become a heartless monster again. She had banished an entire world worth of people to a life of pain and despair; of torture. But they couldn't all have been deserving of such a fate. Perhaps she had taken away those that had been free of sin, and only leaving those that should be punished? That, too, left a sour taste in her mouth. That she could still punish their children, and their children's children, generations and generations of people suffering for things their ancestors had done was a terrible thing. It was only the barest of margins better than punishing the entire world, but perhaps that had been enough for her previous self.

"I don't want to remember who I was, but at the same time I need to remember in order to properly be who I am. I need to know how all of this happened in the first place."

Crusade - Chapter 95: Opening Up

"I'm just moving in circles," Aperio said with a sigh, her wings appearing inside the mattress much like they did with her throne. But I also somehow move farther away from those I hold dear.

"Then stop dodging around the subject," Caethya said, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "It will hurt, but avoiding the topic will not help anyone."

Aperio knew that, of course, but she did not know how to deal with the situation either. Talking about it was easier said than done, as she found it hard to express herself.

Perhaps she could find a way to convey her memories like Caethya had suggested, but she would not wish those experiences on anyone. Except perhaps the slavers… They could stand to know what it felt like to be on the receiving end of their machinations.

"I just need to figure out how," Aperio mumbled, opening a portal in front of the gateway outside in response to a prayer from Laelia.

"What was that?" Caethya asked, sitting up. "Did you do something?"

"Laelia wished to return with her children," Aperio replied. "I opened a portal for her and let her know where she might find rooms for them and herself.

"I can ready one for you too, if you wish," she continued, glancing at Caethya. Preparing a few rooms for her Scion next to her own had been easy, only a slight touch of her magic needed to transport the few things that should not be there and remove the last bits of dust.

Her disciple looked at her for a moment, her mouth opening as if to speak before she closed it and looked away, the tip of her ears taking on a slight red hue. "I would be grateful if you did."

Aperio arched a brow at the woman's behaviour. "You can have this chamber if you wish. I do not have much use for it; nothing is quite as comfortable as my Void.

"Unless you wish to share it with me," the All-Mother added after a moment. Caethya had made her feelings quite clear, but Aperio was not sure how the Elf would interpret the arrangement. "I do not mind, but I am not sure what you expect. You might also find Brenia and Maria going through your things when I bring them here."

"I would like to share," Caethya mumbled. "Even if you are rarely here.Aside from my feelings on the matter, I think it would be good for you. After all, you did seek companionship in your time of need."

Aperio nodded slightly in reply. Her disciple was correct, she did seek her out; wanted to be comforted. To what end that would help her, she still did not know. What she did know, however, was that talking — as long as it was not about her past — to her disciple felt good, that her presence was soothing despite the discomfort she had experienced at Caethya's touch. Some memories just don't want to leave me alone…

"But," Caethya began, "you are doing it again. Distracting yourself from the problem at hand."

"I still do not know how I should…solve this problem, or even approach it," Aperio said, shifting her wings slightly. The tingling that filled them was still pleasant in a way, almost as though she had made the mattress and her throne for the explicit purpose of comfort. Makes sense for the bed, but the throne?

"Talking about it is not as easy as it sounds. Not being able to forget what they did to me is bad enough; telling you or someone else? No. I do not want to relive the hell I had to endure."

"Then don't talk," Caethya said, turning to face Aperio. "Show me what happened to you. Help me understand. I know you do not want me to feel what you did, the pain you had to endure. But it is better than doing nothing."

The All-Mother held her disciple's gaze for a moment before averting her eyes. No matter how much it might help and how willing Caethya was, she could not show her what had happened to her.

Could not show her the feeling of dissection, her body being split open for viewing and mocking. The feeling of mutilation, happening so often that she had gotten a knack for knowing what kind of knife was used on her flesh by the nature of the pain she was in. The distinct horror of watching her entrails be draped on poles in an 'artful' display above her, being fed just enough potions to be kept alive, and her eyelids temporarily carved away so she was forced to observe every twitch, every squirm of that which should rightly be within her. The feeling of foul, eager breath in her face as she was violated by an endless parade of both men and women — so many that she had all but lost count. The sick horror that came when she was with child, again, knowing that it would end with dissection, with the cruel knife slicing the emerging life out of her, forced to only observe as they found 'entertaining' and unusual ways to terminate her unborn child.

How could she let someone she cared about have the visceral knowledge of what it felt like to have their skin peeled from their flesh? How could she let a fellow Elf experience the slicing off of ears, and the ocean of shock and shame that came from the mage's laughter as they showed what they had cut off — her 'imperfection'.

Caethya's hand brushing along her arm caused Aperio to flinch, reality twisting apart as she vanished from the bed and reappeared in a low crouch with her wings slightly flared on the other side of the room, weapon in hand.

It took Aperio a moment to realise what she had done, her swordstaff vanishing back into her Void as she folded her wings behind her back. A tiny flex of her mental muscles brought her back into the bed, a bit further away from Caethya.

She increased the draw on her well, also bringing a bit of her Void into the room. Its soothing nature wrapped around her, and she found relief in its embrace.

"I don't think this will work," Aperio mumbled, glancing briefly at her disciple. If even a short look at her memories resulted in a torrent like this, doing anything that would help with her issues would be nigh impossible. "Why does it have to be so vivid?"

"Because you are, well, you," Caethya replied, moving to touch Aperio before pulling her hand back, fidgeting with her dress instead. "Barring what is stopping you from remembering your more distant past, I would assume you have perfect memory."

Aperio frowned at the words, a small part of her mind delegating itself to helping Laelia move some of the more unwieldy things Penbrook's healers required. It was true that she could recall every moment she had lived through, in greater detail than she had thought possible.

A deeper look into some less unpleasant memories revealed things she had most certainly never noticed as a mortal. It was almost as though her aura had always been there, even when she was a slave. She could remember the runes engraved all over the library, how the mana flowed between them. Aperio could feel the collar’s magic flow through her body, twisting its natural mana in ways that made her sick just to observe it.

"That makes no sense. How can I remember things I was not able to see?"

Caethya did not reply immediately, moving herself a bit closer to Aperio. The All-Mother tensed at the motion. The last thing she wanted right now was being touched. Her disciple stopped, likely not wanting her Goddess to teleport away again.

"Even as a mortal you were still you," she said, her eyes darting erratically over Aperio's form. "Whatever happened might have put in a mortal body, but your soul — you — is perhaps uncontainable."

"I do not have a soul," Aperio said quietly. Admitting it hurt, but as best she could tell, she did not have a soul. Nothing that would be her source of power — nothing that would be her.

"You do not…?" Caethya asked slowly, her eyes settling on Aperio's own. "How? Everyone has a soul."

"I only have a bottomless well of mana; of power," Aperio replied, averting her gaze. "There is nothing that feeds it — no source. No soul." Just a pit of power.

Her disciple remained quiet, simply staring at her. Aperio could feel Caethya's magic flow around her, the Elf seemingly trying to figure something out.

"Are you sure?" she finally asked, moving her hand towards her Goddess before thinking better of it.

Aperio sighed in reply, directing her senses inward in an effort to find the end of her well. She had not yet truly tried to find the bottom of her ocean of mana, having trusted the feeling at the back of her mind that told her there was none.

No matter how far her mind reached into her well, all she found was the silver mana she had come to call her own. There was always some motion in the ocean, some of her mana leaving and some returning — where it had gone or what it had done were not things she knew. Probably the System.

The only thing she was able to observe that she had not noticed before was that the mana in her well got purer the deeper she went. Whatever the System or she herself used from the upper layers would return deep in her well, in a purer state. Interesting.

She had to look quite deep to find the purity that was currently coursing through her body, pushing it past any semblance of reasonable. But, it was not the purest it could get, she knew that, and looking even further down only confirmed it.

After a while her mana lost its almost liquid form, simply existing in her well. Aperio drew a tiny amount of it into her body, gasping as it spread through her in a wave of heat. She stopped immediately, the tiny drop having advanced her body further than the other mana had ever managed.

What? Aperio wondered, not moving away as Caethya's hand approached her much slower than it should. She could see lips moving, but there was no sound. It took the All-Mother a moment longer to notice that she could not move, that her body was no longer connected to herself.

She looked down, or at least she thought she did, but she could already see in every direction at once — could see the city down below. Feel the planet beneath her. There was also a small presence in space, dancing around her ever-expanding form — Consciousness? — in joy. Diskrye?

Much like the manifestation of space, she currently did not have a form. In a sense, Aperio was her aura. She could sense every tiny detail, could touch — change it — with but a thought.

The All-Mother focused on Verenier, her temple, not wanting to know all there was in her creation. There was a presence in Ebenlowe, one that tried to get her attention, but Aperio felt uneasy and did not want to linger in this form; did not want to become a formless mass of thoughts. The ability to easily see all that there was was overwhelming, and it was with only a thought that she returned to her body.

For a moment it felt cramped, the shell that was her body too small to contain what might be her true form. A thought brought more of the pure-but-formless mana to bear, Aperio trusting the guidance of her instincts to allow her to return to a more corporeal state.

Caethya was looking around frantically, seemingly being able to feel Aperio spread through the room. Laelia, too, had stopped what she was doing, her brows creasing as she looked around trying to determine the source of what she felt. Even Maria down below in Ebenlowe had awoken from her sleep, simply staring straight up at the temple as her hands fidgeted with her night gown.

Aperio reached out to all of them at once, trying to tell them that they need not worry. They all froze, the All-Mother seemingly having misjudged the strength used in her communication. It only took a moment longer for her body to adapt, and as it took a deep breath Aperio flowed back inside it.

Her disciple was still frozen in place, staring at her with unblinking eyes. A quick check revealed that she was fine, physically at least. She was obviously in shock, though Aperio could not quite understand why. It was by no means the first time she had talked to any of her followers in that way, and neither was it the first time that she had flooded their surroundings with her mana.

"Is everything alright?" she asked, trying to keep as much of her power out of her voice; a task that had gotten a lot harder now. She also reached out to Maria and Laelia, trying to use as little mana as she could to convey the message.

"What did you do?" Caethya asked, her voice barely a whisper. "I could feel you everywhere, overwhelming me with your mere existence. And now, you are radiating more power than ever before. Can you even exist in a body properly?"

Aperio tilted her head slightly, inspecting herself through her aura while having a similar conversation with both Laelia and Maria. Much like before, her appearance hadn't altered much despite the changes that had happened.

The subtle glow beneath her skin was a little more pronounced, leading to her features appearing slightly sharper than before. If that continues, I won't even look like a mortal anymore.

She was already far removed from what most could ever achieve, her body not necessarily adhering to the rules of mortals — or even the divine — as it took the image and shape she desired. And it's not just the wings…

Her desire for strength had manifested itself quite obviously, her muscles now being almost unnaturally well defined. As she observed the new and sharper curves her body had acquired, she also noticed that her wish to be unmarred had also made itself evident. She had thought herself to be perfect before, but now even the tiniest creases that appeared when she bent her limbs were gone.

"I can," Aperio replied, despite not being quite sure herself. "I have no desire to be a formless thing. I wish to live amongst the mortals; have a life. If that means I have to push my body past its previous limitations, then so be it. I will find a way to make it work."

Caethya, much like Maria, remained quiet, seemingly not quite sure what to say. Her Scion had taken it much better, simply asking for a warning the next time Aperio decided to become everything for a while. Has she experienced this before?

The All-Mother shook her head lightly, focusing instead on Caethya and Maria as they both seemed to be unable to process what had just happened. Not that I really know what that was either… She assumed that what she had briefly experienced was her true form, even if it was essentially formless. It had felt good — right — but it would have taken away the ability to interact with those she held dear. Aperio had little doubt that, in the worst case scenario, she could have found a way to make herself another body. Ferio had once said that she currently looked the way she did 'when she decided to have a body', after all.

What she did not like was she had no idea how long that might take, and she was most certainly not ready to be alone with her thoughts and the ability to do anything on a mere whim. That was a slippery road that Aperio thought would lead her right to her old self.

A shift in the mana outside her temple caught her attention. A visitor? Aperio thought as a gold and white portal slowly materialised. Once it had finished forming, three people stepped through. Two mortals, and what Aperio assumed to be a Goddess.

The divine, however, was not what kept her attention. She knew the two mortals that accompanied her. Had almost killed one of them before. What is Kiro doing here?

Crusade - Chapter 96: Unseen Ties

It took Caethya a moment longer to fully waken from her stupor. The woman still looked confused, but at least she was no longer frozen in place.

"Are you okay?" Aperio asked, twisting reality apart to appear before her as she didn't want to go through the hassle of moving around the bed normally. At the lack of response, she reached out to brush Caethya's hand.

"Yes," she managed to say after a while, her eyes slightly unfocused as she looked at a System notification. The threads of reality in front of her returned to their normal state, and Caethya asked, "Why is Mayeia here? Did you call her here while you… did whatever that was?"

"I did not," Aperio replied, a part of her mind trying to figure out what the System had shown her disciple. "I had not planned to distract myself again from finally trying to solve some of my own problems." At least not on purpose…

She did not know if she had somehow reached out to any other deity while she had been free of her body. Everything had only been a thought away, and she would not discard the idea that Mayeia had interpreted her brief attention as an invitation.

"Will you let her in?"

I should, shouldn't I? The All-Mother thought with a sigh. It was another distraction that would yet again postpone progress on herself, but just letting a Goddess wait struck her as wrong. Of course, she knew that technically all other deities were below her, and would likely not say anything against her not wanting to meet them, but it still felt wrong to do so. I don't like waiting either…

"In a little while," Aperio replied with a slight shake of her head. "First I need to be sure that you and Maria are actually fine. Drawing mana of that purity might have changed more than just myself." I did touch everything after all…

"I feel fine," Caethya replied after a moment, the mana within her shifting slightly. Aperio could sense the magic of her disciple flow through her body, the crude way in which it attempted to determine if everything was alright.

How, exactly, she knew what the correct way to check a mortal body for changes was did not reveal itself to her, but she was getting used to simply knowing most things relating to magic. The brief moment she had spent as a formless mass of thoughts had made it quite clear that, in a way, she was the mana that surrounded her. It was not a perfect analogy, of course, but it was one that did not give her a headache and explained why her intuition on magical things was usually on point.

But why is there a world with no mana, then? She pushed the thought from her mind for the moment, easing a tiny fraction of her mana into Caethya to be truly sure that she was fine. The same happened to Maria down below in Ebenlowe, the girl giggling happily as she hugged the blanket closer to herself.

She still could not find anything wrong with either of them, however the nagging feeling at the back of her mind did not leave. Aperio knew something had changed, but she could not figure out what.

With a shake of her head, she brought the waiting Goddess and her mortal entourage onto her temple grounds, depositing them in front of Roots. She asked the tree to keep them company for a while, not wanting to meet them quite yet. Luckily for her, Roots was happy to oblige, the tree seemingly very eager to do anything she asked for. Did I make him this way, or is he actually happy fulfilling the tasks I give him?

The line of thinking was dismissed as quickly as it had come, the All-Mother focusing back on her disciple. Even though Caethya's eyes never left the winged Goddess, she still looked a bit lost; unsure what she should do. Aperio herself also had no idea how she should proceed. Something had changed in her disciple and she could not figure out what.

As carefully as she could, she took Caethya's hands into her own, giving them a very light squeeze. "Are you sure everything is alright?"

Her disciple nodded slowly in reply. "Yes. I am just struggling to make sense of what I felt. I can't even put it into words, not really at least. All I can say is that it felt good — right, in a way — but also overwhelming and oppressive."

That explanation had been much more helpful than the 'cosmic hug' one Maria had given, even if they were both, perhaps, correct in the end. Aperio still did not like the idea that her default form was essentially nothing. She did not want to call it her 'true' form, as it was apparent that she could take on any form she wished.

This is my true form, she thought to herself, bringing her wings slightly forward to drape them over her shoulders. The All-Mother was fond of the body she had inadvertently made for herself, the fact that it was merely a shell that could likely be changed on a whim not distracting much from it. Perhaps her attachment to a physical form was a remainder of her life as a mortal, but it enabled her to achieve her goals and allowed her to interact with the people she cared about in a manner she actually enjoyed.

As silly as it might seem to a normal person, Aperio found herself enjoying the interactions she had with her small group of followers. To her they were more akin to friends, or in the case of Maria almost a daughter. That Ferio still did not reply to her pained the All-Mother, but her continued failure to address the issue as she had promised to do was her fault. I also did not rely on her as I said I would…

"If anything changes, please let me know," Aperio said, giving Caethya's hand one more gentle squeeze before letting go. "I feel a change in Maria, Laelia, and you, but I do not know what exactly it is yet."

"I truly feel no different," Caethya said, her magic once again flowing through her body. "Is it dangerous?"

"No," Aperio replied with a shake of her head. "I know that much at least. It feels more like a blessing, but not quite." Did I give them another tool to ascend faster?

It certainly seemed as though that was the case. The intangible sensation that she could perceive in her three followers most definitely seemed closer to something divine than the mundane.

"I will let you know if anything changes," her disciple said, her voice devoid of its usual surety. "Do you plan to meet Mayeia now?"

"I guess," Aperio replied with a sigh and let herself fall backwards, a tiny touch of her magic making sure she ended up next to her disciple again. "The only reason I can think of for her visit would be my encounter with the two mortals she brought here. I… did not restrain myself when he challenged me to a duel."

"What did you do?"

Aperio slashed her hand through the air in reply, reality itself coming apart in its wake. Of course, the damage repaired itself quickly, but she could not imagine how being subjected to it would feel. Perhaps like being skinned?

"But I cannot imagine she came to enact revenge or something of the like," Aperio said, closing her eyes as her mind wandered to the waiting Goddess outside her temple in an effort to distract herself from what she had done to the mortal.

Mayeia wore a modest white and gold dress in a style the mortals in Ebenlowe seemed to favour, her long ears adorned by small, golden chains that were entirely too gaudy for Aperio's tastes. The ornament that kept her hair bundled up, on the other hand, was something she liked; the two staves crossed in front of a book depicted on it, likely her seal.

"You cut him in half?" Caethya asked. "How did he live?"

"I healed him. At the time I wanted him to suffer, though I do not know why. I simply wanted him to be in pain. My reaction was not exactly warranted…"

"What did he do?"

"He implied some unsavoury things," Aperio replied, her face briefly twisting into a frown. "At least, that is what it sounded like to me at the time."

Her disciple hesitated for a moment before she replied, the beat of her heart and her breath quickening slightly. "You have not been the most stable person, no. But I still trust that you would not kill someone in cold blood."

"I felt nothing when I killed the slavers," Aperio said quietly. She had not really given it much thought, but now it was starting to become a point of concern for her. "I gave them the option to not fight, but they ignored it. Every single one of them died by my hand, and there is nothing. No regret or remorse, not even a twisted sense of happiness or relief. Nothing."

"But you do feel," Caethya said, moving herself closer to the All-Mother. "Perhaps a part of you knows that letting yourself feel anything for those monsters would only make it worse for you. There is already enough for you to deal with, probably even more than that which I know about."

"Like talking to a Goddess who I have never met, and cannot recall," Aperio mumbled, not enjoying the prospect of having to talk to the Goddess.

"I can accompany you," Caethya said, taking Aperio's hand into her own after the All-Mother lifted it slightly. "I have been a follower of hers before I met you after all; have met her in person. She is usually not one for drama, or even formality.

"I wouldn't be surprised if she simply wishes to meet you," Caethya continued after a moment of silence. "She has been trying to figure out how the System works for as long I can remember. One of her priests said that she had been researching it before she became a Goddess as well."

Too bad I don't know how the System works myself, Aperio mused. "Are you sure she will not be angry that you abandoned her for me? Most of the deities I have met thus far had been annoyingly arrogant and resentful." But so have I, haven't I?

"Why wouldn't they?" Caethya asked, her voice slightly mocking. "Us mortals can't do much against them. Most don't even want to either; they behave like the deity they follow in hopes of gaining their favour."

"Explains their stupidity, at least," Aperio mumbled. All the mortals that had followed one of the Gods that went against her had been very stubborn to abandon their ways even when faced with death by her hand. If they thought they could win, it made at least some sense that they did what did.

"It does not tell me why I selected them in the first place, however," Aperio continued, her voice quieter than before. "I chose most of them — did not care what they did."

"You have already started correcting your mistakes, have you not?"

"I did, in a way," Aperio replied. "But who is supposed to stop me from doing something like that again? And how would they do it? Will I be killed again?"

Her disciple remained quiet at her question, the topic obviously not something she was comfortable with.

"I don't think any other God actually managed to harm you," Caethya mumbled, her eyes fixed on Aperio's hand she still held in her own. "I think you yourself wanted to forget. The other deities just seized the opportunity."

"But, why?"

"That is what we have to figure out, isn't it?" her disciple asked in reply, directing her eyes to meet Aperio's own. "Perhaps you have to collect more of your memories after all."

"I do," Aperio said. "But first we have to meet Mayeia." And I should inform the [Grandmaster] that some angry slavers might be marching towards Ebenlowe.

Informing Miss Videns was an easy task; a simple query directed at Roots asking if it could convey the message was enough. The tree did say that the [Grandmaster] was likely already aware of the issue, but Aperio thought it better to make certain. She also apologised for taking as long as she did, but things had not exactly been easy lately.

Her disciple did not reply, simply nodding her assent. A moment later, Aperio twisted reality apart and brought Caethya and herself outside. Mayeia turned around as soon as the All-Mother had emerged in the field of flowers, her conversation with Roots completely forgotten.

The two mortals that accompanied her did not react with a smile like their Goddess did, taking a couple steps backwards as Aperio's eyes lingered on them for a moment longer.

Nobody spoke for a few breaths, Aperio content to wait until her guest had collected her thoughts. The All-Mother did crease her brows slightly after a while as the other Goddess simply stood there, unblinking and unbreathing.

"Are you alright?" she finally asked, a touch of her mana flowing through Mayeia but not finding anything wrong besides the tension in her muscles.

It took a moment longer for the Goddess to get her wits back together, offering a small wave while mumbling a quiet, almost reverent, "Hello".

Crusade - Chapter 97: Overture

"Hello," Aperio said, tilting her head lightly. Mayeia's reaction was not what she had expected. "Why did you come here?" Unannounced, too.

The Goddess simply looked at the All-Mother, her magic flowing around the temple as she seemingly tried to take in as much as she could. Aperio narrowed her eyes slightly. Her wings wanted to twitch but she held them back to simply flaring slightly and, with but a thought, directed all of Mayeia's mana back to her.

"Before you try and explore my temple you should at least tell me why you came, no?"

The two mortals took another few steps backwards. They clearly wanted to further distance themselves, but Roots stood firmly in the way of further retreat. Instead they stood there, muscles tense and magic prepared, ready to fight at a moment's notice.

"I am sorry," Mayeia eventually replied, bowing her head. Then she took a deep – and likely useless – breath before her words began spilling out. "I just never thought I would actually get to meet you. I have so many questions, but can't even think of how to ask them when the mere existence of this island already breaks most of the rules I thought magic had to follow."

She rushed over to a junction in the pathways that snaked their way through the ocean of flowers, excitedly pointing at a set of runes that slumbered beneath the surface. "How can Dispersal and Accumulation be paired? Or Death and Life? They're all coexisting in this set of runes, and it makes no sense!"

Aperio tilted her head to the other side, her senses focusing on the enchantment the Goddess had pointed out. There were more than the four runes she had pointed out — a lot more, in fact — and most of them meant nothing to Aperio. Despite this, she could still figure out what it was supposed to do.

There wasn't all that much it could do out here, and following the mana proved her theory correct. The enchantment circulated mana throughout the ocean of flowers, drawing some from the surrounding space if there was not enough in the System and dispersing it if it had too much.

The Life and Death parts Mayeia had pointed out were runes Aperio was able to read, their purpose also quite obvious. One supplied the fields with new flowers while the other removed all that was left of the ones that had died, funnelling whatever it took to another enchantment deeper in her temple.

"That enchantment merely keeps the flowers alive and well," the All-Mother said, appearing next to Mayeia. A thought caused some of her mana to condense and become visible, forming a replica of the enchantment below the earth. A small, unneeded, wave of her hand moved the projection, every rune a slightly different hue of silver and blue, showing what it would do in normal use.

Aperio might understand what her creation did, but she was woefully unequipped to explain any of it with actual words. In addition, the idea of verbalizing it – putting the enchantment's concept firmly into the mind of the Goddess – was not one she wanted to entertain.

"See?" she asked, looking down at the other Goddess. She was not sure what, exactly, the woman wanted, but explaining a few more minor enchantments was certainly something she could do. It sounded like she just wants to learn? "It makes perfect sense. It does not, however, explain why you elected to come here unannounced."

Mayeia slowly looked up at the All-Mother, likely not having expected the woman to appear beside her. Aperio did not react to the quiet whisper that escaped the other Goddess' lips, nor the slight twitch of her hand as she, for but a moment, tried to touch her.

"I want to learn," she eventually said, taking a step backwards so she would not have to strain her neck looking up at the All-Mother. "I have been searching for the one that made all of this," Mayeia continued, gesturing vaguely at the world around them. "Searching for you so I can understand it."

Aperio tilted her head slightly, directing a mental query at Caethya who had thus far remained silent, asking if the Goddess in front of her was always so scatterbrained. "If you have come to seek a position as my disciple, I will have to disappoint you. Caethya and Maria are the only ones I intend to teach at the moment." Not that I would know how I made all of this in the first place.

According to her disciple Mayeia's behaviour was not out of the norm, just more excited than usual. Just because she got to meet me? Of course, Aperio knew that some people revered her; that she disliked that did not seem to bother them. But the excitement the woman in front of her displayed was something else. The longer the other Goddess remained in her presence, the more Aperio thought she would simply explode into an unstoppable flood of questions.

"I would not dare to ask such a thing," Mayeia said, her hands twitching ever-so-slightly as she tried to not fidget with her dress. The action brought a small smile to Aperio's face which, in turn, caused the other Goddess to relax slightly. "I had merely hoped that you would be willing to answer a few of my questions. There are some things that I have always wanted to know about the System but have never been able to figure out on my own."

"And what would those be?" Aperio asked, teleporting herself and Caethya — who had readily agreed to the request — in front of Roots in a sitting position, their backs leaning against the tree. Just as she had last time, Aperio used one of her wings to support her disciple. The two mortals who now found themselves directly next to the reason for their fright quickly moved away, their eyes never leaving the Goddess.

"Levels for one," Mayeia replied as she took a few long strides to close the distance that now separated them. That she had brought two mortals with her was seemingly forgotten already; she did not even react as Aperio made some chairs so they would not have to stand while their Goddess was talking to her.

"Someone with a higher level can be significantly weaker than someone with a lower one," the woman continued. "The System can translate foreign languages for you if you have the correct title, but there is no skill for it." She took a breath before she spoke again, the Goddess seemingly more attached to mortal ticks than Aperio had assumed. "And then there is how the System interacts with the world. I can feel it in everything, but whenever someone invokes its power the result just appears without anything actually happening along the way."

The All-Mother tilted her head at the words. The System very much did things when someone used it. She could see how it twisted the threads of reality to display the [Status] screen, for example. As for the other things the Goddess had touched on, Aperio did not know how to answer them besides pointing out that the System itself was currently broken, something she did not want to do — especially as she did not know Mayeia or her two followers well enough. Are they even her followers?

"And why do you think I would answer any of that?" Aperio asked, a part of her mind checking how the System's repairs were coming along. "I barely know you, after all. And, as much as I trust Caethya, I have been thoroughly disappointed with most of the deities I have met after my return."

"That's an understatement," the mortal she had fought before mumbled. A sharp glare from the Beastkin that accompanied him brought Kiro to silence, which did wonders to quell the voice inside of her that wanted to squash the mortal for his impertinence.

"Perhaps," Aperio replied, trying her best not let her aura flare up even a little. Caethya's hand gently brushing past her wings and resting in the small of her back helped, but also showed that her attempt had not been successful. "But engraving runes onto a mortal's soul so that they might enslave them is not something I tolerate. Slavery itself is bad enough on its own."

"It is," Mayeia agreed, her cheerful demeanour from before nowhere to be found. "Most of the Elder Gods seem fine with it. But, as you are undoubtedly aware, they are also not very fond of you."

"I am aware, yes. Some mortals are already marching on Ebenlowe in response. I removed one of those armies already; the mortals they held are free now."

"Are they the ones inside the temple?" the other Goddess asked. "I can sense the mortals inside, but not clearly. The enchantments of the building are quite unlike I have ever been able to observe before."

"Yes," Aperio confirmed, her eyes narrowing slightly as she looked at the Goddess. "But you are not permitted inside."

"Of course," Mayeia replied, her gaze briefly lingering on Caethya. "If you are not yet willing to answer my questions, may I at least know how Caethya has been doing since she found you? She did not even say goodbye."

The All-Mother looked at her disciple with a raised brow. "I do not speak for her. If she wishes to tell you, she is free to do so."

Caethya moved herself a bit closer to Aperio in response, the All-Mother wrapping her wing around the woman slightly tighter in reply. "I'm doing just fine," she said. "And I am sorry for not informing you of my change of faith, I was very excited as you can surely understand."

"Oh yes," Mayeia replied, a small smile tugging at her lips. "It would also seem I underestimated how fast you were progressing towards divinity. Being a Demigoddess at twenty-five is very impressive."

The two mortals the other Goddess had brought stiffened slightly at the mention of Caethya's status as a Demigoddess, a reaction that caused a frown to flash across Aperio's features.

"Why did you bring those two?" she asked. "I cannot see anything wrong with them that would need my attention and neither am I particularly fond of their past behaviour."

"I understand," Mayeia said, slightly bowing her head. "I simply brought Kiro because he is something akin to my disciple, and Jerien did not want to let her boyfriend come along without her protection."

Aperio tilted her head slightly at the words, her aura focusing on the two mortals. What protection? "You make it sound like they expected a fight by coming here."

Neither Kiro nor Jerien said a word, both rooted in their chairs as Aperio's mana lazily flowed around them. Mayeia, on the other hand, moved a bit closer to the All-Mother. "I did not expect a fight, but neither did I think I would be invited onto the island, let alone actually talk to you. What the other Gods told me about you did not make you seem particularly approachable.

"Your presence and imposing physique also add to that," the Goddess continued, adjusting her glasses slightly. "The longer I look at you, the more otherworldly you seem to become. It is fascinating."

The response was not exactly what Aperio had expected. She felt Caethya tense up in response to the words of her old Goddess, and for her disciple's comfort wrapped her wing a little more firmly still around her. Does she think I take it as an insult?

While it was true that she did not enjoy being seen as something of a mystery to be solved by Mayeia, Aperio found no reason to be hostile. If anything she should probably take it as a compliment; the Goddess in front of her, seemingly solely focused on figuring out how the world worked, had found an interest in her. But then, I am also the world in a sense… At least, everything is connected to me.

"I am happy that you haven such interest in the workings of the world, but I am not sure I am able — or willing, as it stands — to give you the answers you seek."

"Why would you not be able to answer her questions?" the Beastkin woman — Jerien, if Aperio's memory was correct — asked. "Did you not make all of this?"

There was no immediate reply, the All-Mother remaining quiet as she tried to find a way to properly answer the question without revealing that she no longer knew. The world slowed, or at least to Aperio's senses it appeared to, as she debated with herself if she should reveal that she forgot. Until now, she had always elected to not reveal such things, fearing what would happen if she did.

But running from her problems, as she had done ever since she had returned, was becoming less of an option every day. The System would need to be repaired, and while it did so on its own, Aperio had a feeling that it would be better for her and everyone else if it was back in working order as fast as possible.

"Because I am unsure myself as to why some things have happened as they did," she replied, the mortals barely haven taken a breath. "The System has broken during my absence and I do not know if it was intentional or not. Repairing it is also not something I can do with just a wave of my hand; it is too complex for that, and too many people depend on it."

"It makes no sense because it is broken?" Mayeia seemed even more intrigued than she had previously been, something that Aperio would have thought to be highly unlikely to be possible. "How long has it been like that?" she asked, a chair made from her mana appearing behind her as she sat down.

Aperio could only shrug in reply, the wing that wasn't holding Caethya moving with the motion. "A few millennia, at least, but I do not know for certain. Time is something I am hard-pressed to keep track of. A day and a month can sometimes feel like the same thing."

Nobody spoke for a moment. Aperio closed her eyes and drew a bit more mana from her well, as well as bringing a bit of her Void into the mortal realm. It might have been just a few words, but speaking them had been harder than she had anticipated. Caethya's hand moving in slow circles on the small of her back coupled with small mental messages of reassurance helped, of course, but she still found the idea of admitting that her System was broken and she did not know why to be wrong.

"Would you be willing to let me help?" Mayeia offered, breaking the silence. "I have studied the System for centuries; there is bound to be something useful in my research."

Her voice carried an innocent eagerness Aperio had not heard before. There was none of the deceit she had grown so used to hearing over her life. Every noble in the Empire had always wanted to advance their own goals, an instinct most mortals — outside a few people, most of whom were now her followers, and her daughter — still had.

Aperio did not even know how she could determine someone's intent, nor did she want to find out. The possibility that she could read a person’s mind by merely being near them was high, and one she most definitely did not want to be true.

Pushing the thoughts from her mind, Aperio regarded the Goddess in front of her. She did not know her, but Caethya had vouched for Mayeia as best she could and Aperio trusted her disciple more than she was willing to admit. The comfort the woman gave her, the closeness she felt when she was with her contributed to her trust, of course; but there was something more that she could not quite place that made her trust Caethya's judgement.

"Yes," she eventually replied. "But should I find you are trying to exploit me or those close to me, you will regret it."

Crusade - Chapter 98: An Agreeable Agreement

The smile that had already started to take root on Mayeia's face widened a little as the woman did what Aperio could only describe as a victory dance in her chair. Caethya stifled a laugh next to Aperio, retreating deeper into the soft embrace of her wing.

"Is there a way to see the System?" the Goddess asked, the smile still on her face. "I have no idea what it would look like but I do know that it is a physical thing somewhere. I have tried on multiple occasions to see if the [Status] windows are connected to it somehow, but could not find anything of note."

"She cannot see them?" Caethya quietly asked, her voice further muffled as her face was buried in Aperio's feathers. "Why can I see them, then?"

"Them?" Aperio inquired, tugging on a few of the tiny strings that bound reality together. "Do you mean the threads?"

Her disciple nodded, removing her head from Aperio’s wings to better see the section of space in which the All-Mother had broken reality. "Yes, threads is a good word to describe them," Caethya said after a moment longer. "I cannot make out individual threads, but I can sense that they are there nonetheless."

"So, you are like a spider on a web, tugging on its strings?" Mayeia asked, her mana flowing around the section Caethya was focused on — where Aperio had briefly messed with reality. "It is very subtle, then. I can't feel anything off."

"Aperio is not subtle," Caethya giggled, leaning herself against the All-Mother. "She is overwhelming."

Aperio herself could not help but raise an eyebrow at the statement. She had not expected Caethya to act so …familiar with her in front of others, nor was she entirely comfortable with it. A small mental nudge told her disciple as much and a quiet apology came quickly, the other woman moving herself a bit away from Aperio to merely rest against her wing. Inside, really. Her wing was easily big enough to fully cover Caethya, but at the moment it merely provided support and a bit of warmth as it wrapped the Elf in a feathery hug.

A thought also let the armour covering her dress disappear, something she should have done much sooner. She might be able to ignore the laws of the world and not poke holes in her bed — or hurt Caethya — with the pieces of extraordinarily sturdy metal, but having them gone for the moment seemed like the better choice.

"The System is quite obvious if you know where to look," she said, as nobody else seemed willing to speak. "Your spider analogy is, however, fairly accurate. In the end, everything connects back to me; uses my mana to sustain itself. The System is no different, it merely has more authority over the mana it has."

"And it doesn't think," Mayeia added, her brows creasing a moment later. "Or does it?"

"It does not," Aperio confirmed. She knew the System was as unthinking as a rock, merely pushing mana through its runes to get a desired result. "Just a very complex set of enchantments."

"Like the Ebbcom, then?" Jerien asked, having found enough courage to interact with the All-Mother.

Aperio, for her part, just tilted her head slightly as her aura focused a little more on the Beastkin. "I am not aware of this ‘Ebbcom’. You have to understand that I am not omniscient. I have little interest in what most people do."

"It is a communication system built by the Ebenlowe guard," Mayeia quickly said, seemingly not wanting Aperio to question Jerien too much. "It uses enchantments to receive and transmit the voice of whoever uses it. You can even attune it to different 'bands,' as they call them, so more people can use it.

"The 'bands' are not really what they think, though," Mayeia continued. "They have not yet figured out that mana is attuned to each and every mortal, and that those slight differences make it possible for the streams of mana to not interfere with each other."

The attunement the excited Goddess spoke about was something Aperio already knew, as it was trivial for her to spot. She had never cared about it however, the differences so minor that they would not matter for most anything. Perhaps simply knowing is not that good?

"What of the [Identifications Stones], then?" Caethya asked, leaning slightly forwards. "They identify a person by their mana, so they have to pick up on this 'attunement', no?"

Mayeia nodded, sitting a little straighter as she spoke her next words. "They do, but those are not an invention of a mortal. I made the main enchantment; the mortals merely add their own twists onto that."

"Has nobody tried to figure out how they work?" Aperio asked, not quite believing that the mortals would ignore a magical invention from the Gods like that. "I cannot imagine that they would blindly use it, not if someone like you made it their life's mission to understand the System."

"Of course they tried," Mayeia laughed. "But most people who have the required finesse with their mana to understand it are not really interested in it."

The All-Mother simply nodded in reply, filing the knowledge away should she ever need it. Not that I forget things. ...Anymore. She shifted her attention to Kiro and Jerien, the two mortals having relaxed a little since their arrival. Still, neither of them seemed to be comfortable.

"Is there anything you need of Kiro or Jerien? If not, it might be best for them to leave, as neither seem to be particularly happy to be near me." A sentiment I share. Aperio could perfectly recall what Kiro had said — the way he had looked at her — and she could do without him on her temple grounds.

"They are free to go," Mayeia said. "Like I said before, I merely brought him because he is the closest I have to a disciple, and it is customary to bring your disciple along. I did not want to make a bad first impression."

"Where would you like to go?" Aperio asked the two mortals without turning around. It might have been rude, but she did not want to leave her comfortable sitting position with Caethya and she thought neither the Human nor the Beastkin were that deserving of getting looked at.

"If you could bring us to Mayeia's temple, we would be very grateful," Jerien said, grabbing Kiro's arm with a bit more force than needed to take him out of his chair.

"Yes," the man said, his voice slightly shaking as he spoke for the first time since his arrival. "That would be greatly appreciated."

"That can be easily arranged," Aperio replied, looking at the Goddess to whom the temple belonged. "If you are permitted to enter."

Mayeia simply gave a nod. "They are welcome to."

A thought of the All-Mother twisted reality apart, the two mortals vanishing from the field of flowers without leaving a trace, appearing far below in Ebenlowe. Finding the proper location had been easy, the seal she had on her hair ornament proudly presented many times in the library that was Mayeia's temple. I like her.

The building held a collection of books that rivalled the Imperial Library of Inaru. Might even have more, she thought, her mind supplying a quick count of books in each of them. She was not quite willing to trust herself with the tally despite knowing that it was accurate.

Still, the fact that the temple lacked most things one would expect was something Aperio took a liking to. Mayeia seemed to be more interested in knowledge than anything else, whatever duty she had as a Goddess seemingly not that important.

"How I wish I could use magic like that," Mayeia said as she looked where Jerien and Kiro had been but a moment before. "Not even a second to teleport two people. I couldn't even notice a mana buildup."

"You noticed no buildup because I have more mana in my body than you can draw on," Aperio stated matter-of-factly. "And drawing even more from my well would only need a thought."

"Perhaps, but it really does not feel like it. You radiate large amounts of mana, yes, but they feel more like the ambient mana that surrounds us." She paused for a moment, tapping her chin in thought. "Purer is probably the best way to describe it. Your mana feels like purer ambient mana, not something one would notice without looking."

"Some mortals seem to have trouble being near me, though," Aperio said, tilting her head slightly. "How can it be barely different from the mana that surrounds them every hour of the day and yet be overwhelming?"

"Ah, well," Mayeia began, her eyes wandering to the ground. "I am not sure how much contact you have with mortals, but while it might just be a slight change, it would still be overwhelming for them.

"I remember how it felt to stand in the presence of a God; could feel his mana resonating with my soul," she continued. "When I became a Goddess myself I asked a few of my followers how they felt near me. Most said that they were filled with a desire to learn and an eagerness to explore. They feel what you embody — at least that is what I think — and you are the origin of everything. …At least I think so."

Aperio remained quiet for a moment as she thought about Mayeia's words. Time did not seem to slow down as it did last time she contemplated what the Goddess had said, her mind not as frantic to find an answer.

"It is true, in a way," Aperio said with a sigh. In a sense she was everything, after all. "But I still think their reactions are excessive in some cases and while possible, excluding every mortal from my aura is not something I want to do."

"I can't even do that," Caethya mumbled as she retreated a bit further into Aperio's wing, leaning herself more heavily against the feathered appendage. "How do you do that?"

"I just do it," Aperio replied with a tiny shrug. "I might not be the best teacher when it comes to using your mana. For me, it is like breathing for a mortal — it happens naturally."

"I could help with that," Mayeia chimed in, then hesitated briefly as Aperio's gaze landed on her. "But it will take a little while, as I do not know how far Caethya has come in her magic studies and…"

"And you would like information on the System or other things that might be of interest, no?" Aperio continued for the Goddess, guessing as to why she might be hesitant to speak further. After she received a nod, the All-Mother continued. "I have no problem answering your questions, but I will warn you that I might be unable to explain things to you. Like I said before, for me magic is as natural for me as breathing." A thing I often forget nowadays…

Her reply, however, had been truthful. She found she did not mind explaining what she knew to Mayeia. Maybe she can even help me understand the System… The All-Mother was not yet ready, however, to tell the other Goddess of all that she had forgotten, or of her life as a tortured and abused mortal slave.

It was not the Goddess that replied next, however, but Caethya. "You don't have to do something you don't want to just so I can learn something a little faster."

"I would have answered her questions regardless," Aperio replied, her words accompanied by a mental nudge informing her disciple of the possibility that Mayeia might be able to help with the System repairs. If she chose to, and if it turned out Aperio could fully trust her, that was.

The other Goddess smiled brightly at her words, fidgeting in the chair she had made as she tried to contain her excitement. "Thank you," she said after having calmed herself a little. "I've waited ages for this!"

"You are free to stay here for as long as you wish," Aperio said. "I will leave for Procul in a few days as there is something there that requires my attention. The mortals that are here are not to be commanded; they are free to do what they wish. Rooms that are off-limits to you will be closed."

"Of course," she replied, bowing her head slightly. "I have never seen the need to have mortals do my bidding. If I wouldn't do it myself, why should someone else?"

"She really doesn't," Caethya confirmed. "At least not that I have seen, and I did follow her for a bit over a decade."

That's not really long for a Goddess, now is it? Aperio thought to herself, her mind wandering back to the millennia she had seemingly spent floating in her Void, absorbing those little lights. Still need to figure out what those were…

She knew that they were not the souls of people. They had lacked that certain feel she had noticed on every other soul she had seen or touched. More like mana, but not quite.

A shake of her head dismissed the thought and she returned her attention to Mayeia. "Then ask what you wish, and I shall try my best to answer."

Crusade - Chapter 99: Speaking Truth

"Where does the System get its mana from?" Mayeia asked without hesitation. The confirmation she had received from Aperio seemed to have erased the doubts she might have had.

The All-Mother exhaled in amusement at the question. "From me, of course. It draws on my well to satiate its demand for mana."

"Isn't that exhausting?"

Aperio offered a miniscule shrug in reply. "I do not even notice it if I do not focus on it. What the System needs to sustain itself is laughable when compared to what my body requires."

"What your body …requires?" The confusion was apparent on Mayeia's face.

"Creating a vessel to contain me is not as easy as it sounds," Aperio said, shifting slightly. Calling her body a vessel or shell — while true — was not to her liking. "You might have noticed that the amount of mana I carry inside is growing steadily. It is needed to ensure my body is strong enough to survive, well, me." That she also enjoyed the feeling of her mana flowing through her body was left unsaid. Mayeia did not need to know everything.

"I did notice that," the Goddess said, lightly clearing her throat and adjusting her dress as she shifted a little on her chair. "I did not think all that mana was used to strengthen your body, however." She hesitated for a moment before she leaned a little closer. "That is a lot more mana than I have ever sensed, and you are telling me it all goes to reinforcing your 'vessel'? What happens if you don't have a corporeal form?"

Aperio merely waited for Mayeia to make the connection on her own. The Goddess had already scrunched her brows in thought and the All-Mother was sure she would figure it out if she had a moment to ponder it. In the meantime, she pulled her wing closer to herself, gently nudging Caethya along. The Elf did not resist. Quite the opposite in fact; she closed her eyes and let herself be fully supported by her Goddess.

For a moment, Aperio thought something was amiss, a sliver of her mana gently flowing through Caethya in an effort to find what might be wrong. She did not find anything, and a mental query revealed that her disciple was merely tired. The ascension to a Demigoddess, the ensuing conversation, and then meeting her old Goddess had been more exhausting than she had anticipated.

The offer to bring her back to her room was denied, Caethya being quite happy to stay where she was. And while Aperio herself was not quite as fond of the likely reason behind her disciple's decision, she still pulled her wing closer to better cover her disciple, and let her rest her head on an unnaturally firm arm. Is that really comfortable?

"Was that presence a few hours ago you?" Mayeia asked with a start, ignoring the almost sleeping Caethya beneath Aperio's wing. "Is that what happens when you don't restrict yourself to a body?"

"Yes," Aperio replied. "And I dislike it." For now, at least.

She was no longer bound by the silly rules of mortality and, at one point or another, she would likely grow tired of a physical form. But that was for her future-self to deal with. As it currently stood, she very much wanted to be on Verenier to mingle with mortals that inhabited her creation.

"I…" the other Goddess began. "I don't know what to say. I can't even begin to fathom what it would feel like, and trying to think about it more deeply gives me a headache. Do you experience all there is at once? Or are you more like a cloud of All-Mother?"

Aperio chuckled at the words, quite happy that the voice at the back of her mind she had been sure would demand Mayeia's head was quiet. "The former," she replied. "I take in all that there is; would only need a thought to make my will reality." Not that it takes much more than a thought now, she mused, and took an unneeded breath before continuing. "All of creation connects to me, wanting to feed me information I do not desire to know. When outside of my body, it is much harder to avoid gazing past the surface and wind up seeing what I do not wish to."

"So much information, and I only asked where the System gets its mana," Mayeia mumbled to herself. A touch of her magic lazily drifted around Aperio, likely trying to better understand what the All-Mother was doing to her body.

While she did not really enjoy the idea of the other Goddess examining her like she was, Aperio did not stop her either. Mayeia had been nothing but helpful thus far and a bit of goodwill was in order. I have been awfully short on that, even towards my own daughter…

Her by now regular queries to Ferio had mostly been left unanswered, with the rare instance of being told that she was busy and did not have time at the moment. She had considered asking Roots or her daughter's [High Priestess] Diana, but decided against it. If she truly wished to know what her daughter was doing, she could just look. Bringing her followers and friends into it for spying purposes was plain wrong. Do Ferio and Roots even consider each other to be their friend?

"I hope I am not shattering too many of your theories," Aperio said after a moment of continued silence, trying to redirect her mind to the conversation at hand. "I am awfully out of touch with the mortal world." Or anything, really.

"Well," Mayeia began, "I would have never expected to actually meet or talk to you. And most definitely not while you are using a wing as a blanket for your disciple, who is using you as a pillow. The stories I have heard made you out to be a vastly different person."

"Because I was. In the past, I did not care what happened to the mortals, nor what the Gods and Goddesses I had appointed did. I… still do not feel much compassion for mortals outside a select few, but neither do I ignore them anymore."

Indeed, she had not felt much after having killed the mages shortly after returning. Nor did she feel any grand stirrings of emotion following the eradication of the guards Natio and Vigil had sent, or following the decimation of an entire army. It was true that they had all been slavers and, in her mind, deserved what they got; but even the slaves she had succeeded in freeing did not manage to get much of an emotional reaction from her. Most of the emotionality of the situation had come from her memories of living as one of them — the reason she freed them in the first place. …That's just me being selfish, is it not?

"I expected you to be something beyond my ability to comprehend," Mayeia went on to say. "That I would lose my mind if I tried to understand you. Instead, you are an Elf with wings. You are not the cosmic entity that I expected, but a person. That you don't care for every mortal is a given. Nobody cares for everyone.

"But," she continued, "that not caring for all of them makes you uncomfortable just shows that you, in a way, do care. Probably in a way that would actually stretch my sanity if I tried to understand it. Looking at you through my aura for extended amounts of time already gives me a headache, after all; what goes in your thoughts would likely shatter my mind."

"Perhaps, but I also do not intend to let anyone into my mind," Aperio said, shifting her wing slightly to better support the now-sleeping Caethya. How she had managed to fall asleep leaning against her while in the presence of another Goddess was a mystery to the All-Mother. Perhaps she was just that tired?

"The closest thing I do is a simple mental message," Aperio continued. "Besides a mild headache, my followers do not seem to have much of a problem with it. Monsters on the other hand… They simply die. I do believe you are more durable than some monster."

"I hope I am," Mayeia laughed. "But, you cannot really compare your followers to anyone else. Especially not those close to you. They are all blessed by you, are they not?" Aperio nodded at that, the Goddess continuing shortly after.

"I am not sure if this applies to you, but the System makes any mental communication with someone who is not a follower and therefore lacking any of that deity's mana exceedingly painful and costly."

"The System does not facilitate my actions," Aperio said, the fact Mayeia had implied she depended on it annoying her more than she thought it would. "I merely find it hard to hold back enough to not hurt them. It is harder than you might imagine when you use magic without even thinking about it." Almost like I am the magic.

"I can only imagine… Just sitting there you go through more mana than I have ever seen, but I’ve said that already. ...How much do you use to repair the System? Or does that not use mana? Is there something else that one could use for magic besides mana?"

"No," Aperio said. She did not know for certain that there was not something else, but there was only mana in her well and the manaless world she had sensed appeared to be pretty devoid of magic. But then, it wasn't like there was no mana at all — just very, very little.

"There are, however, different purities as you rightly observed. What is flowing through my body is not the purest there is, but what is currently needed for it. If I were to draw from deeper in my well, it would have some unpleasant side-effects.

"The System's repairs do need a decent amount of mana," she continued, a touch of her magic brushing a few hairs out of Caethya's face. "But it is mainly an effort in trying to understand what broke and how it might be repaired." And trying to remember what those runes mean…

She had found a few more she knew, not because she remembered them from her life as a slave but because her mind so helpfully supplied them from seemingly nowhere. The section of the System that worked under the rune of [Class] was the busiest at the moment; her mana flowing around the various constructs as they shifted, split apart, and reassembled themselves quicker than they had any right to. At least I added a self-repair function…

The other Goddess hesitated for a moment before she asked her next question. "Can I see the System?"

"I am not certain?" Aperio replied, tilting her head slightly. Ignoring the fact that Mayeia was unable to see the threads of reality, the All-Mother was not sure if she could bring someone to the space the System occupied. It should be possible — mana was a physical thing after all — but she was not sure what that would do to anyone she brought there. "I have never tried that and I do not know what it would do to you."

A flex of her mental muscles caused the air around her to shift, her mana forming a recreation of the System as she saw it. At least, a small part of it. Aperio had only chosen the bit labelled [Class], the module of the System already taking up more space than she had thought it would.

"I think this is the best compromise," she said, her eyes focused on the ever-changing representation of the System she had made. Its runes flowed into each other, forming new combinations altogether or merging to become another rune — always flowing into more runes that seemed to spawn from the kaleidoscope that was her System. Each change was accompanied by a small shift in the threads of reality that Aperio tried as best as she could to make visible for the other Goddess. She could not show the threads themselves, opting to give the runes a blurry haze whenever they messed with the fabric of reality instead. Not that it is a close analogy…

"I could slow it down if it is too fast for you," Aperio said as the other Goddess remained silent with her eyes fixed on the [Class] module. Why do I have to be so far beyond anyone else?

Mayeia nodded slowly, and Aperio did as promised in response. "I already have trouble understanding what most of this does, thank you for allowing me this chance to further understand. I can recognise some of the runes, but most are ones I have never seen before…"

Neither have I, Aperio thought as she glanced at the runes Mayeia pointed out. "I cannot really help you there, sadly. As it stands, my understanding of what broke and what changed is limited and I find it hard to make sense of large parts of the System."

The other Goddess tore her eyes off the model of the System at her words, studying the Elven-looking woman for a moment. She opened her mouth to speak, only to close it a moment later as she was seemingly not sure what to ask.

It took a moment longer for Mayeia to find the words, or perhaps courage, to ask what was on her mind. "Did you …forget? Is that why you are not like the stories I have been told? Ediscio did say you changed…" Her last words were mumbled to herself, the Goddess just voicing her thoughts quietly.

Aperio tensed at the question, waking Caethya in the process as she pressed her wing against her disciple with more force than she had intended. She was not sure if she should tell Mayeia of her affliction; that she could not remember. Caethya's gentle touch and rhythmic breathing gave the All-Mother something to focus on as she did her best to stop her mind from running in circles and trying to imagine the worst possible outcome. Her disciple trusted her former Goddess, and Aperio was willing to trust Caethya.

A touch of Aperio’s magic gently lowered Caethya’s head against the side of her chest as she carefully wrapped her arm around the other woman. She would trust her Disciple's old Goddess, if only for the care and comfort she had given her.

"Yes," the All-Mother finally said, her voice quiet as she lowered her head. "I have forgotten."

Revelations - Chapter 100: Growing Trust

"You… forgot?" Mayeia asked, her voice barely a whisper.

Aperio did not reply, closing her eyes and focusing on Caethya's right hand that gently moved across her back. She let her senses wander. Anything that could distract her for a moment was welcome. The city below was bustling with activity, and held more armoured mortals than before — presumably in preparation for the various armies she had previously spotted.

Their preparations were, perhaps, unneeded. The slavers were coming because she had killed their Gods, and Aperio had every intention to help the city defend itself. She would offer the invaders the same choice she had to the last army: change their ways and free their slaves, or die by her hand. Or magic, really.

While physically dispatching of them did please the part of her that wanted to fight, it would not be the best way to ensure the safety of Ebenlowe itself. If I even let them get that far… She did consider removing them all before she left for Procul, as it would not take long, but she had a small hope that another mortal might be able to convince them to change their ways. Being told that you were wrong by the same Goddess that had killed your Gods was less likely to yield results. At least, Aperio thought so. Not that they know who I am…

"Does your forgetting have something to do with the millennia you were gone?" Mayeia asked, breaking the silence. "Was it you that prevented the Elder Gods from coming to Verenier?"

"Yes," Aperio replied, directing her gaze back towards the Goddess. "Though most of that time was spent…asleep, in a way." While 'sleep' might not be the best way to describe what had happened to her, she did wake up in the Void after she had carved her own heart out. The time she had actually spent there while awake could have easily been another few millennia; what had felt like a few minutes of relaxation in the makeshift soul-river bath house had been a week, after all.

"What happened?" the Goddess asked, leaning forwards in her chair.

Aperio tensed at the question, a few arcs of mana dancing across her skin. She had anticipated the question, but her reaction to it had still not been as… reasonable as she had hoped. Caethya took hold of the All-Mother's left hand, giving it a squeeze that would have likely broken any mortal's bones. A few words of reassurance also made their way to Aperio in the form of a quiet prayer, causing her to relax a little. Why do I react like that?

Mayeia sat straighter in her chair, already starting to apologise when the All-Mother waved her off. "What happened does not concern you. And I would appreciate it if you did not try to gather information from my followers either. If you show that I can trust you, I might tell you."

"Of course," Mayeia replied. "I should not have asked."

"Perhaps not," Aperio agreed, letting her back fully rest against Roots as she closed her eyes. The projection of the System she had made had lost its time dilation effect during her momentary lapse, a mistake that was quickly rectified. She lifted her free hand, gesturing towards the model. "I believe you had more questions about the System?"

The other Goddess did not reply immediately, perhaps unsure if her questions could even be answered by Aperio. "What do you want to do in this world?" she finally asked, fixing her eyes onto the All-Mother. "Besides ridding it of undesirables."

"I just want to have a life," Aperio replied. Her goals were not really a secret. "Go where I please, and do what I want. But, in order to do that I first have to fix the System. And to do that I have to remember, which requires me to confront various Gods and Goddesses who have seemingly decided that abusing mortals is a fine thing to do." The breeze that so lazily blew through the ocean of flowers picked up at her words, causing Aperio to sigh. "And if I do not have perfect control of my emotions, the world will react to them." Or I will react to the world again…

That part she kept to herself. Nobody needed to know that the collective thoughts of a world influenced her. Perhaps that will stop once I have retrieved more memories.

"Of course your creations react to you," Caethya said, gently pushing against Aperio's wing and causing her to remove the feathered limb. Her voice was quiet, the Elf not fully awake yet. "I'm certain Mayeia can feel the shift in your emotions, too. Perhaps not like I do, but she should notice something."

"I do," the Goddess confirmed. "It is almost like what I sense from some of my more devout followers; a suggestion of what you might be feeling."

"I know why it happens," Aperio said. "That does not make it any less annoying or inconvenient, however. I do not want to be an emotionless wall." I have already had a lifetime of that. Showing emotion as a slave had usually made her treatment worse, a fact that had led Aperio to simply not display what she felt. It had not worked as often as she had hoped it would — there was only so much pain she could withstand before crying out.

Mayeia rubbed the back of her neck, leaning back in her chair slightly. "I don't think there is much to be done about it. You are probably the most magical being that exists and your relationship with mana is so close, I am almost willing to say that you are mana. Or something like it, at least."

The All-Mother simply sighed, the projection of her System vanishing. While she did not truly know what she was, Aperio had a very good idea. She was not the mana that flowed through her creation — that was only a part of what she was.

Her earliest memories were of herself. Nothing else, just her. Everything that existed only came to be through an expression of her will. The view of the universe exploding to life around her was still in her mind, so clear that she could feel the heat that was over her body.

Aperio shuddered slightly. In her memory she did not have a body, and the feeling of the heat brushing through her form was very weird when translated to physicality. The closest thing was, weirdly enough, the retrieved mana burning its way through her. Just a bit more… pleasant?

"Mana is part of me, yes," the All-Mother eventually replied. "But it is not all that I am."

She could feel that she was close to figuring that particular conundrum out, not that it was one she had actively been trying to solve. What she was did not really matter for what she wanted to do. Perhaps it will help me, though.

"Is everything a part of you?" Caethya asked hesitantly, pulling slightly away from Aperio.

"No," she replied confidently, retracting her arm and wing. "While everything is connected to me in one way or another, it is not a part of me. You are nothing but yourself, and Mayeia is nothing but herself. Unlike Ferio, you are not my children."

Aperio rubbed the bridge of her nose, quite sure that she would have a headache by now if it were possible for her to have one. "I assume you do not really want to learn about the System anymore?"

"I still want to know more about it," Mayeia replied, hesitating for a moment before continuing. "But, if you can no longer remember how it works, I am not sure it is best to ask you questions you might not know how to answer. I'd much rather try and help you fix it — I did spend most of my life researching it, after all."

"If you wish to do that, you are free to. Though, I do not know how you intend to help me. You said yourself that what I showed you is already beyond you, and that was only the part that governs Classes. There are parts of the System that are far more complex than this." And for some I know what they do despite never having seen them before.

"And," Aperio continued, "you do not have access to the System proper, nor am I certain you would survive it if you did." The area of space that housed the System was filled with mana that was purer than that which resided in her body and, while not as pure as the mana that had pushed her into her true form, Aperio had no doubts that it would end poorly for anyone but herself.

"That might be true, but the research I did could still prove helpful." A book appeared in Mayeia's hands at her words, her seal embossed on its front. She offered it to Aperio, the All-Mother slightly cocking her head as a touch of her magic brought the book into her hand. "All my theories on the System are in this book. I hope you find it to be helpful."

"I hope so too," Aperio mumbled, carefully opening the book and flipping through its pages before looking back at the Goddess. "Thank you, Mayeia."

"I am happy to help," she replied. "I am also still willing to teach Caethya, if she wishes. A break from trying to understand the System and finding you is probably in order."

"I would be most grateful," Caethya said, sitting a little straighter. "But I also have people of my own to teach; Maria and Adam are both in dire need of some lessons. There is also the matter of me having agreed to living in the Terenyk estate… Perhaps it would be best to inform Lord Terenyk of your temple?"

Aperio paused at her disciple's words, turning her head to better look at the woman. During the time she had spent with Caethya she had not thought about the agreement with Lord Terenyk, too preoccupied with her own problems. How very mortal of me…

"That is indeed a good idea," Aperio said, a small flex of her mental muscles creating a piece of paper with a message written in the excessively elaborate cursive she had grown unreasonably fond of. It simply informed the man of her temple floating above Ebenlowe, and Caethya's — and her own — wish for it to be the location of both her disciple’s residence and the lessons of Maria.

The man tensed up as the letter appeared before his eyes, the maid that usually guarded Maria appearing in his study only moments later. She was the one who plucked the piece of paper out of the air, her eyes widening as she quickly began reading it to her lord.

"It is done," Aperio said, directing most of her attention back towards Mayeia and Caethya. "Lord Terenyk has been informed."

"Caethya was right," Mayeia said with a small smile. "You are not subtle."

Aperio raised an eyebrow. "I merely made a piece of paper with a message on it."

"A piece of paper woven from the mana of the All-Mother," Caethya said with a small laugh. "Probably more durable than some armours."

Really? Aperio thought to herself, directing her gaze towards her dress. How durable is this, then? The paper had been made because she wanted to convey a message. Her dress, on the other hand, had been created with the intention of protecting her and being comfortable. Not that I’ve felt uncomfortable since I returned.

Her new body seemed to be unable to produce that particular feeling. Ever since she had visited that village, Aperio had worn a binding around her chest. It was something that had gotten uncomfortable quickly before, and it had not yet bothered her in the least. Probably don't even need that… Her dress would offer support enough.

"Your dress is probably the best armour in this world," Caethya said, following Aperio's gaze. "Aside from the actual bits of armour you wore over it before."

"I think her skin is tougher than any armour," Mayeia chimed in. "It also already stops me from looking within, which does not happen often — even with other Gods. Though, knowing what she is doing, I don't think I would want to know."

"And I would appreciate it if you respected my privacy," Aperio said sharply, glaring at the Goddess and causing her to shrink ever-so-slightly. "I am not going around inspecting everyone within my aura's reach either."

"My apologies. I’m simply eager to learn more. Even if you cannot explain how you use your magic, just observing it is very insightful. You are doing things that should by all means be impossible, and you don't even seem to notice."

Aperio was about to ask when Caethya did it for her, the Elf seemingly as unaware as her Goddess. "Like what?"

"I wasn't sure at first," Mayeia began, "and I am still not one hundred percent certain yet, but I believe Aperio is purifying the mana in anything that is close to her. Unlike most things she does, this is very subtle, but definitely noticeable if you look.

"My own mana," she continued, a small, light blue orb appearing above her hand, "has gotten more powerful since I've left my Dominion. Not by much, but it still happened. At first I thought it was the temple's doing, that some of the enchantments had done this, but a quick check revealed that it is happening to the mortals below as well."

Aperio tilted her head at the words. She had only looked for such a change in the people she had blessed. That her mere existence was affecting all mortals was...  She did not know. On the one hand, it was not exactly bad for them; they would have access to purer mana, perhaps live a little longer. On the other, however, the fact that this had happened at all hinted at something being more broken than she had originally assumed. At least, the All-Mother thought so.

"My mere existence makes mortals stronger?" Why?

Revelations - Chapter 101: Mortal Foundations

Aperio let her senses wander, taking in Ebenlowe and the world beyond. She was trying to find the change Mayeia had mentioned. The problem Aperio was running into, however, was that they all felt pathetically weak to her. It was true that she could inspect each mortal even more thoroughly, but then she would violate their privacy even more than she already was.

She found herself mildly curious as she let her aura inform her of the happenings on continents beyond Vetus, but did not redirect her focus. While she was no longer as unwilling to discover the full extent of her own power, she would not do so now. Being aware of one continent is enough for the moment.

“Well,” Mayeia began, tapping her chin. “Your mana is purer than what is normally available and most mortals refine their bodies with it at least to a small, unconscious degree. Being given a higher quality resource would obviously make the progress faster. What is weird is that it also works on me…”

A moment later a pen and notebook appeared in her hands, the Goddess mumbling her next words. “It also varies from person to person. Maybe she unconsciously knows who everyone is and helps them along? No… if she knew, the slavers would see no benefit at all.”

“Don’t mind her,” Caethya said, placing her hand on Aperio’s cheek and trying to turn her head. The All-Mother glared at the mumbling Goddess for a moment longer before she obliged, facing her disciple.

“And why should I?“ she asked, tilting her head slightly to rest it lightly on the Elf’s hand. Why that had been her first reaction, she did not know, but neither did she mind. Aperio focused her eyes on Caethya’s own before she continued. “I do not enjoy being talked about as if I am not present.“

Her disciple sighed after a moment of silence. “This is just who she is. It happened to me too, after she looked at my [Status]. She just started mumbling ideas to herself and taking notes.”

The All-Mother pulled her head free of Caethya’s hand and directed her gaze onto the Goddess who was still preoccupied with muttering to herself as she took notes. “She comes to my home unannounced, wanting to learn from me even though I have no idea who she is, and now I am being treated like I am her new science project. I do not like that.“

As Aperio's mind 'helpfully' supplied her with memories in which researchers of the Empire talked as Mayeia did now, her aura flared slightly in agitation. She breathed deeply, trying to center herself before she did something rash.

A hand taking her own caused Aperio to avert her gaze from Mayeia. Caethya shook her head as she looked at the All-Mother. “I’m the only mortal here, and yet, it feels like I am the mature one.”

Aperio tilted her head slightly. “You are not a mortal, you are a Demigoddess.“

“A Demigoddess whose legs are falling asleep,” her disciple mumbled, trying to find a more comfortable position while still holding onto Aperio’s hand.

The All-Mother simply stood, carefully pulling Caethya up with her. A touch of her magic removed the dirt from their forms and straightened any creases that had appeared in their clothes.

“I should have left a while ago; now is as good a time as any,“ Aperio said, fixing her eyes on Caethya. “As Mayeia seems to be… busy, and Lord Terenyk does not appear to have an answer at the moment, you could accompany me. If you wish.“

“I would love to,” Caethya replied, “but are you willing to leave Mayeia here? It did not seem like you had the best impression of her.”

“Just because I am on Procul does not mean I cannot keep watch of my temple.“

Her disciple rubbed the back of her neck at the words. “Right… Sometimes I forget just who you really are.”

A smile bloomed on Aperio’s face in response. “That is good! Perhaps others will follow suit.“

“I doubt that. You are not as friendly with others as you are with me.” Caethya paused briefly, looking at Aperio before averting her eyes again after just a moment. “Nor do others feel for you like I do.”

“Oh…“ she replied, the hand of her disciple feeling oddly heavy in her own as a slight pressure took root in her chest. “I still do not have an answer for you. I apologise.“

Mayeia had suddenly stopped her mumbling and was now looking intently at the two, the conversation seemingly of more interest to her than what Aperio’s aura did to mortals.

“Is there something you need?“ Aperio asked, turning slightly to face the Goddess.

“No,” Mayeia replied. “I am just surprised that I misjudged your relationship. That doesn’t happen often.”

With a slight shake of her head, the All-Mother directed her eyes and attention back to Caethya. What Mayeia thought about any perceived relationship mattered little to Aperio. The Elf looked at her old Goddess a moment longer, turning away after Mayeia had given her a small smile and a thumbs up that she had to have known Aperio would see.

“I have prepared a room for you,“ Aperio said to Mayeia without facing her, simultaneously informing Roots of where it was. “Roots can guide you there should you wish to remain here. The mortals that call my temple their temporary home are your equals as long as they are here. Understood?“

“Yes,” the Goddess replied, bowing slightly. “Very clear.”

For a moment Aperio considered if her words might have been a bit too harsh, but she quickly dismissed that line of thinking. If Mayeia wanted to be treated with more friendliness, she could start by not treating her as a science project.

After confirming through a mental query that Caethya was ready, Aperio let her senses spread again; let her mind accept the information her aura always provided. She took in the vast oceans surrounding Vetus, the countless creatures that called the depths their home.

A few of the monsters attempted to flee her aura’s reach, a task that was doomed to fail. The stronger beasts steeled themselves for battle as the All-Mother’s senses swept over them, seemingly unable to differentiate between her aura and an attack.

Aperio paid them no mind, instead closing her eyes to better immerse herself in what her aura sensed. Even though her senses had made the journey from Vetus to Procul faster than the blink of Caethya’s eyes, for Aperio it was a long and informative journey.

Before, she had always been scared to use her aura for more than keeping track of her immediate surroundings. She still was, in a way, but by now she realised that not using what she had — rejecting, again, who she was — would lead to more trouble than it was worth. Eventually she would have to come to terms with the fact that her senses would touch more than she wished.

A flex of her mental muscles twisted reality apart, taking her and Caethya to the shores of Procul, a little ways away from a bigger city Aperio had found. Another thought caused the armour of her dress to slowly form, creeping its way across her shoulders, chest, and skirt.

Her wings were the next to be changed, and they vanished, leaving the icy breeze to brush against her exposed back. Ever since she had returned, neither scorching heat nor freezing cold had bothered her in the least. Her body was uncaring of the temperature of her surroundings, and thus the current wind and cold did not bother her.

Caethya seemed to mind the wind, as a mantle appeared on her form, loosely hugging her. Aperio expanded a bit of her mana, letting it flow into Caethya and warming her disciple from within. The Elf let out a small sigh, shuffling a bit closer to Aperio.

“Thank you,” she said, tugging her mantle a bit closer. “I did not think a continent known for volcanoes and Dragons would be so cold.”

“I did not pay it any mind,“ Aperio said with a small shrug, the motion feeling somehow off without her wings. “Temperature means little to me. Perhaps the same will be true for you too when you get a little stronger.“

“Hopefully. Avoiding freezing to death as well as turning into a liquid Elf would be very nice.” She hesitated for a moment, inching a little closer still to Aperio. “Whatever you are doing to warm me feels nice.”

Aperio smiled at her disciple. “I wanted you to be comfortable.“ She had used no convoluted magic, she had simply wished for Caethya to be warm, and her mana obeyed.

“Better not answer others if they ask you what you did with your magic,” Caethya said with a small shake of her head. “That would only create more questions.”

“Learning to be a mortal,“ Aperio said with a small, ethereal laugh. “Never thought that would be something I’d have to do.“

As a slave there had been no need for her to know how to behave like a normal person, and as the All-Mother it was painfully obvious that what was normal for her was very much not for the people surrounding her. Not that that should’ve surprised me…

“But you have a bona fide mortal as your teacher!” Caethya said, taking hold of Aperio’s hand. “Or, well, ex-mortal, I guess.”

“You are still an outlier amongst them, though,“ Aperio rebutted. “Your level is far higher than most mortals I have seen.“ She paused for a moment, lowering her head slightly. “My blessing made a normal life impossible for you before you were even born.“

“And I do not mind,” Caethya replied, giving Aperio’s hand a squeeze. “I am thankful for what you have given me. Though, I do have one question.”

“Yes?“

“How old are you?” Caethya asked, looking up at Aperio. “Technically, you are as old as all of existence, but I think how long you have been alive as a… mortal, would be more accurate.”

The All-Mother let out a small sigh. “I do not know. The only hint I have is that I was sold into slavery at the age of three. How long I was trapped there is not something I know.

“Neither do I know how long I was in my Void after I… died,“ she continued, her eyes wandering towards the sky above. “A few millennia at least, if I go by what I know of Vetus and what I believe happened after the ritual.“

Aperio rubbed the bridge of her nose as she looked at her disciple again, her ears twitching slightly as she heard distant yells of mortals. “I was asleep for most of that as well; not aware of what was happening.“

“Perhaps it is best if you don’t tell people how old you are,” Caethya said with a small smile. “A stern look should be enough to silence most people.”

“Oh? I thought I was not that scary.“

“You tower over nearly everyone, look like you could throw most people through the nearest wall, and your eyes not only shift between shades of blue and silver but also seem to pierce with a look into a person's very core,” Caethya said, holding Aperio’s gaze despite her own words. “It can be quite intimidating if one doesn’t know you. Most Adventurers are not friendly, and Elders aren’t either.”

“I can see that,“ Aperio said, pointing in the direction she had heard the yells from. While the mortals that were fighting each other were still a good distance away and hidden behind a hill, Aperio had no doubts that Caethya could see them through her own aura. “They seem to be having a disagreement.“

Two leather clad mortals were protecting a third while three others were circling around them, yelling at them in a language Aperio did not understand.

Caethya scrunched her brows, either trying to find the people Aperio was talking about or trying to understand what they were saying.

A step accompanied by a small flex of her mental muscles brought both of them to the top of the hill that had hidden the squabbling mortals before. Caethya looked around confused for a moment before she focused on the group below them, giving Aperio’s hand a last squeeze before letting go.

“I think the one on the ground stole or hid something from the group,” Caethya said with a puzzled expression. “They want him to admit to it while the other two are saying that he could not have done it.”

She wanted to say that their reaction seemed a bit dramatic, but she had done similar things since she had returned. Like yelling at the only people that care about me…

With a sigh and an unneeded wave of her hand, the mortals froze in place, only their heads still able to move. They all looked around frantically until, one after another, their eyes came to rest upon Aperio and Caethya.

The All-Mother took another step, twisting reality apart to bring herself and her disciple in front of the group. Intervening was perhaps not the best choice, but at the moment it felt like the right thing to do.

“Killing one another over what is likely a misunderstanding is a little extreme, no?“ she asked, a small smile creeping onto her face as the mortals somehow stood even more stiffly than before.

Revelations - Chapter 102: First Impressions

Jikoh's muscles strained against the magic that held him in place as he tried to move. He eyed the pair of Elves again. The taller one, the same one that had spoken before, was looking at him with slightly narrowed eyes.

He would have protested her intervention, but every part of him was screaming at him to run away, that the woman that held him with her magic was dangerous. His [Identify Threat] skill returned nothing either, something that had never happened before.

“Why, exactly, are you trying to fight one another?“ she asked, her ever-shifting eyes briefly lingering on every member of what used to be his party.

“They are traitors,” he hissed, the Elf’s voice somehow seeming to echo in his mind. “They protect the thief!”

“And what did he steal?“

Jikoh remained quiet at the question; it was not his place to talk about the royal signet the thief had taken. Tiko would have to speak about that. It had been her duty to protect it.

“I did not permit him to touch the property of Fel’Erreyth,” the woman snapped, her eyes never leaving the thief. “If I do not punish him, the guards will. Your interference with justice will only draw the ire of his majesty!”

The tall Elf titled her head slightly at Tiko’s outburst, glancing at her companion who nodded after a moment. Telepathy? Jikoh thought with growing trepidation. He redoubled his efforts to get free of the magical grip that held him in place, even though he knew he could not.

“And why is he not allowed?” the other Elf asked, her voice not brimming with power as the other’s did. “It’s just a ring.”

The taller one waved her hand lazily, the signet ring they had been trying to retrieve appearing between her fingers. “Is it this one?“ she asked, inspecting it.

“Yes!” Tiko exclaimed, trying to turn towards the Elf. “Give it to me at once! You’re withholding property from a Royal Messenger!”

Jikoh would sigh if he could. He already knew Tiko’s next words. She would tell the Elves they were subject to Fel’Erryth’s laws, even though it was painfully obvious they were not from Procul. The way the taller one spoke and conducted herself fit almost perfectly with what he knew of the Elven Elders. Someone they did not want to upset, if true.

The woman merely shrugged and tossed the ring towards Tiko, who caught it as the magic that held them vanished.

“The cowering one was not the one who had it,“ she said, gesturing towards the only member of his former party who was not only unable to move but also floating a little ways off the ground. “Your friend there was.“

“What?” Jikoh asked, looking at the still frozen figure of Ilo. “Why?”

“How should I know?“ the tall Elf asked, her voice growing closer until she stepped past him and grabbed Ilo out of the air. “I merely stopped you from potentially killing each other over a silly ring.“

She effortlessly held the bulky Dragonkin aloft with one arm, looking him up and down as if searching for something only she could see. After a moment longer, she unceremoniously dropped him with no sign of having found what she had been looking for.

The other Elf had followed her companion and now looked at his group with an apologetic smile. “Perhaps we should introduce ourselves?” she asked, inclining her head towards the taller Elf. “This is Aperio, [Elder of the Moons], and I am Caethya Martinek, her disciple.”

“Your kind has no power in the realms of Fel’Erreyth,” Tiko said, glaring at the Elder and her Disciple.

Jikoh took a couple steps back, separating himself from the group. He might have thought the woman was an Elder, and she might have been introduced as one, but something about her still felt off.

That both of them could teleport was not remarkable, high levelled people usually had one or two skills that bent the rules of the world a little to allow them to move faster. But the way the taller Elf just forced her will on the world unsettled the Dragonkin.

Her name, too, reminded him of something. Jikoh was sure he had heard of ‘Aperio’ before, that it had been talked about in hushed voices when they went to get Tiko from Fel’Erreyth’s court.

“Your ruler is the reason I am here,“ Aperio said, the displeasure obvious in her voice. “Well, part of it, at least.” She paused briefly before she took a few steps to stand next to her disciple. “Would it not be appropriate to return the favour and introduce yourselves?“

Jikoh remained quiet, his eyes shifting between his former party and the two Elves. His instincts were to run, get as far away from this monster as he could, but he somehow knew that any attempt would be futile.

“My name is Jikoh,” he said after a few more breaths, his eyes fixed on Aperio. He was sure that a wrong answer would mean his end; that the woman was just waiting for an excuse to kill them all. “A simple Adventurer.”

There was no reaction to his words. Aperio merely held her unblinking gaze on him a little longer before she returned her attention to the others. Jikoh took another step back as he noticed something that he had not picked up on before.

She doesn't breathe, he thought with shock, and his hand wandered as subtly as he could to a potion that hung on his belt. Undead?

The smaller Elf, Caethya if he recalled correctly, was blinking and breathing as someone who was alive should. She also did not look off to him, unlike Aperio.

Aside from her freakishly tall stature, there were other things he had not taken immediate notice of that stood out now that he looked more closely. The woman had either spent an ungodly amount of time pursuing strength without the System’s help, or was using magic to alter her appearance.

He deemed the latter much more likely, as it would explain the lack of any imperfections on her skin. Elves aged slower, yes, but so did his kind, and he knew that the ravages of time left little marks on everyone. Even Fel’Erreyth had them.

Before the others of his former group could speak, a few quiet words that he immediately regretted escaped his mouth. “What are you?”

A prayer from Caethya telling her she should have let her do the talking was the first thing that reached Aperio after the Dragonkin had asked his question.

What gave it away? she thought to herself, relaying the question to her disciple.

“An Elf,“ she replied in the meantime, fixing her gaze on the one that called himself Jikoh. It was a lie, kind of, but it was the simplest answer to come up with at the moment. Maybe I should just tell people I’m a Primordial Elf? I am one, after all.

It was perhaps also easier to explain, as she could show them her [Status] and they could see that it said ‘Primordial (Elf)’. That it only meant she looked like an Elf was not something they needed to know. Can mortals even show their [Status] to someone else?

The mortals remained silent, the one named Jikoh taking another step back despite her not having done anything. Rude. Caethya had given her a long list of things she needed to fix; one of which was that she would have to have some imperfections on her form.

Her disciple had suggested a complete makeover, but she had also clarified that she neither wanted that for herself nor truly thought Aperio would drastically alter her appearance. Right she is. A few minor changes might be doable, but Aperio would rather bear the attention and doubts than to change anything major.

It was, perhaps, a mistake to stick with what she had made — a more mortal appearance would further her goal of living amongst them — but she wanted to live life, not play charades. Either they accept me as me, or they don’t.

“Anything else you wish to ask?“ Aperio inquired, promising Caethya she would do the talking next time with a mental message. And remember to breathe, blink, and not break the laws of the world by walking…

“Why are you here?” the perpetually angry woman asked. “What do you want from his majesty?”

Tiko Tellheim | [Messenger of Fel’Erreyth] | Level: 127

“He might know the location of something that has been stolen from me,“ she replied, dismissing the System notification her magic had yielded. “Perhaps I will also inform him of your manners, Miss Tellheim.“

While the mortals remained quiet at her words, Aperio could hear a quiet sigh from Caethya, her disciple obviously not happy with her magic usage. The All-Mother tilted her head lightly, asking why her use of [Identify] would have been wrong. Ferio had told her it was a skill mortals used, after all.

“You make an awful mortal,” Caethya whispered as she passed her Goddess to stand between her and the group. “Just let me talk, okay?”

Aperio sighed but gave a slight nod in reply nonetheless. Her disciple taking over was a good thing, if she was honest with herself. She would have been at a loss for what to do next. The longer she talked with them, the more she felt like not doing exactly that. I hope that doesn’t happen with other mortals…

Her experience with them had been… limited. Caethya is probably right, Aperio thought as she looked at her disciple and the group of mortals. No magic the next time.

Jikoh had distanced himself from everyone, including his group, but was now moving slowly towards her again. "What are you," he asked again, quietly enough so that only Aperio could hear him.

“An Elf,“ she replied, shifting her gaze onto him. She briefly considered her next words. Revealing her true nature was not an option, but neither did she want to lie outright. “Unlike others you have met or heard about, however.“

“Yes,” he replied. “Normal Elves breathe.”

Aperio waved her hand dismissively after a moment, having first tried to shrug her wings before she realised there were currently gone. “It is no longer necessary past a certain level.“

She knew that her words were not a lie, as Caethya had said she could survive in space for a while and she was below four hundred. What level is an Elder even supposed to be? A thousand?

The question was mentally filed away, added to the pile of questions she had in her mind, before she turned to face the man more fully. She tried her best to ignore the bit of twisty joy she got from towering over him before she asked a question of her own.

“Why is Tiko so upset about a signet ring? And why would the other guy even want it?“ From what she knew of those rings, they only worked for the person to whom it was linked. Stealing one only got you a very recognisable ring of questionable value. Perhaps the Empire had special ones?

“How do you know her name?” Jikoh countered, the tension he had been under having seemingly vanished.

Aperio folded her arms in front of her chest. “[Identify]. A simple skill that lets me know a person's name, title, and level.“

She had not actually used a skill, but the result was the same so it did not really matter, and she doubted the mortal in front of her would be able to call her bluff by having the skill themselves.

“Tiko takes her job very seriously,” he said after a while, the information Aperio offered apparently enough for him to speak on the matter. “Even if Ilo cannot do anything with the ring, its loss might mean the loss of Tiko's job, as well as the Title it gives.”

Jikoh scratched the back of his head as he eyed the man in question, who was currently talking to Caethya. “As for why he would want one? I have no idea.”

“And why are you so talkative suddenly?“ Aperio asked, tilting her head slightly. “You looked like you wished to be anywhere but here just a little while ago.“

“I don’t know?” he replied, his scales glimmering in shades of red as he tilted his head like the All-Mother had. “I… I just wanted to know what you are.”

Aperio narrowed her eyes at his words. Is this what Ferio meant when she said people will know who I am? Or did he change because I did not want him to run off?

Neither prospect was good in her eyes, but if she truly influenced people by offhandedly thinking about what she did not want them to do, her goal of living amongst the mortals would be all but impossible.

“Approaching the one that effortlessly disabled your party because you assume she is not what she claims to be seems like a good way to lose your head.“

“But I didn’t,” he said, as if that was justification enough.

“No, you did not,“ she agreed, her eyes flicking back to Caethya and the other mortals.

Her disciple had a talent in dealing with them that she lacked. Perhaps I am too intimidating? Aperio thought, looking down at herself. Caethya had made it clear that she would need to change a little about her looks, but Aperio was not sure how much that would help.

She could probably give herself some small imperfections that would make her look more normal, but she would likely not make herself smaller or rid herself of her fit physique. Aperio knew it would draw attention, but she had spent a lifetime being forced to look as others wanted — something she was not keen on repeating just to fit in.

A small flex of her mental muscles almost teleported her next to her disciple before the All-Mother realised what she was about to do and released the grip on her magic, instead taking the few steps she needed to close the distance.

Gently, she placed her hand on Caethya’s shoulder, a mental query asking her if they could continue onwards. The way Jikoh behaved was weirding her out, and she would be thrilled if they could leave.

Her disciple gave her a light nod, telling Aperio that they should probably take the mortals with them. The All-Mother scrunched her eyebrows at that. She would be lying if she said she had not looked forward to spending a bit of time with Caethya alone, but she understood why her disciple would make such a suggestion.

A sigh escaped her, the air somehow flowing from her lungs though she still had not bothered to breathe. “You are right,“ she said. “If we leave them alone, they will probably be at each other’s throats again.“

“And what gives you the right to command us?” Tiko asked, her hand closing around the hilt of her sword.

Aperio merely raised an eyebrow in reply. “Nothing. But, I believe Ilo would be quite happy to travel with us so he will not get beaten to death.“

The man in question was quick to nod, moving himself behind Aperio. I guess I make for excellent cover?

“I think we should stick with them too,” Jikoh said. “I have no desire to fight any of you.”

The two leather-clad mortals followed suit shortly thereafter, nodding their assent and moving to stand with Jikoh and Ilo. The man that had previously been the accused also joined them, a very brief touch of Aperio’s magic flowing through him to make sure he was okay. Should have done that sooner…

The scaled woman looked at them for a while longer before she huffed and turned away, walking down the road towards the city Aperio knew was in the distance.

“I hope most people here are not like her,“ Aperio said, moving to follow the woman with steps she hoped would not tire their new companions. If they are, I might have to postpone my mortal training.

Nobody answered her question, but the All-Mother did not truly care either, not when Caethya fell into step beside her and a bit of her magic danced around Aperio.

A small smile spread across her lips as she responded in kind, letting a minuscule amount of her mana flow around Caethya. The longer she spent with the Elf the more certain she became that what she felt in the back of her mind was not something that had spawned out of a life of loneliness but, perhaps, something more.

Revelations - Chapter 103: Social Climate

If her assessment of the mortals was correct, they would likely ask for a break soon — something neither she nor her disciple needed. They had travelled for a little while already; the sun that had stood high in the sky before now slowly dipped past the horizon.

Their pace was already slow, and the idea of stopping for a break was not one she looked forward to, but there was something else that bothered the All-Mother. Caethya had for some time now taken on a thoughtful expression, and had been stealing glances at her and intermittently shaking her head.

Aperio finally turned to face Caethya, curiosity getting the better of her. A touch of her magic ensured the mortals would not be privy to their conversation, and it was not until she was satisfied with the level of privacy that she asked, “Is something wrong? You seem… distracted.“

“I guess?” Caethya responded after a moment of continued silence. “I just have trouble understanding, well, you.” She took a breath of the cold air, holding it for a moment before letting it go. “You remember more of your mortal life than that of the All-Mother, no?”

After Aperio gave a hesitant nod, Caethya pressed on. "I do not know how you appeared back then, but I can only presume that you have some semblance to your former self. Why do you cling to the form that was subject to so much pain? You could be anyone, or anything. You are the All-Mother!" After a moment, she added, "It's not that I want you to change, but you cannot deny the fact that staying as you are will continue to draw attention."

The All-Mother considered her disciple’s words for a moment, idly looking at herself through her aura. “Because it is my choice,“ she replied after a while. “For the first time, I enjoy how I look; who I am. What they had tried so hard to destroy is now better than ever and beyond their reach. It might be vain of me to cling to physicality as I do, but it helps.

“I agree that it is perhaps a bit much,“ Aperio continued, balling her hand into a fist and observing how the muscles shifted beneath her skin, “but this is who I am.“ Who I want to be.

Perhaps it was a bit irrational to not want to change any aspect of how she looked, but at the moment it was a burden she was willing to bear. Perhaps just creating an illusion would be enough?

“A few small things, then,” Caethya said. “Like a few wrinkles in your hands, or perhaps make your face not as perfectly symmetrical. And maybe a bit more warmth for strangers. I know you do not trust them, but you have to open up a little.” She took Aperio’s hand into her own before she continued, uncaring that the mortals would see. “And you can always rely on me.”

“For tips on how to look worse?“ Aperio asked, in an attempt to lighten the mood.

Despite understanding the need to change her appearance, Aperio found herself unwilling. Merely hiding her wings gnawed on her mind — already caused a small amount of pain — and the prospect of further changing her appearance was appalling. Anything less than perfection was not desirable — even if the mortals found it weird or distracting.

A part of her was vehemently against the mere suggestion of further altering her form. It felt akin to bowing her head in shame, accepting that her former masters did not like who she had become. It was, of course, just an unpleasant reflection of the past, as nobody could force her to do anything she did not want, but it unfortunately did not stop her mind from supplying such unpleasant suggestions.

“Advice on how to fit in,” Caethya said, a small smile briefly flashing over her face before she turned serious again. “I doubt it is the reason for your unwillingness, but I will say it anyway. To me, it does not matter how you choose to look; I like you for who you are.”

The words of her disciple filled her with a surprising but not unwelcome warmth, one that made her want to wrap the Elf in a hug. That was not an option at the moment, but a touch of her magic dancing around Caethya was an excellent substitute.

“I have never before been able to choose,“ Aperio said after a while, a small, bitter laugh preceding her next words. “Before, I was weak, my body mutilated. Changed to fit the desires of my masters. Not anymore.“

The All-Mother sighed after a moment, a small breeze brushing past them in reply to the accidental loosening of her iron grip on her aura. “But, I guess changing might be the only way to comfortably mingle with the mortals. Some compromises will have to be made.“

Caethya gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, a calming touch of her disciple’s magic brushing against the edges of her mind. At the moment, however, the minuscule nature of her magic only underlined the issue.

An unneeded wave of her free hand dissolved the magic that had blocked sound from reaching the mortals. There was nothing more to discuss that the mortals were not supposed to hear. In fact, Aperio had a few questions of her own about the city she could sense not too distant from them.

It housed the dungeon she had come to destroy, and scattered in its proximity were numerous people who were only slightly weaker than Caethya. Definitely not something normal for a mortal city. Or is Ebenlowe just weak?

With a slight shake of her head, she pushed the thought from her mind. “Does the Adventurers Guild control the dungeon here?“ she asked instead, focusing her senses on the mortals behind her.

“No,” Jikoh replied. “His majesty controls it. I had thought such knowledge would make it past our little continent.”

“Fel’Erreyth would never let those filthy adventurers control his dungeon,” Tiko spat. “He controls it and, one day, will become one with it.”

The words gave Aperio pause. Become one with the dungeon? The mere idea caused a shudder to run down her spine. She did not want to believe that someone would voluntarily do such a thing as absorbing so much pure mana, let alone having the audacity to steal her memories. But they don’t know…

“I hope for his sake that he has not done that yet,“ Aperio said. “The dungeon has something that belongs to me. If he has already taken it… that would be problematic.“

“What would you do if he took them?” Caethya asked, tightening the grip on her hand slightly.

“I do not know,“ Aperio replied, a mental message telling her disciple that she would get her memories back one way or another.

“What do you intend to do when we reach Ullier?” Jikoh asked, hesitating for a moment before he added, “Lady Aperio.”

“Retrieve what has been stolen from me,“ she replied. “After that? Perhaps explore these lands a little. It would be interesting if I could find something worthy to fight.“ Though I doubt that exists. Maybe I can spar with Caethya when she ascends?

Aperio still would like a bout with her daughter, but she was not sure what their relationship was at the moment. Ferio continued to reply to her inquiries with nothing more than a simple "I'm busy," something that had led the All-Mother to briefly check if her daughter was actually okay. Luckily, she had not been able to find anything wrong. Physically, at least.

Caethya moved a little closer to her, the bond they shared likely making her sadness obvious to the Elf. Aperio had to note, however, that the bond was no longer as prevalent as it used to be. Good. The stronger her disciple became, the less the connection seemed to matter — the more she could trust Caethya’s affection to be genuine.

On the other hand, the rather abrupt change in attitude Jikoh had displayed worried her. It had been too abrupt, as if her dislike for his wariness had taken that from him. There was of course the possibility that he was merely curious, but Aperio had her doubts. She already knew that her will — her emotions — influenced the world and the people. Just like they do to me.

“You make it sound like whoever stole from you is hiding in the dungeon,” Jikoh began. “But only Fel’Erreyth and his court live in the Valley of Everlasting Fire; the lower floors of the dungeon.”

"That is because the dungeon is exactly where it is," Caethya replied. A touch of her magic brushed against the All-Mother's cheek — she had clearly taken note of Aperio's irritated expression — and she all but mumbled her next words. "I hope Fel'Erreyth is not too attached to the dungeon..."

The brief quiet that had settled over the group was broken by a snorting laugh coming from Tiko. “Do you think the dungeon stole from you? Those things don’t even think. They are mindless monsters that can only be tamed by the truly strong.”

Aperio only shook her head in reply. It made sense that the mortals did not know, of course, but she knew that the dungeons were very much things that could think. It was a truth that worried her even more about Fel'Erreyth's potential bond with the dungeon. The idea that he would get her memories, would see her life...

She let out a breath despite the lack of air in her lungs, the clouds that had started to gather far above them stopping their race to darken the skies. Why is my influence on the world so much more pronounced here? There was nothing special about Procul; nothing she could feel at least. Perhaps it is the dungeon?

“The weather is odd today,” Ilo said quietly, taking Aperio from her thoughts. It was the first time he had spoken since Aperio met the group. “Perhaps his majesty is angry?”

“Of course he is angry!” Tiko rebutted. “You tried to steal from one of his messengers!”

“I doubt that was him,” Caethya said, her eyes fixed on Aperio as she removed her hand from the All-Mother’s, resting it against the small of her back instead. The movement was accompanied by a warming touch of her magic flowing through Aperio’s body.

The mana of her disciple should have been barely noticeable in the flood that coursed through her body, but it still managed to bring a warmth to her being that she had not expected. One she was not certain came entirely from Caethya’s mana.

“Is your… master doing that?” one of the leather-clad Dragonkin asked. He also mumbled something about the master and disciple thing being a lie, but Aperio ignored that comment. Disciple was just one of the many things Caethya was, and definitely not all she could become.

“Yes,“ Aperio replied after a while, her eyes fixed on the distant gates of the city. “Something here is… resonating with my magic.“ Does the mana the dungeon stole know I have come?

It was not unthinkable. Her mana — just like anything she had created — reacted to her emotions; her thoughts. There had been a few occasions before when her mana had been seemingly happy to get used, almost as if it was eager to shape reality to her will. But mana doesn’t think.

Jikoh scratched the back of his head, the claws of his hand scraping over the scales that covered most of his form. “What was stolen, anyway?”

“Upsetting an Elder seems like a stupid idea,” Ilo mumbled, his eyes flicking between Aperio and the slowly dispersing clouds. “Like a walking calamity,” he added, even quieter than before.

“What has been stolen is none of your concern,“ Aperio replied, letting her senses wander through the busy streets of the city ahead. She had no intention of telling them about her lost memories, and neither did she want to make something up. “That something has been taken is enough.“

The reply silenced the mortals for a moment, the group exchanging a few glances before the quiet seemingly became unbearing and the other leather-clad figures spoke. “Do Elves usually share such an… intimate bond with their students?”

Caethya raised a brow at the question, not stopping the gentle movement of her hand against Aperio’s back. “Do you not comfort your friends?”

“Comfort?” Jikoh asked, not quite sure what to make of the words.

“Calm would be a better word,“ Aperio replied, a slight smile forming at the absence of the feeling of wrongness she had half expected to return. “I usually do not leave my home,“ she continued, taking extra care not to mention anything that would contradict her cover as an Elder. “Dealing with people who do not know how to conduct themselves is not one of my strong suits.“

It had been obvious that her comment had been directed at Tiko, the woman falling slightly behind as she stole a few glances at the sky above. The other mortals also fell behind, muttering various things that included what sounded like assorted prayers to various deities.

Aperio did not mind. Her attempt to appear like a mortal had already been foiled by her own actions, and as soon as she had reached the city it would have been moot anyway. Mortals don’t destroy dungeons, after all.

Still, her test had been helpful. She now knew what she had to do the next time she went to mingle with the mortals. I just hope a few small changes are enough… With a slight shake of her head, Aperio pushed the thoughts from her mind, focusing on the city that drew ever closer. Soon.

Revelations - Chapter 104: Holding All the Cards

Aperio debated making a few changes to herself as the guardsmen continued to stare at Caethya and her. They had finally reached the city, the mortals indeed needing a break that had been cut short with a bit of magic from her disciple.

It had been agreed that they would all visit Fel'Erreyth, Aperio because she was very sure the presence she could feel far below the city was the ruler of Procul, and so that was also where the dungeon core was likely to be; and Tiko because she was adamant that Fel'Erreyth would punish Ilo for his insolence and would likely also squash Aperio.

The All-Mother doubted that he would do anything of the sort.

"Will you intervene if Ilo really gets punished?" Caethya asked quietly, a touch of her own magic keeping the words private. "I am beginning to think that the people here are a bit… barbaric."

While the All-Mother would not necessarily agree with the assessment, she had no problem seeing why her disciple would think that. Everyone outside the city gates was armed, armoured, and looked as though they would start a fight if spoken to.

On the other side of the walls, it looked a little different. Her aura had no trouble seeing what was inside the city, and what she saw was much more in line with what she knew. People still carried weapons and wore armour nearly everywhere, but they also talked to one another.

"I don't know," Aperio replied with a sigh, a touch of her own magic reinforcing Caethya's. "I do not want him to suffer, but he did steal something and I am not certain if it is my place to judge… Perhaps I will intervene if they want to kill or enslave him."

"Maybe you feel it is not your place to judge," her disciple began, "but you are the All-Mother — you made all of this. I think that gives you the right to judge, or at least to prevent something unjust."

"Does it?" Aperio asked. "I do not even remember how — or even if — I made this planet. And even if I did do all that? Why would that entitle me to judging a random person?"

"Since most places are ruled through strength, you'd easily have the upper hand there," Caethya replied. "But I also already know that you would intervene if they did something out of proportion. You have done so already, after all."

The All-Mother sighed slightly. Caethya was right; she would do something if Fel'Erreyth decided that stealing a useless ring should be punishable by slavery or death. She was likely to come into conflict with the ruler of Procul anyway, as she doubted he would let her simply destroy the dungeon. And he won't believe me that the dungeon will still be there after I destroy the core.

"We shall see," she said. "But first we have to get inside."

That course of action was easier said than done. I should have gotten proper identification from the [Grandmaster], Aperio thought to herself. A mental message to Caethya revealed that Elders did not have special papers they carried with them and that Aperio could just copy what her disciple used. If I can copy that…

The small card Caethya had produced and now held in her hand was made from a metal Aperio had not seen before and was dotted with runes she could not read. The All-Mother tilted her head slightly as she focused on the card, trying to get a feel for it through her aura.

She had little doubt that she could make something that looked like it, but Aperio had no idea if she could replicate any of the card’s functions. A flex of her mental muscles caused her mana to flow between the threads of reality, something she hoped would hide her magic from the mortals.

Her mana flowed into the small space she had created, twisting the fabric of space further as she forced her will into reality. It was not long before the metal card she had wanted came into being, only hers carried a blue sheen that Caethya's lacked.

Because it's made from my mana? A thought turned the card in its secluded pocket of reality as Aperio inspected her creation. Even though it had been easy to make and, in the end, did not amount to much, the act of creation had been enjoyable on a level that did not quite make sense.

Another touch of her magic caused runes to slowly appear on its surface, each one flickering to life as soon as she was done etching it into the metal surface of the card. Her name was then etched into it in the excessively cursive script she had come to adopt, connecting the various runes to one another and causing the entire metal card to briefly shine with the full force of her mana before settling into a more subtle and muted blue and silver glow.

Aperio brought the card out of its secluded space — her attempt to hide it from the mortals seemingly a success — and gently placed it in Caethya's hand so she could inspect it.

Her disciple ran her fingers across the metal surface, tiny arcs of mana dancing over the card and her hand. Caethya turned it around, visually inspecting the other side before Aperio felt a bit of her disciple's magic flow through the card.

With a satisfied nod, Caethya handed it back. After responding to Caethya's mental query for privacy by erecting an invisible barrier, their conversation continued.

"It should work," her disciple said, "but it will probably still draw a bit of their attention as it has some… peculiar properties. It should not be too bad, but it would seem that your penchant for perfection is going to make things a bit more difficult again."

"I did not try to perfect it, though," Aperio said, tilting her head slightly. "I just tried to recreate yours as I have no idea what these are supposed to do in the first place."

"Usually they are made by pushing your mana through a tool that reads your signature and stores it in your runes," Caethya explained, tracing the small lines of her own card with her fingers. "Your mana creates them, marking it as yours forever. The name is just an optional touch."

"So it will work because I did the same, just without the help of a machine?" Apparently made it better, too.

Her disciple gave a nod in reply, taking a step forward as the group in front of them was finally done. Aperio let the magic that had given them their privacy fade, and followed.

Most of the guardsmen continued to stare at them, and only the one in charge of the gate seemed to be used to seeing people like Aperio and Caethya.

Maybe wearing a dress is also not the best idea, Aperio thought as she stepped closer and handed the guard her newly-made identification card. Adding armour doesn't really make it more fitting for adventurers. While her disciple might have worn something similar when she had first encountered her, it did not mean that it would be normal attire for most adventuring mortals. Caethya is not exactly a normal adventurer, after all.

The guard placed the card on a small stone tablet that was not only ringed with various crystals but also had many runes etched into it. It's gonna break, isn't it?

Just as she had thought, the tablet flashed once with a blinding green before the crystals cracked and the stone seemed to melt slightly.

"You may enter," the guard said with a sigh, as another guard took the broken tablet in his hand and replaced it with a new one. "Should've known that would happen," he mumbled as he took Caethya's card, inspecting it before placing it on the tablet.

Aperio moved slightly past the man, a touch of her magic flowing around the tablet her card had broken. While she did not intend to fix it, Aperio did want to see if she could figure out what exactly went wrong with it.

The obvious theory was that her mana was too potent for the device. I do break wards by just being near them, after all. Though a feeling in the back of her mind told her that it would be useless, Aperio made a mental note to try pushing her mana between the threads of reality to hide it in a space mortals could not see the next time she encountered wards.

With that noted, Aperio shifted her attention away from the broken tablet and onto the mortals that had accompanied them. Much like Caethya and herself, they presented the guard with a little card that he placed on his stone before waving them through.

Jikoh's eyes lingered on the broken one for a moment, the Dragonkin glancing at the waiting Aperio as he passed.

The gentle touch of Caethya's hand against her back caused Aperio to fall into step next to her disciple. For a moment, the All-Mother wanted to fold her wing over her disciple in reply, the feathered limb almost appearing before Aperio caught herself and took Caethya's hand into her own.

She was not sure if the stares they received were from her general appearance, the fact that they were Elves or if the residents of Ullier did not appreciate them holding hands. The whispers that reached Aperio's ears not only caused them to twitch slightly, but also confirmed that it was her first two thoughts that were correct.

In comparison to the thousands of mortals, the handful of Elves — she could only locate a few within the city — would be a rare sight. That she looked exotic to them, apparently even more so than a normal Elf, only garnered more attention.

Can't exactly change how I look with mortals around, Aperio thought to herself, her senses wandering through the city. The dungeon was easy to find, but her hope of popping over to an empty floor to take a breather and maybe figuring out what to change about her appearance was quashed as she found more city on every floor.

It made sense, of course; if you can control the dungeon, why not use the space to expand your city? Perhaps A'ryein and Den'kelter will make the dungeon available to the residents of Ebenlowe? There is already a village in it, after all. She pushed the thoughts from her mind. What the people of Ebenlowe decided to do was none of her business. The only bit she cared about was that A'ryein and Den'kelter did not abuse their newfound strength.

She did make a mental note to visit them later, however. Thus far, she had heard nothing whatsoever from the two, which unsettled her a little. I should also visit Maria again… "So much to do," Aperio mumbled, briefly contemplating simply teleporting to the bottom of the dungeon.

The idea was quickly dismissed, and Aperio instead tried to busy herself by observing the city. Most of the buildings were made from a dark grey stone that she had no doubt came from deeper in the dungeon. They all carried a certain note with them that the All-Mother could not quite place, but knew it came from the dungeon.

"I think we should invest into some veils," Caethya whispered, moving just a little closer to her Goddess. "At least if we intend to go places where being an Elf draws attention."

"I could make some now, if you wish."

"No," her disciple replied with a small shake of her head. "Just give me a little bit of time to prepare the next time we plan on going somewhere."

"Taking you with me had been a rather impromptu decision." Aperio wasn't quite sure how to put the reasoning for her decision into words.

The warm fuzziness that spread through her, the gentle note of calm that helped her stay out of infinite loops of doubt and memories that crawled out of the depths of her mind. It was a foreign feeling for Aperio; one she had not experienced before. She sent this information to Caethya in an indistinct mental nudge, no words she knew able to accurately convey the meaning, and privately admitted to herself that the comfort she drew from Ferio or Maria was different, lacking that certain something that she felt when she was with her disciple. It was a grounding calmness, she hesitantly decided, and it was the little urge she felt to hold on to the Elf.

The All-Mother indulged in the impulse, holding Caethya's hand a little tighter and pulling her a little closer. That she had to take meticulous care of how much strength she used was only a small downside, one she hoped would vanish in time. Though, with her never ending increase in strength, it was doubtful that that would ever be the case.

A giant, cathedral-like building made from black marble not unlike that which her own temple used took Aperio from her thoughts. Tiko walked straight towards it and the All-Mother could feel the floors of the dungeon stretching out underneath.

"Do we have to walk all the way down?" Jikoh asked. "I have only ever gone to the third floor, and that took quite a while."

"No," Tikoh replied, showing the ring to one of the guards at the door. "We will use the gate to go directly to the Valley of Everlasting Fire."

Nobody stopped them as they made their way through the giant hall. Aperio would have been impressed at it all if it did not remind her of her own temple. Did the dungeon try to recreate it?

The idea was confirmed for her when she laid her eyes on the gate Tiko had mentioned. It looked exactly like the one outside her temple, minus some of the runes. And the fact that this one is actually being used.

The Dragonkin did not hesitate as she stepped through, the rest of the mortals following shortly after. Aperio and Caethya gave each other a look before stepping into the portal themselves.

It was cool to the touch, almost like water, but what Aperio noticed more was the crude way in which this portal ripped reality apart. Her skin crawled as she emerged on the other side, almost reaching out with her mind to fix what was clearly in need of repair so she could be at ease when her eyes landed on the presence she had felt in her aura all along.

At the end of the cave she now found herself in was a Dragon, its scales a shiny black similar to the marble-like floor of the cave itself. Each one of its leathery wings was bigger than the gate they had used to get here, and a crystal embedded into its chest glowed with a familiar twinkling light as the red mist flowed within.

Aperio's swordstaff appeared in her hand before anyone had spoken, her assessment of the room having taken a fraction of a breath.

The Dragon opened its eyes in reply, shifting its limbs as it stood to its full height, easily taller than most of the buildings she had seen in both Ebenlowe and Ullier. The crystal in its chest, too, was bigger than any she had seen before. At least twice as tall as herself, and filled with the red mist she knew all too well.

"The Tyrant arrives," the Dragon rumbled, its voice causing the threads of reality to sway slightly. "I have been told to expect you."

Aperio did not reply, instead focusing on the monster in front of her. With a small twitch of her mind, she willed the System's notification into existence.

Fel'Erreyth | [Conduit of Memory] | Level: Error

Revelations - Chapter 105: Evocation

Aperio shifted her swordstaff, the blade of her weapon cutting through reality itself with no resistance. She kept her eyes fixed on Fel'Erreyth as a flex of her mental muscles brought Caethya and the mortals that had accompanied them behind her, encased in a sphere of mana she had drawn from the deeper, purer parts of her well.

"I have no intention to fight," the Dragon said suddenly, the mist in the crystal flaring an angry red. Fel'Erryth stretched out his wings before lying back down, tail curling protectively in front of his legs. "My God has told me that you would come; would kill me. But I respect the Law of the First, and I know you better than my God does. I know I have no chance of beating you, and I know what you have come for, Aperio."

"Do you?" she asked, taking a step forward as her wings came into being once more, spreading slowly behind her. "You call me a Tyrant like those who oppose me — even admit that your God is one of them.

"You took what is mine for yourself," Aperio continued, small cracks forming on the marble floor with every step she took. "Used it to strengthen yourself."

Fel'Erreyth's eyes followed Aperio as she came closer, lifting his head as she kicked off of the ground accompanied by a strong beat of her wings. It brought her directly in front of him, and she stayed level with his gaze, pointing her weapon at the crimson eye staring at her.

"I want them back."

"I don't know how to give back what you seek," the Dragon replied calmly. "I have sought a bond with the dungeon to gain strength, but the price that came with that strength was not worth it. If you must kill me to take back your memories, then so be it."

Fel'Erreyth shifted his considerable bulk before he continued to speak. "I will bear the consequences of my choice, even though I do not know what they might be. I just ask that my people remain unharmed."

Aperio relaxed her arm a little, her weapon lowering marginally, and the breeze that had started to flow through the chamber began to lightly subside.

"Would you die if I destroy the crystal?" Aperio asked, trying her best to ignore the voice in the back of her mind that wanted to fight the dragon.

"I am unsure," Fel'Erreyth replied. "The dungeon's core is now part of my being. Removing it would likely spell my end, First One. But there is a slim chance it might not."

The All-Mother stopped beating her wings, letting gravity take her down so she might look at the crystal. The stone cracked beneath her feet as she landed, something she had by now grown accustomed to.

Despite her body itching for a fight, Aperio did not wish to kill Fel'Erreyth. Unlike the others that followed the Gods that were part of the Repens Nabu, the Dragon in front of her did not seem to openly wish to kill her.

"Have you seen my memories?" she asked. Her free hand reached out to brush over the crystal, and she could feel the mana within calling to her. "Do you know what I was?"

She was not sure if he could see her memories, as his title made it seem like he made them available for someone else.

"Only in the beginning," Fel'Erreyth said, confirming her suspicion. "Lor'Kem soon took interest in my achievement and took that ability from me." A bit of smoke curled from the Dragon's nostril as it huffed. "He said it was to protect me from the Corruption of the Tyrant."

Aperio pulled her hand back, and a few hairline cracks spread erratically on the crystal in the Dragon's chest. His words had caused her to lose sight of her strength, the idea that one of the traitors would use her memories unacceptable.

But he had a point, Aperio thought to herself. She had little doubt that her memories would have unforeseen effects on anyone but herself. The pure mana that accompanied them alone would be the death of a mortal, perhaps even a God.

"Did your God do something with them?" she asked, her mana slowly seeping into the dragon as she tried to find a way to remove the Crystal without killing.

Fel'Erreyth lightly nodded his head, a motion Aperio had not expected from the large creature. Neither had she expected the calm acceptance of her mana, but Fel'Erreyth seemed to be actively preventing his own from fighting the All-Mother.

"I assume he did," he finally replied. "But I cannot be certain. The relationship of me and my kin with the Gods is tangential at best. They value us as warriors for their cause, and we accept the boons they give us in return.

"The devotion we gave to our creator is not for the current Pantheon to receive," Fel'Erreyth added after a moment of silence, the power in his voice slightly more pronounced.

Aperio let go of her swordstaff, the weapon floating next to her as she used her now free hand to physically move a few threads of reality away. She had had a sudden idea as to how she could destroy the crystal and take back her memories without causing undue harm.

While she was a long way from trusting Fel'Erreyth, she did not want to hurt him. He had been courteous enough; had not attacked her even though his God was one of the few that opposed her. Or one of the many? Her lack of knowledge about the deities that existed in her creation was something she would have to rectify later.

Very gently, the All-Mother plucked at the threads of reality, trying to find the ones that bound the dungeon's core to Fel'Erreyth. While she was not sure if it would work, Aperio chose to trust the feeling at the back of her mind. The one that told her it would be fine if she wanted it to be.

Aperio knew, of course, that her will alone would not be enough to right all wrongs. Not yet, at least. How much stronger she would become? Thinking about how much a mere thought from her could potentially do in the future was a scary prospect, especially when she considered how easy it had felt to influence her creation after she had left her body.

A single thread of reality caught at her attention, the strand resonating more strongly with her mana than the others that surrounded it. Aperio focused on it, her senses following it as she had done before to find Vigil's Dominion. She doubted it would lead her to Fel'Erreyth's God, the mana that clung to this specific thread quite clearly her own.

The kaleidoscope of colours that greeted her senses beyond the threads that held the realms was oddly pleasant for her. Each minuscule part that resided here was an integral part of her creation — the knowledge an irrefutable fact in her mind.

What was also clear to Aperio was that the single thread that resonated with her mana did not belong, destroyed the perfect balance she had created here. Her mind followed the strand, faster and faster, the colour of this world beyond merging into a multi-coloured strip as the All-Mother devoted more and more of her mind to finding the end of the offending thread.

Aperio's thoughts came to a halt as she found the end of the strand she had chased. In front of her mind's eye was not the solution she had sought, but a carefully woven pocket of reality that housed hundreds of crystals; all filled with the same red mist.

"Conduit," Aperio mumbled to herself as she drew more mana than ever before from the depths of her well. The pain that spread through her body was easily ignored with the promise of so much of her past so close by.

The arcs of her mana that danced across her skin and jumped between her hair and feathers were ignored. Aperio did not care about the stone melting beneath her feet, simply hovering in place with lazy beats of her wings. The wisps of her mana that were thrown across the room whenever she moved her wings were also of no concern, the barrier she had created between herself and Caethya and the mortals more than strong enough to protect them.

Slowly, Aperio stretched out her arm, following her instinct to both retrieve the mana in the crystal in front of her physical self and the ones hidden beyond the realms of apparent reality.

Arcs of mana leapt from her skin, creating cracks whenever they struck the crystal embedded in the Dragon's chest. A thought of the All-Mother forced her mana into Fel'Erreyth and commanded it to push the crystal out of its host.

The Dragon roared in pain for a moment before Aperio directed her mana to heal him with another thought. A part of her wanted to kill him for trying to take what was her own, but a greater one did not. Fel'Erreyth had not known what the dungeon's core contained, what it would lead to. He would not die, but he would not get to keep the power he had gained from her memories either.

With a flex of her mental muscles, Aperio suddenly pulled the crystal free. No blood flowed from the Dragon's wound, his flesh quickly regrowing and filling the space the dungeon core had recently occupied.

The All-Mother did not know what the Dragon needed to survive, only letting her own mana aid that of Fel'Erreyth as his body seemed to instinctively know what was required. She did devote a small part of her mind to improving what she found lacking in the Dragon's body, a way for her to reward him a little for being cooperative.

Most of her mind, however, was focused on the small pocket of reality that housed more of the crystals then she had ever seen before. A thought of the All-Mother caused more mana to flow from her well, coiling around the crystals to aid her in pulling them into the mortal realm.

One by one, crystals came into being in the space around her body. The largest one — the one that had been in Fel'Erreyth — slowly floated towards her. The closer it got, the more the fractures on its surface seemed to spread. The space around Aperio became more and more distorted with her power, and a flex of her mental muscles teleported the unconscious dragon behind the protective barrier she had previously made.

The air surrounding Aperio was slowly being pushed away by the sheer magnitude of mana flowing from her body. She drew still more from her well, the omnipresent pain in her body ignored as she broken and was reforged again and again; a small price to pay for so much of her past.

A loud crack echoed through the hall. Broken shards fell to the floor as the crystal that had been embedded in Fel'Erreyth's chest shattered. The red mist within held steady in the air, confined by the might of Aperio's will.

She took a deep breath. Mana poured into her lungs, seeping into her flesh with a burning sensation. Slowly, Aperio spread her arms and wings, a thought drawing the cloud of red mist into her body.

As soon as it had made contact, Aperio's eyes opened wide. The noise of countless crystals shattering, breaking apart as fast as they could emerge from their hidden space, filled her ears. Unbidden, more mana flowed from her well, and for a moment she feared it was too much, the mana too pure for her body to contain.

But that was not the case. Her mana mixed with the mist of the crystals; with her memories. It seeped into her muscles, her bones — her very being. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath of the mist and mana that surrounded her.

Every cell in her body tingled as the mixture of pure and reclaimed mana spread through her. She threw her head back, gasping for air she did not need. The ceiling and walls of the cave cracked as though in reply, pieces of stone falling down only to settle into an orbit around Aperio's floating form.

She had stopped beating her wings, simply hovering above the molten stone. Her feathered limbs twitched slightly with every shaky breath she took, and her muscles shivered as more and more mana flowed into her shell, trying to reinforce it so it stood a chance of containing the seemingly boundless might of her formless self.

The last of the crystals emerged from its hidden space, the shell imprisoning her memories burning away as soon as it entered the mortal realm. The red mist surrounding Aperio was so dense that it seemed distorted, and arcs of her mana flashed through the mist to slice reality apart above her. From the wounds in the world came the cold comfort of her Void, spiraling down to embrace her pained form.

She needed the calmness her Dominion brought. The pain and pleasure flowing through her body, the anticipation of knowing more about herself and the apprehension of remembering the atrocities she might have committed; it was too much for her to willingly bear.

Despite the fear mounting in her mind, Aperio drew more of the mist into herself, letting it fill her with its foreign comfort of times long past.

With an effort of will she slowed her breathing, closing her eyes. She heard the worried voice of Caethya at the back of her mind, but did her best to ignore it. It wasn't that she didn't want to send reassurance to her disciple — her friend — but she knew that in her current state, any effort of communication would be far too much for even a Demigoddess touched by herself to bear.

Instead, the All-Mother focused on the first fuzzy memories forming in her mind, nudged them closer to her mind's eye. As the scene coalesced, already she recognised a few people. Chellien, the Beastkin God that had played with her young Ferio, was talking to a mortal she did not know. And yet, as she observed their interactions, she couldn't help but feel that they were somehow familiar.

The mortal kept glancing at her, seemingly wanting to say something to Aperio before Chellien chastised her and she focused back on him. Gradually, at a glacier's pace, her form resolved into something clearer, and Aperio was finally able to make out her face.

Brown, mottled fur, with a few white patches. A crooked ear, and a scar that ran from the outer fringes of her right eye, over her cheek and neck all the way to her collarbone.

Moria?

It was Aperio's last coherent thought before an immense flood of memories filled her mind, melting and overlapping with one another and making it impossible to distinguish any one memory from the whole.

Revelations - Chapter 106: Memento Mori

The wild flood of memories had slowed, formed a flow that — while still chaotic — at least showed individual memories in greater detail. As a memory she had previously seen reappeared, clearer than before, it took away the last bits of doubt that the mortal she had been looking at was indeed Moria. She was arguing with Chellien, her voice hushed, probably thinking Aperio would not be able to hear her.

That was, of course, not the case. She had no trouble picking up on the words, on the distaste Moria had for an Elf in their lands. The words gave Aperio pause. The Moria she had known would have never said something like that.

Another one with the same name? the All-Mother wondered as her memory self regarded the pair in front of her. She had no wings in her memory, but, minus the muscle definition and height, she looked similar to her current self.

She also felt weaker. Still a lot stronger than the other God present, but nothing short of frail and powerless when compared to her current self.

Aperio remembered the irritation, the disgust at the presence of a mortal, and noted that another stark difference was her behaviour and thoughts. The emotions clashed with what she felt now: a longing to reach out to someone she thought of as a friend, and a fond remembrance to the comfort Moria had given her in the past.

A wave of her past self's hand caused Moria and Chellien to fall silent. There was a slight warmth that spread through her when she stepped closer, the memory so vivid and clear it might as well have played out right in front of her. She wanted to wrap the Beastkin in a hug, tell her of what she had to live through.

But she could not. Even if Moria truly was in the here and now, none could simply brush side the chaotic storm of mana that now surrounded Aperio. The goddess herself was distantly aware of the world around her, and less distantly aware of the pain present in every part of her being.

Despite all of that, the All-Mother was happy. She had been gifted with a part of her life not filled with slaughter and death, one featuring a friend she had thought lost forever. A friend she had never hoped to see again in any form.

That this was the Moria she had known was increasingly unlikely, however. As far as her newly acquired memory was concerned, this happened millennia ago. Far before she died and was reborn as a slave.

Aperio frowned mentally when Chellien bowed in her memory and Moria fell to her knees. It was her doing, prompted by an annoyance at the mortal's current actions. Why?

She could feel the indignation of her old self, the disgust. Still, it did not warrant the actions she had taken. Abusing her strength like that was exactly what Aperio no longer wanted to do.

Before the memory could continue, another pushed it out of the cloudy mess that was her mind and took its place. Aperio wanted to hold on to the moment with Moria, and knew that the storm surrounding her was lashing out as her mind reached for the moment she had just been immersed in, but despite her efforts it slipped through her mental grasp.

The new memory resolved into clarity much more quickly than the previous one, showing that Chellien seemed to be the common link between the two moments in her past. Her old self, she quickly realized, held in her hands what was undoubtedly his soul, and the hope that this, too, was a happy memory was dashed. The fact that she could feel the comforting presence of her wings against her back in her memory was largely ignored as the orb in her hand began leaking a black smoke that came from somewhere within. Chellien's body, too, emitted the wispy darkness as it slowly started to dissolve.

The storm that surrounded her actual self grew in intensity as anger flowed through every fibre of her being, a part of her Dominion manifesting in the mortal realm to prevent her anger from further breaking reality.

Space around her was already distorted; twisting apart to reveal the construct beneath. The minuscule bits of her creation, moving erratically as they did their duty, resulted in a display that would likely drive a mortal insane.

Aperio screamed when the black mist lashed out, enveloping three Beastkin who had been praying nearby. She could feel the changes within the three, how her old self ripped their mortal flesh apart and reforged them with Chellien's very essence.

She remembered his wish. Give his people the strength to protect themselves. Help them.

The All-Mother's attention was also drawn to one of the Beastkin writhing on the ground. Despite the magic that concealed her form, and made her look like the other men that had been praying, she knew it was Moria.

Before she could ask herself how Moria could accomplish such a thing, the memory vanished. She didn't reach for this moment as it rejoined the confusion in her clouded mind like she had the previous one. She knew that she had witnessed the last moments of Chellien's existence in entirety, and that there was nothing left to see.

The mana surging through her body flared with her anger and, despite the presence of her Dominion, reality folded in on itself infinitely as it twisted even further apart. At the moment, Aperio did not care about the damage she was doing to her creation. The one she cared about was protected by a barrier that grew in strength with every second as her body changed more and more, making it easier for the All-Mother to exert her will on the world.

Another memory took her attention away from the mortal realm and, with it, a bit of the anger she had felt. Moria sat on the stone rim of a large fountain in the middle of a city neither her old or current self recognised. What she did know, however, was that her old self had lost the animosity she had once felt towards the Beastkin.

In fact, there was a fondness that was only slightly tainted by her dislike for mortals. She observed Moria not only through her aura but multiple sets of mortal viewpoints. Her old self was there in a form Aperio recognized, but was also simultaneously present as a variety of Beastkin walking through the city.

How? she wondered as her old self sat herself down next to Moria without the mortal noticing. Could I hide my aura?

The anger that had clouded her mind had largely disappeared, replaced by the longing she felt to meet her long lost friend again and overlaid with the fondness she remembered from this meeting.

While her old self might have been happy with what Moria had done, she was very much still displeased that she had to be there. Technically she did not have to be there, of course, but she was fulfilling the last touches of Chellien's wish, something that had meant more to her than Aperio had first thought.

Her previous behaviour, from before her time as a slave, had always been described as cold and uncaring. Most of what she remembered supported that, and what she had recently learned seemed to uphold that theory. Condemning a world filled with mortals to eternal damnation because their God had offended her was not something anyone should do, least of all herself. But still, the gentle fondness underlying her memory self's current actions made her begin to reconsider things. There was clearly more to be learned about who she had once been.

Moria immediately moved away when she noticed who was sitting next to her, bowing her head deeply. Aperio wanted to reach out and wrap the Beastkin in a hug, even if the Moria she currently saw could not have possibly been the one she knew.

They spoke in a language Aperio could not name, but understood just fine all the same. It was not the one the Humans spoke, sadly, but it sparked a small hope. If she could fully remember this one, then it might be possible to skip the hassle of her current self learning it.

Only a few words were exchanged between the All-Mother and Moria before Aperio could see a faint trickle of her mana flow into the Beastkin. A moment later, the memory turned blank and she was left with the knowledge of what her old self had done.

[Memento Mori]? Aperio asked herself, the name of the title she had given to Moria not making much sense to her. What language is that? She recognised the letters easily enough, but the words themselves were unknown.

A shift in the System's secluded space caught Aperio's attention, causing her to try and look inside it. The task was easier said than done, her mind too busy trying to sort the flood of memories.

Though she needed no air, her breathing quickened, and the storm raging around her hovering form grew further. Tiny strands of her Void mixed with the silver and blue of her mana, reflected maddeningly within the abyss of torn-open reality. Aperio struggled, trying again and again to look at the information the System wanted to show her, but was unable to.

Held hostage against her will, she couldn't move, could barely think, could do nothing but watch as a seemingly endless parade of memories flew in and out of view of her mind's eye.

Lost, in pain, past the point of caring, Aperio fixated on the one thing she wanted. A primal scream ripped from her lungs as she forced her arm to move far before it was ready to be used again. She had to see — had to know — what Moria's title meant.

With another scream that tore the threads of reality apart Aperio lashed out, her balled hand flying through the fragile reality of the mortal realm and breaking it in its wake. She physically forced her way through the layers of her creation beyond, trying to find a way to see what her mind did not want to show her.

A shudder ran through reality itself as Aperio punched a hole into the ever-shifting kaleidoscope of colours that held the threads of reality. Her mana danced across her skin as more and more flowed into her from deeper and deeper in her well.

A second push accompanied by another scream moved her hand entirely past the edges of her creation. A familiar sensation spread across her hand, travelling up her arm and extending throughout her body. It felt like her Void, but not quite; more… fundamental.

Aperio took a step forward, the raging storm of her mana parting to make way for its mistress. The fog of memories in her mind eased as she stepped closer to the tear she had made.

The All-Mother did not know what exactly she had done, having only acted with the intent to know what the title of the Moria in her memory meant.

A clear mind was a welcome change from the chaotic swirl of memories she had experienced before, but Aperio knew that it was only a short reprieve. If she wanted to remember, she would have to endure the onslaught of her past — submit to it.

For now, Aperio was glad for a break, and for the ability to actually think about what she had learned and figure out what it might have meant for her dead friend.

Tentatively, she reached out. Her mana now felt different than before, purer still but also easier to grasp, to control. It seemed more akin to the bits and pieces of her creation that lingered beyond the threads of reality.

A minuscule flex of her mental muscles tore the last threads of reality away from the mortal realm, letting the storm made from her mana, her Void, and the Beyond — a name she found fitting — mingle in the cave while she sent her senses further into the new space she had found.

It only took her a moment longer to realise she had physically forced her way into the System's space, the runes she could sense a bit further into the Beyond unmistakable.

An unneeded, painful wave of her hand caused a familiar blue window to form in front of Aperio. The System had provided the information as soon as she had wanted it, but to the All-Mother it felt more like she had done it herself.

For a brief moment, Aperio glared at the collection of runes with narrowed eyes before she returned her attention to the System notification.

[Memento Mori]

Your body might die, but your soul will remember.

The All-Mother blinked at the words, the motion feeling more foreign than she remembered. What? Why had she given Moria a title that let her remember her past lives?

She could not be sure that that was what the title meant, of course, but it was the only thing that made sense to her at the moment. Why? she asked herself again as she dismissed the window and let her senses retreat to the mortal realm. Or, what was left of it in the dungeon of Fel'Erreyth.

Her outburst had utterly destroyed the threads that had made the mortal realm liveable. As it was now, Aperio had no doubts that a mortal, gazing out upon the endless stretches of nothing that sometimes flashed in colours they could not see and that casually leaked more mana than they could bear, would lose their mind.

She closed her eyes as she breathed in the mana-filled air. A tingling sensation spread through her as it joined the rest of her magic in its endless endeavour. Curiosity sated, and feeling better for having had the reprieve, the All-Mother let herself slowly sink back into the swirl of memories.

The knowledge of Moria's title was still prominent in her mind despite the deluge of memories starting to cloud it again. Aperio could not shake the feeling that her friend had somehow known what she was — had only acted as she did because she feared retaliation when the being currently trapped as an Elf slave would eventually remember.

Her new goal was clear. The prospect of finding what had been her only friend for most of her life was too great, superseding even the desire to regain her memories. She would need to find Moria.

The All-Mother drew the storm that still raged around her body as close as she dared, embracing the pain that came with it. Despite its chaotic nature, it still managed to offer her a guiding light in the endless folds of her memories. Once she had cleared her mind, she would search for Moria and get answers. How she would do that, Aperio did not know, but she would find a way.

Revelations - Chapter 107: Out of Bounds

As the magic of her Goddess turned the barrier back to its usual opaque white colour and blocked her view, Caethya reluctantly removed her hand from its surface. Up until now it had been distressingly invisible, revealing the world beyond as well as the gashes that seemed to keep tearing into reality itself. After the mortals she had been with had started to bleed from their ears and nose, she had done her best to use her own body to shield their view.

She had gotten a headache when she had looked at it, but nothing more. Probably because of her blessing, she thought to herself as she turned around.

Her magic was no longer needed, as Aperio's had retaken control of the barrier after a few hours. Perhaps these guards will fare better?

"Do you truly not know what she is doing?" Fel'Erreyth asked. The Dragon had woken up almost a day after Aperio had taken the crystal from him, and had immediately called for a few guards as well as someone she presumed to be a doctor. The group she had briefly known, still bleeding from their facial orifices, had been gently led away while Fel'Erreyth had remained, surrounded by various Dragonkin as well as a large Serpent-Dragon.

The Serpent-Dragon, who for reasons Caethya did not understand was wearing a large robe that covered most of its body, was pushed aside by one of Fel'Erreyth's wings as the Dragon continued. "The mana density beyond the barrier — I can feel it. It's already sufficient to wipe out the entire continent."

Caethya sighed. She could feel it too, of course; but she could also feel Aperio's pain, her ever-shifting emotions. The problem was that she couldn't answer Fel'Erreyth's question. She truly did not know, especially since her attempts at contacting Aperio kept failing.

She could still feel the overwhelming presence of the All-Mother looming outside her mind, experiencing it as an unwavering guiding light. The Demigoddess had not thought that knowing what Aperio felt and being unable to help would be as distressing as it was. She was well aware of the feelings of the All-Mother, but seemingly not all that it entailed.

"I don't," she finally replied. "All I know is that she will need time to sort things out, and might be… agitated once she is done."

"But what is she doing?" the Serpent asked, its mouth unmoving as the voice simply entered her mind. "And who is she?"

"The All-Mother. The Creator. The First," Fel'Erreyth said, raising his head and glaring at the Serpent. "I thought I had known what would happen, but it appears I was wrong."

Caethya sighed as she tried once more to reach out to Aperio. Her efforts, as had become usual these past few days, went unanswered, but surprisingly this time they did not go unnoticed. She could feel the All-Mother react, the presence that loomed at the edges of her mind shifting a little, the small movement already threatening to overwhelm her.

So she can't control her strength right now? Caethya thought to herself as her hand brushed against the barrier again. Aperio had felt stronger the last time she retrieved some of her memories, though Caethya did not know how exactly an all-powerful being could even get stronger. Perhaps more concentrated?

"All we can do is wait," Caethya said, setting herself down in front of the barrier. Thanks to her recent advancement to a Demigoddess, she no longer had to worry about sleep, food or drink; neither did she have to fear being removed.

Fel'Erreyth would likely not have tried to take her away, but even if he had it would likely have ended in failure. If she was judging correctly, she was currently the strongest present after Aperio. More powerful than even a Dragon. Father will be proud.

Though she still very much wanted to introduce her family to Aperio, suddenly coming home with the All-Mother in tow was likely not the best of ideas. Maybe it would be helpful for her, though? It was possible that Aperio needed a chance to see that not everything was bad, and the city Caethya's family called home was a good choice for such a venture.

It had been at peace for centuries, and slavery had been abolished since before the Night of the Second Sun. A quiet place, with people who were not bothered by much: the perfect location to help Aperio learn to live like a mortal.

Caethya sighed, closing her eyes and focusing on guiding her mana around her body. It might not be technically needed, but purging further impurities from her now-immortal flesh still seemed like a good idea.

She also didn't have much else to do. The questions the Serpent asked, and still seemed to distantly be waiting to be answered, were mysteries she wished she could say were solved. But they remained unanswerable. Focusing on something else was exactly what she needed right now to take a bit of worry from her mind.

Her efforts would not amount to much, Aperio's healing having already removed almost all of the small impurities that remained, but it was something to do that would help her to not go mad and try to find a way past the barrier.

If Caethya had learned anything, it was that time meant little to the All-Mother. In all likelihood, she would have to wait a few more days before she could see her again. At least I can still sense her.

The Serpent — Aveo, apparently — asked her another question, only to be reprimanded by Fel'Erreyth. He had seemingly figured out that there was a bit more to her relationship with Aperio than she had verbally admitted to.

She did not hide her affection, and the All-Mother had been surprisingly open as well. Caethya had assumed that any public displays of affection would be met with refusal, but Aperio had reciprocated most of her advances.

There was, of course, the possibility that she was forcing herself to accept them because she thought it was the right thing to do, but Caethya doubted that. She knew how her Aperio felt, to a degree at least, and there was no sign of her not enjoying it.

The appearance of another strong presence caused Caethya to stop her attempt at distracting herself and turned around. Stepping out of the gate was a Beastkin with cat-like ears that were poking out through holes she had cut into her hat.

Her black and gold fur reminded the Elf of someone, but she could not remember who. The same was true for the longsword the woman carried on her back, the weapon bigger than she was. Adventurer?

The woman only gave her a glance as she walked towards Fel'Erreyth, taking a knee once she had reached the dragon. Caethya paid her no more mind as soon as she started to report on what was happening in the city.

Probably the captain of the guard. Her curiosity thus satisfied, she returned her attention to the barrier, and to Aperio still floating in mid-air beyond it. Please be safe.

Aperio's eyes snapped open. The storm that had surrounded her had disappeared, absorbed into her body and well. A thin fog of mana continued to cling to her skin and a bit still flowed from her eyes, but she did not mind.

The onslaught of memories had been most helpful. Not only had she learned something about Moria and her own past, but some knowledge of the System had returned. How she had made it. In part, at least. Its nature was not what she had expected, far more of an extension of herself than she had initially believed.

Before she did anything else, Aperio reached out to Caethya as carefully as she could. Her disciple might be able to handle her communication better than most, but with the amount of mana she now had idly flowing through her veins, even she might be in danger.

There was a pause that seemed to stretch far beyond the fraction of the moment it really took, but as soon as Caethya had replied, Aperio twisted reality apart and brought her disciple directly into her arms. She wrapped her wings around Caethya as well, holding on as tightly as she could without injuring her. Holding back as much as she did still annoyed her, and took away from the moment, but she was grateful for the moment nonetheless.

A thought stopped the magic that held her aloft, gravity readily taking hold again and dragging her down. As they descended, another thought allowed the hall that Fel'Erreyth had called his home slowly began to rebuild itself; the molten rock that flowed below them slowly solidifying into the black marble it was before.

Before she touched the ground, Aperio used a touch of her magic to slow herself down, all the while holding onto Caethya. Even though the All-Mother logically knew that her disciple would not leave, the worry was still there that she would once Aperio had fully remembered her life as the All-Mother.

She only let go when she noticed the redness creeping up Caethya's face as she mumbled the words, "Your dress."

Reality itself had not been the only thing ripped apart in the storm. Her dress had not weathered the experience, and was now little more than tattered rags. Luckily, making a new one was an easy task. Just a tiny drop of her mana and a bit of concentration.

Dark blue fabric came into existence on her form, molding itself to fit her body as it flowed across her skin. She left the designs mostly unchanged, simply recreating what she had worn before with the exception of the bindings for her chest. Those have to go. While they were not uncomfortable per se, Aperio felt much better simply adjusting her dress a little further to offer the support she needed.

Upon recreating her skirt, she realized that it had been a bit restricting before, not letting her move how she wanted without constant help of her magic. Easily fixed, she thought to herself. While she concentrated on flaring out the design of her old dress a little more to allow for better movement, a small touch of her magic caused another piece to form. The dovetail skirt sat neatly overtop her normal dress, extending behind her down to the middle of her calves while remaining short in front.

The same silvery armour that extended over her chest and shoulders also formed on her hips, offering some unneeded protection for the upper part of her thighs.

Satisfied both with her new attire and with the knowledge that reality had been repaired in this room, Aperio let out a breath of misty air. The sensation of air forming in her lungs so she could go through the motions of breathing it out was a weird one, doubly so when her mana clung to it. That also needs fixing.

"I apologise," she said, bowing her head lightly as the final pieces of her armour settled onto her form. The mana that had clung to her skin had felt almost identical to her dress. "I was happy to see you, and had not noticed my clothing's state."

"It's fine," Caethya replied, unconsciously biting her lip as her eyes flicked over Aperio's now clothed form. "I didn't expect it, that is all." She opened her mouth again to speak but closed it again quickly, shaking her head.

Aperio tilted her head at the words. While she had a tendency to ignore or not understand most social cues, it was clear that Caethya had something else she wished to say. If her assumption was correct, her disciple would be disappointed once she asked.

The All-Mother smoothed out a few nonexistent wrinkles with her hand, the silky fabric feeling oddly pleasant against her fingers.

"It is still unbecoming," Aperio said with a sigh. "Imagine what would've happened had I just removed the barrier." Good thing I had to fix… reality before.

"But you didn't," Caethya said, placing her hand on Aperio's cheek. The All-Mother leaned into it, enjoying the warm touch of her disciple. "You know what I feel," she continued. "This is not a problem. Understandable, even. I cannot fathom what you might have gone through; forgetting a bit of modesty is okay."

Aperio folded her wings around Caethya, using them to draw the Elf closer to herself. "I remembered Moria," she said, wrapping her disciple in a hug. "She was like a mother to me, and now that I know more I fear she only behaved that way because she feared retribution if she did not.

"I gave her a title that lets her remember her previous lives," Aperio continued, holding Caethya a little tighter still as she buried her face in the Elf's hair. "Please tell me I did not do something similar to you; that the blessing doesn't matter to you. That you like me for who I am, not what I am."

Caethya did not reply immediately. She wrapped her arms around the All-Mother instead, embracing her. Aperio leaned into it, taking deep breaths as she tried to calm herself.

With every breath Aperio took came Caethya's scent. It was a mix of flowers she did not know, fresh air above the clouds she had come to enjoy, and more things she could not verbally describe besides identifying them as Caethya.

After a moment Caethya pulled away, and it was only the fact that it was to see eye to eye with her that kept Aperio from immediately worrying. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't like you," Caethya said. "The blessing has nothing to do with that, I am sure. I would have likely felt the same way had I met you under different circumstances." With a smile, Caethya brushed a few strands of silver-blue hair back behind Aperio's ear. "Right now, I'm just waiting for you to find out how you feel."

Revelations - Chapter 108: Embrace

Aperio looked at her disciple. She knew that Caethya likely did not expect an answer right now, but she felt cornered nonetheless.

Her hands moved across Caethya’s back on their own accord as she thought. Further denying that she liked the Elf would do everyone a disservice, but Aperio likely had different expectations than her disciple. She would also become a target for the Repens Nabu…

She was about to speak when Caethya put her finger on Aperio’s lips. “Don’t force yourself to answer,” she said. “I know that you enjoy my presence. But I also know that you are not sure.”

“Yes, I like you,“ Aperio said after her disciple had removed her finger, “but I don’t know what that means to me yet. What I do know, however, is that you are already a target. Anything more might just put you at a greater risk.“

Caethya only raised an eyebrow at that. “I am certain you can protect me,” she said, poking the same finger against Aperio’s stomach. “I know those aren’t just for show.”

Aperio sighed, separating herself from the Elf as she sat herself down on a chair made from her mana. Another one appeared for Caethya before the All-Mother rubbed the bridge of her nose and spoke. “I can protect you, yes. Your family, too. But I do not want to cause needless death again. There has been enough of that in the past.“

“I doubt anything between us will influence the decisions of the other Gods,” Caethya stated matter-of-factly as she made herself comfortable in the chair. “And as much as it pains me to say, I doubt those who want to see you gone will just leave quietly.

“This is probably also not the best place to discuss this,” she continued, scratching the back of her neck. “I doubt me disappearing did us any favours.”

Aperio just waved her off, the movement also causing the last of her mana that still filled the cave to return to her. While her newly acquired memories were still quite fuzzy and had not held a solution to her omnipresent aura at first glance, they had still given her an idea.

“You are more important to me than they are,“ Aperio said as she directed her mana to do something she should have thought of a lot earlier.

“Perhaps it’s a little selfish,“ Aperio continued as she tried to make her mana mimic the ambient mana that surrounded them, “but I did not come here to talk to them. I came for my memories.“

“We both know that you will still talk to them, even if you don’t like it.” Her disciple looked around, her magic sweeping through the cave as she seemingly tried to figure something out. "What are you doing? I can still sense your aura, but it feels more like when you were formless.”

The All-Mother smiled at her disciple’s words. “I am trying to imitate the ambient mana — make my mana appear less pure — something I should have tried earlier, all things considered.“ How would I even explain this?

The idea had crossed her mind before, but Aperio had discarded it on the assumption that her mana would still be significantly purer and more potent, and thus still detectable in the same ways. Masking it with ambient mana and weaving her own between the threads of reality worked better than she had presumed. “I had not expected it to work, especially for you.“

Her disciple tilted her head slightly, her magic once again flowing through the cave. “Maybe you should ask Mayeia for help with this as well. Magic is her Domain, after all.”

“Maybe,“ Aperio said, standing up and letting the mana she had used for her chair return to her. “For now this will have to do, however.“

As Caethya also rose, Aperio mentally dismissed the other mana-formed chair. Her disciple hesitated for a moment, taking a step closer before she asked, “What else did you remember?”

The All-Mother flicked her wrist, countless runes appearing around both of them. “What these mean. Mostly.“ She recreated the model of the ‘Class’ part of the System in front of Caethya, slowing it down so the Demigoddess could perceive it properly. “I hope I can use that knowledge to repair this. Sadly, it’s all still a bit fuzzy… and I have yet to figure out what, exactly, it is even supposed to do.

“But, while important,“ she continued, “this will have to wait until after I have found Moria. I need to know if her friendship was feigned or not.“ I hope it wasn’t. Aperio was not sure what she would do if it turned out the only friendship she had had in her time as a slave was because they knew what she was.

“You are thinking too much again,” Caethya said, stepping beside Aperio and brushing her hand over the All-Mother’s back, below her wings. “I doubt she simply pretended to be a friend.”

“Hopefully,“ Aperio mumbled, her eyes wandering to the barrier that still separated them even though she did not spare it a thought. But then, the world also runs without me thinking about it. She could of course sense Fel’Erreyth behind the barrier, as well as a Serpent-Dragon and a surprisingly strong Beastkin. The ruler of this cave was agitated, though Aperio doubted the other mortals would be able to tell. “I think it is time to talk to our Dragon friend. I am sure he has some questions.“

The All-Mother hesitated for a moment before she turned to face Caethya again. “How long was I gone?“ Didn’t feel all that long…

“About a week,” Caethya replied immediately. “If I had not been able to feel your presence, I might have tried to go through the barrier.” She removed her hand from Aperio’s back, taking her hand instead as she moved herself a little closer. “You did not answer my prayers, but I could feel you reacting to them.”

“I feared I might hurt you if I did. The more of my mana that returns to me, the harder it becomes to talk mentally without injuring others. Even you.“ Everyone is just so fragile… Of course, she knew that it was not really everyone else that was weak, but it felt like it nonetheless.

“But you can still do it?” Caethya asked, giving Aperio’s hand a small squeeze. “It would be weird if you could not answer prayers.”

“My thoughts and mana were in turmoil,“ the All-Mother said, wrapping a wing around the Elf. “I might’ve crushed your mind if I answered. Now that my memories are mostly in order, I can do it, even if holding back that much is becoming quite the task.“

Caethya ran her hand over the inner feathers of Aperio’s wing as she leaned against the All-Mother herself. “Talking is much easier anyway.”

“Is something wrong?“ Concern rose as Aperio pulled her wing tighter around the Elf for support, sending out a tendril of mana to check on her Disciple's condition.

The Elf shook her head slightly, visibly relaxing as the All-Mother’s mana flowed through her. “I was simply more worried than I thought. Not having slept for a week probably did not help.”

Aperio removed her hand from Caethya’s and wrapped her arm around her waist, easily holding her up as her disciple leaned further onto her. “You are a Demigoddess,“ she said, slightly tilting her head. “You do not need sleep.“

“My body might not, but my mind is still very much used to it.”

Her disciple did indeed sound tired, even though her body, from what she could sense, did not seem to share that sentiment. Aperio hesitated for a moment before she picked Caethya up, forced reality apart and gently placed her disciple into her bed. The All-Mother could feel Mayeia perk up outside but ignored her, brushing Caethya’s hair out of her face and tucking her in instead.

It did not take long for the Elf to fall asleep, mumbling words that made no sense but still caused a smile to tug at Aperio’s lips. How exactly she had managed to fall asleep this fast was a mystery for the All-Mother, but that did not matter. As long as she is well.

The doubt she felt at the back of her mind was rapidly dissolving, but she still did not know what to do with the feelings. She was the All-Mother, had created everything there is. Should she feel this way for someone that lived in her creation? Aperio wanted to, but she also knew that if she ever wanted it to be anything serious then either Caethya would have to become a lot stronger or she would have to get significantly better at subduing her own strength. Can’t even hold her properly…

With a quiet sigh and a last look at the sleeping Caethya Aperio disappeared from her temple, a part of her mind still keeping watch over her disciple. She also created a small note for Mayeia, informing her that she was not to disturb Caethya. The Goddess of Magic simply scribbled a small ‘yes’ on the paper Aperio had provided before offering it to a lowered branch of Roots. What does he want with it?

The All-Mother dismissed the thought, instead spending a brief moment to inform Maria that everything was alright. The girl had been praying to her, obviously aware that something had happened. Her youngest follower also happily informed her that her father had no objections to letting her live in the All-Mother’s temple.

I should probably just land it somewhere, Aperio mused to herself as she dismissed the barrier in Fel’Erreyth’s cave. Perhaps Ebenlowe is the best place for it.

The conversation that had been going on immediately stopped, all eyes focusing on her for a moment before they started to wander: likely searching for Caethya. Aperio kept her eyes on the black and gold Beastkin. The woman already looked ready to draw her oversized sword at a moment's notice, every muscle in her body tense.

Aperio took a step forward, stretching her wings slightly as she did. I should fly again. The motion seemed to be more intimidating than she had thought, as it prompted a few of the armoured individuals to step between her and the two Dragons. I didn’t even mean for it to be intimidating… I just want to use my wings.

“I have taken the liberty to repair your home,“ Aperio said, directing her gaze at Fel’Erreyth. “It took a bit of damage while I was sorting things out.“

“There was enough mana behind that barrier to erase this continent, likely more,” the Dragon said, raising its head slightly. “Where did that all go?”

The blunt nature of the question took the All-Mother off-guard — she had expected more annoying groveling and useless platitudes. “To me,“ she said, gesturing at herself. “It was mine to begin with; I just took it back.“

“So you did not lie,” the Serpent-Dragon said, his voice barely a whisper in her mind. “The First has returned.”

Telepathy? Aperio thought, sending a minuscule, probing thought towards the Dragon. She did not try to place her message in his head like she did when answering a prayer, but merely let it flow by in the hopes he could pick up on it.

The Dragon coiled its long body in reply, either in pain or not liking her attention. “I did not intend to hurt you,“ Aperio said after a brief moment of hesitation. “I was simply not expecting a telepathic Dragon.“

“How did you hear my words?” the Dragon asked, his voice now clear in her mind. “I did not direct them at you.”

Fel’Erreyth slapped the other Dragon with one of his wings, causing the Serpent to bow slightly. “She is the All-Mother,” he said. “Do you expect her to not be able to pick up on simple telepathy?”

Aperio tilted her head slightly at the words. Considering that she could very much kill someone by thinking in their direction, she would not call telepathy ‘simple’. But then, they probably don’t have that problem. Her ability to hear telepathy if it was not directed at her could be both useful and annoying. The All-Mother could already imagine the ordeal of being in a city of telepaths, all speaking to one another in an incoherent barrage that would be difficult to tune out. Even more so if they were trying to talk behind her back in the belief that she could not hear them. Please don’t let that be a thing.

“It does not matter,“ she said, a slight flare of her aura quieting the two squabbling Dragons. “I have retrieved what I came for. I only remain to offer my thanks to Fel’Erreyth for making the right choice.“

“There was no choice,” the Dragon said after a moment of silence. “The Laws are clear.”

“Many have shown themselves to be less intelligent — or perhaps too arrogant. Including Gods.“

The Serpent-Dragon slithered forward, its magic holding it aloft as it rose slightly into the air. “What have you done to Fel’Erreyth? He lacks the Crystal of Old, but his strength remains unchanged.”

“I gave him a minor blessing as a sign of good will,“ Aperio said with a raised eyebrow. While she liked people not being intimidated by her presence, being asked question after question annoyed her. “Should you not introduce yourself before trying to interrogate me?“

“My wingless friend over here is called Aveo,” Fel’Erreyth said. “He rules over the waters surrounding Procul and the people that live within them.”

What Aperio could describe as a snort reached her mind as Aveo moved a little closer to her. “I am a [Seeker of Knowledge],” he said. “And I am sure you hold knowledge I lack.”

The All-Mother tilted her head slightly, as the mention of the title he bore prompted a trickle of information to enter her mind. Effortlessly, she now knew what the title meant as well as how he had gotten it.

“Perhaps I do,“ she replied. “But it is not your place to know. Like I have said before, I merely stayed to offer my thanks to Fel’Erreyth, which I have done multiple times now.“ Reality shattered behind her, a blue and silver portal forming that led into her temple. “Should he have need of me again, he can pray to me,“ she continued, fixing her gaze on the winged Dragon.

After she had received a nod, Aperio took a step backwards and entered the portal she had made. A moment later she was in her chamber, the bed with Caethya in it in front of her. She closed the portal, making sure reality repaired itself quietly while she stepped closer.

Despite not feeling the least bit tired, her bed looked oddly inviting. A thought caused the armour adorning her dress to disappear and a moment later, Aperio let herself fall face first into her bed.

With a thought, she stopped herself short of actually hitting the bedding as she did not want to wake Caethya. Instead, she simply lowered herself the last little bit and spread her wings, draping one over her disciple.

She turned after a while, her wing simply moving through her bed as it was filled with a comforting warmth. Aperio wrapped her arms around Caethya, pulling her closer as a thought moved the blanket to cover both of them.

Pretending she had no feelings for the Elf would be a lie, and while the All-Mother was not yet certain how to express feelings she had yet to properly define, this seemed like a good start. She closed her eyes, taking slow breaths as she tried to find sleep for the first time since she had returned to Verenier.

Revelations - Chapter 109: A Class Act

Caethya's hand blindly reached for the covers, pulling the feathery blanket further up as soon as she had found it. A moment later she opened her eyes, and her vision was filled with black feathers that shimmered blue in the dim light of the room. She wanted to turn, but two arms wrapped around her waist kept her securely in place.

"Aperio?" she asked quietly, unsure if the slow, rhythmic breathing of the All-Mother was a sign of sleeping or relaxation. No answer came; Aperio only held on a little tighter as her breathing quickened.

Caethya did not need her eyes to know that Aperio was not having a good night. The temperature of the room was steadily dropping, and the light that came from the chandelier and crystals along the wall was being pushed back by a darkness that was most assuredly not normal.

That she could also feel a mixture of fear, anger, and sadness from her Goddess was not a good sign. Even if she were to only dislike the idea of the one she loved having a bad night, Caethya was well aware that Aperio only needed a thought to make something reality and she dreaded what the All-Mother could dream up.

She wriggled in Aperio's hold, slowly turning around until she was face to face with her Goddess. Eyes flicked back and forth behind closed eyelids in a face that twisted in what Caethya could only describe as pain. Slowly but surely, the Elf freed one of her hands and gently brushed it against Aperio's cheek.

The All-Mother moved away slightly from her touch, mumbling something as she held on a little tighter. Caethya removed her hand but otherwise ignored the contradicting actions of Aperio, instead trying to reach her with a prayer.

Aperio's eyes flew open not a breath later, the bed breaking below her as she removed herself from it without the help of magic. Caethya herself had been left unharmed, a thin barrier of mana protecting her from the splinters and keeping her perfectly still in the air.

The All-Mother had her wings flared and stood in a low crouch as arcs danced across her skin. For a long, dreadful moment, Caethya thought Aperio would attack her. Instead, she could feel the temperature of the room climb again and the light slowly take on its usual warm glow. She could sense the bed beneath her repairing itself, the wooden splinters slotting back where they had been as if time was reversed.

"I apologise," Aperio mumbled, appearing at the foot of the bed. Caethya found herself gently deposited on the heavenly soft creation. "I did not mean to scare you."

"You did not scare me," Caethya said, inviting the All-Mother to join her on the bed by patting it lightly. "Not in the way I think you mean, at least. I am concerned for your well-being."

Aperio obliged, appearing next to her with her face buried in the pillows. Her wings were splayed out to the sides, brushing over Caethya's knees and hanging off of each side of the large bed. The Elf ran her hands across the feathered limbs, smiling slightly at the mumbles that came from her Goddess in response. "Do you wish to talk about it?"

"No," Aperio replied with a shake of her head that caused her hair to shimmer blue as it caught the light in the chamber. "Just a bad dream." She sighed, turning onto her back, her wings simply moving through the bed. "It was not even a memory. Not really, at least."

"Dreams rarely make sense," Caethya said, gently placing her hand on Aperio's. "But I had assumed that you were used to dreams like this; that this was the reason you did not sleep."

"I did not sleep because I haven't been tired since I returned." She directed her gaze at Caethya for a moment before she sighed and lowered it again. "I just thought it would be nice to…"

"It would be nice to, what?" the Elf asked after a moment of silence, raising an eyebrow. "Sleep?"

"Be with you," Aperio said quietly. "Hold you. Not worry about the world."

"We can still do that," Caethya said, laying herself next to Aperio and trying to pull her into her arms. That failed of course, but before she could do anything more the All-Mother had wrapped her arms and wings around Caethya and held her tightly against herself.

"Thank you," Aperio mumbled, her voice muffled by Caethya's hair hanging in front of her face.

The Elf smiled slightly, wriggling her arm free of Aperio's hug so she could run her hand over her Goddess' wings. "You shouldn't feel bad for wanting contact," she said. "You also don't need to thank me for spending time with me, I enjoy this as much as you do."

There was no reply, the All-Mother only holding on a little tighter with her arms and wings. Caethya did not mind, as she would rather wait for Aperio to move things along than push her and ruin what they already had. Time does not matter anymore.

The Demigoddess of Creation closed her eyes, placing her hands on Aperio's own and gently stroking them. She knew that the All-Mother would not sleep again for a while, but she would still make their time together here as relaxing for her as she could.

It was plain as day to Caethya that her love did not show her affection through words but actions. In hindsight, she should have noticed it earlier. Every time they were together, Aperio went out of her way to be in contact with her — be it with physical touch or the warm embrace of her magic.

When did she realize how she felt? Caethya wondered as she shifted a little in Aperio's embrace. She doubted the All-Mother knew how she had felt until recently, perhaps believing it to be a coping mechanism that would only show her weakness.

She wanted to talk with the All-Mother about her past, help her work it out, but she knew that Aperio did not wish to speak about it. In time, Caethya thought to herself as the first bits of tiredness clawed at the edges of her consciousness again.

Aperio's ears twitched slightly as one of the machines that inhabited her temple scurried past, clearing the last bits of dust and debris her violent exit from the bed had created.

She used her left wing to gently stroke Caethya's side while her arms held the sleeping Elf close. Her disciple’s hair tickled her nose whenever she moved in her sleep, something that would have likely annoyed her in the past but was strangely welcome now.

The All-Mother closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth of Caethya in her arms and the soothing sound of her slow breaths as her mind drifted towards the memories she had gained.

A thought brought her mind's eye into the System's space. She did not want to delve further into the details of her dream, nor did she want to try to ponder what Moria might have actually thought of her. Trying to learn more about the System with her newfound understanding of runes, all the while being in the comforting presence of Caethya, was a good distraction.

She brought up the part of the System that handled Classes, looking it over to see if she was able to better understand what exactly it was supposed to do. Upon first glance, it was immediately obvious that she still lacked knowledge on simple runes, as a good few of the archaic symbols continued to escape her grasp.

Still, the runes for Soul, Potential, Measure, and Grant gave her enough of an idea as to what this part was supposed to do. Looking deeper into it also showed various runes that combined disparate elements of magic together and attached something the System — or more likely, her old self — called an 'Emblematic Identifier' to a soul.

This identifier, while seemingly important, seemed to do nothing more than instruct another part of the System to grant something to the soul upon meeting a set of conditions she could not determine, as the part of the System that should handle that was all but absent. How did it just… disappear?

A bit of digging and a set of scrunched eyebrows revealed that it had not, as she had originally thought, disappeared. It was merely broken beyond belief, as the strands of mana that usually connected the runes together had snapped. Over what was surely a long stretch of time, the entire section lost cohesion and simply drifted apart. How exactly a rune — a letter, for lack of a better term — could even exist in a physical space to begin with was not something Aperio wanted to think about at the moment; the mere idea was already giving her a headache.

Her hands absentmindedly brushed gently over Caethya's stomach as she used a touch of her magic to form new runes. These she tied to the rest of the Class section of the System with a few fresh strands of Mana. She was not exactly sure if she had picked the right ones, but it looked — and more importantly felt — correct.

A Class, in her mind, would be something tailored to a mortal depending on what they had achieved in their life. Her old self had seemingly had a similar idea, as the Class part of the System was connected to a variety of other things, most of which were labelled along the lines of 'Feats' and 'Achievements'.

The presence of Mayeia outside her temple gave Aperio an idea. A thought created a piece of paper with a message asking the Goddess of Magic for any information she might have on 'Classes'. Her small note would have gone missing in the haphazard outdoor office the Goddess had made for herself if she had not created it directly in front of her.

Mayeia's eyes flew over the small piece of All-Mother-made paper; her eagerness practically palpable. In short order a stack of notebooks appeared on the desk she had gotten for herself from somewhere unknown, quickly followed by a mental whisper asking why she did not use telepathy.

Aperio would have tilted her head if she had not been lying down, but she could have sworn she had already told the other Goddess why she refrained from mental communications. With a shrug of her mind, she directed her thanks at Mayeia, teleporting the books into her chambers at the same time. It didn't hurt that Dragon too much, maybe she'll be fine.

The Goddess of Magic winced slightly as the All-Mother's message reached her, a note of understanding following it quickly thereafter. Mayeia did ask her to use telepathy nonetheless, as training for both Aperio and herself. The All-Mother distractedly conveyed her ambivalence on the issue and returned her focus on the Elf in her arms and the broken System.

Her disciple shifted in her arms, trying to turn over, and a touch of magic gently turned Caethya and herself to the other side. Aperio took a deep breath and closed her eyes, her brain silent for a moment.

She had never felt this calm — at peace — in her life. There was no anger or doubt at the moment, just the silent contentedness that the Elf in her arms brought with her. Aperio wanted to hold Caethya tighter and never let go, but that was sadly not an option. She would only hurt her, and she still had places to be. But not now.

Another thought both brought her back to the System and opened the notebooks Mayeia had given her. They were filled with sketches of what the Goddess had previously postulated to be the System's functioning parts. Runes intertwined with one another, building complex shapes that made no sense to Aperio and were most definitely not present in actuality.

She had to leaf pretty far through the books until she found what she had been looking for — descriptions of previous Classes and what they could do. There was a seemingly infinite amount of them, something Aperio had already guessed based on the way the System made a class for a mortal. Can two mortals even have the same one?

According to Mayeia's notes, the answer was yes. Mortals had gained one of a variety of fairly basic Classes in the past, either granted by a deity or through training and study. Some were born with one, but those had been rare and their Classes exceedingly powerful. But why did I make all of this?

Her question went unanswered as she read through more of Mayeia's notes. She did find more information on the way mortals used to acquire Classes. Those who had gained Classes had been the cornerstone of many empires and kingdoms, and when she had disappeared the presence of Classes had dwindled to simply Titles.

A Title did not provide the same bonuses as a Class but it was better than having none, at least according to the notes. How did I get Titles, then? Did I just give them to myself without knowing?

Both her [Demiurge] and [Forgotten] titles were self-explanatory, but it did not tell her how she had gotten them. Will I get a Class when I fix this? …Probably not.

With a silent sigh Aperio directed her attention back to the incoherent mess of runes that was her System, trying her best to fix something she had no memory or knowledge of making.

Revelations - Chapter 110: Puzzling Progress

Aperio let out a frustrated sigh as the Class Subsystem fell apart again, burying her face in Caethya's hair and letting out a scream that nobody heard as it was negated by a touch of her magic.

This had been the sixth attempt in at least as many hours that had gone awry. Most had simply ceased to exist while the two more promising ones disassembled themselves in rather fantastical explosions of multi-coloured magic. The All-Mother was starting to believe that her recreation of the Class part of her System was not good enough for her to try things on. Using the actual one would probably be better, but she did not want to risk endangering everyone who used the System with her tinkering. And nearly everyone uses it.

The only place not making use of her creation she could think of at the moment was the world Adam had come from. I should ask him about that place. It felt… weird. Aperio would be lying if she said she did not want to go there, but the lack of mana led her to believe that it would not be a good idea. I radiate that stuff, after all.

After Mayeia had told her her mere presence made people stronger by giving them access to purer mana, Aperio had paid a little more attention to the world around her. It had not taken long to discover that she was a walking wellspring of mana. Not that it wasn't obvious before.

A few incoherent mumbles from Caethya caused Aperio to remove her head from her disciple’s hair and brush her wing gently over her side. She had no doubts that Caethya could feel her agitation at her continued failure to repair the System, something that likely made her sleep a little more restlessly than needed.

Aperio let a sliver of her mana flow through Caethya, the Elf losing the bit of tension that had appeared when she had become more and more annoyed with her lack of progress. The All-Mother contemplated trying to use that technique on herself for a moment before giving it a try. Sadly, moving her mana through her body only caused it to reinforce her shell more quickly and not relax her. At least, not how I wanted it to…

She would have lied if she said the mana flowing through her — improving her — was not relaxing in a way. But it was a different kind of comfort. One for the insisting of her subconscious that she must be stronger still to properly defend herself.

Another set of runes appeared in her mind, settling into her recreation of the Class Subsystem. This time, she had opted to redo the entire section that supposedly dealt with stat increases, making it a bit more stable. And actually functional… Hopefully.

She added a few more runes she knew should be there, interconnecting every piece of the Class Subsystem. Aperio had to figure out how to prevent information from flowing backwards in the System, but simply looking at the more intact parts — especially the [Status] region — of her creation had been helpful in that regard.

A sliver of her mana flowed into her recreation, causing it to practically hum with energy. There was, of course, no actual noise, but Aperio could feel her recreation come alive regardless.

Unlike her last attempts, this one remained stable, simply sitting in place where she had created it. Now… How do I test it? She could not just take a soul and use it as a test subject; that would go against everything she stood for. Creating a fake soul was also out of the question for now.

She had no idea how to actually create a soul and, even if she did, making one that was not truly alive might not be possible. I already change them by merely touching them, what would happen if I created one?

The answer was obvious: Ferio. While she could not remember how exactly her daughter had come into the world, Aperio knew it was not through normal means. In all likelihood, she had created a soul that would become Ferio. I would've had to have made all the souls… Or built something that made them.

She doubted souls just came into being out of nowhere, and her apparent lack of one only furthered the idea that she had invented the concept of souls, and then somehow made them. Aperio shuddered slightly at the thought, the motion causing Caethya to mumble slightly and place her hands on Aperio's own.

"Caethya?" the All-Mother asked quietly as she could, feeling the mana of her disciple flow more actively through her body.

The woman just mumbled in reply and tried to pull Aperio's wing tighter around herself as if it was a blanket. Despite her status as a Demigoddess, Caethya was still unable to move Aperio's wing. The All-Mother did not resist, however, moving her feathered limb with her disciple’s motion.

A small flex of her mental muscles ruffled Caethya's hair and caused the test version of the Class Subsystem to shudder slightly as she pushed more mana through it. How do I figure out if it works now? she wondered as she reinforced a few of the connections that had begun to dissolve under the strain of her mana.

Aperio let her mind wander through the System's space, trying to find something that would help her with her current predicament. I had to have had a way to test it before… Even though her old self had been relatively emotionless, she had still cared about her creations, and making something that she could not have tested seemed wrong to her, even now.

While the All-Mother did not find what she was looking for, she did get a bigger picture of just how broken her System was. Now that she understood a little more about how it worked, the closer she looked the worse it got. 'Attributes' — a rather large section — was almost entirely gone, and the same was true for 'Advancement.' A quick glance revealed a myriad other missing sections, and those were only the more easily noticed gaps in the System.

Would explain why someone with a lower level appears to be much stronger than others, Aperio thought to herself as she poked at the broken parts with a few tendrils of her mana. They felt cold; dead. Like the ruins of some long lost civilization. It kind of is. The only difference was that she was the only one who had had a hand in creating it.

With a small sigh, Aperio created copies of the broken Subsystems she found next to the — hopefully — repaired one for Classes. Won't achieve much if these are broken too…

Sure, she could simply integrate her repairs of the Classes into the actual System, but what use would it be to have Classes if nobody could level correctly, or even get the stats they earned for it? None, was Aperio's conclusion, which prompted her to start to replace the broken runes she recognised.

Working on the System was soothing in a way. Despite having no idea how it worked, she still knew what to do. A most bewildering feeling, but still one that felt right to the All-Mother. Repairing her creation was the correct thing to do, of course; that it was weirdly enjoyable was merely a bonus.

The shifting body of Caethya in her arms caused Aperio to pull her attention from her System repairs, only devoting a small part of her mind to continuing the task.

"Slept well?" the All-Mother asked, lifting herself up a little so she could better look at Caethya.

The Elf replied with a mumbled "Mhm" and a shallow nod of her head before she yawned and stretched. Her disciple's movement caused Aperio to retract her wing and distance herself slightly.

After a moment longer of stretching and some more yawning, Caethya sat up straight and rubbed her eyes. Aperio followed suit, letting her wings hang off the edges of the bed.

"Do you have a bathroom?" her disciple asked after a moment of silence.

The All-Mother raised a brow but gestured towards a door at the back of the room, behind Caethya, nonetheless. "There is one, yes, but I have no idea if what you need is in it."

"I think I'll manage," she said as she started to crawl off the oversized bed.

Aperio appeared in the middle of her bed once Caethya had left it, burying her face in the pillows and spreading her wings as much as she could. Despite the already ridiculous size of her bed, her wings still hung over the edges with the outermost feathers touching the floor.

"Maybe you need to make it even bigger," Caethya said, smoothing out the wrinkles that had accumulated on her dress. "A room that is nothing but bed. That would be nice."

"I have my Void for that," Aperio said, turning her head to watch her disciple walk towards the bathroom. "Much more comfortable."

"For you, maybe," were the last words the Elf said before she closed the door behind her. There was an enchantment on the room that obscured it even from Aperio's senses, but upon minor inquiry the room's enchantment only functioned as long as she didn't focus on it.

Maybe I can add an enchantment like that to my dress? Hide my aura with that? If nothing else, it might at least stop her aura from providing her information about everyone near her in far too much detail. …How do I add enchantments to clothes?

Aperio scrunched her brows as she appeared sitting on her bed, a small piece of cloth coming into being in front of her at the same time. It was the same technique she had used to make her dress, just that she had added all the runes she had found around the bathroom to it.

At the moment, it did not exactly do anything, the runes simply sitting on the magically created cloth and shimmering in a pale silver whenever the light shone on it. Aperio tilted her head slightly as she poked her finger at the piece of cloth, sending a tiny pulse of her mana through the runes.

Instead of numbing her senses to the fabric she had created as Aperio had expected, it glowed with her mana for the briefest of moments before it simply ceased to exist.

"What?" Aperio mumbled as she looked at the space the cloth had just occupied. The threads of reality had been violently torn apart when she had pushed her mana into the enchantment, as if the magic had somehow exploded. But it didn't. It just stopped existing…

She averted her eyes from the section of space that slowly mended itself as Caethya left the bathroom. Her disciple had switched dresses, wearing another dark blue and silver one that Aperio was very certain was supposed to show Caethya's allegiance to her. It only lacks an identifying sigil...

"Yes," her disciple said, sweeping her hand in front of her skirt and lifting it with a little flourish, "these are the colours we picked for any official clothes of your church. You weren't there and we thought you might like it; wearing the same colours and all. It's just missing your sigil."

"I don't have a sigil… Or don't remember it, at least."

"Then make a new one," Caethya said as she closed the distance that separated her from the bed. "Would probably be better anyway. I doubt you wish to continue what you have done in the past."

"Perhaps," Aperio said, tilting her head slightly as the sections of the System she had copied for repair slowly began to 'speak' to each other. Speaking was perhaps overstating the phenomenon, but they were definitely communicating with one another.

"Something wrong?" Caethya asked, her eyes flicking all over the room.

The All-Mother did not reply immediately, her attention fully directed at the copies she had made. Not paying attention to the repairs had seemingly yielded better results than actively repairing them. How?

"Aperio?" her disciple asked again, this time lightly touching her upper arm.

"I'm fine," the All-Mother replied eventually, directing her gaze towards Caethya. "I’ve just discovered something… weird."

"And that is?"

"I made copies of broken parts of the System while you were asleep," Aperio said, tilting her head slightly as she observed the separate Subsystems pushing a final bit of mana through the constellation they had formed before falling silent. "I wanted to fix them, but despite my efforts they never really worked. But, when I did not focus on it — delegated it to the back of my mind — they somehow got fixed faster."

"I wouldn't know how to breathe if my body did not do it for me," Caethya said. "Perhaps it is something like that?"

"Maybe," Aperio replied, a few strands of mana already flowing into the now-repaired copies she had made. "That does not mean I like it."

Revelations - Chapter 111: Focused Distraction

Aperio tapped her foot against the stone floor, occasionally breaking it from using a bit too much force. "How does that work?" she mumbled to herself as she searched through the thousands of regions that made up her System. "There has to be something…"

A finger poking against her forehead caused Aperio to stop her search and focus on the woman to whom it belonged. "Yes?" she asked, a small part of her mind quietly going back to looking through the System.

"You'll have an easier time finding what you are looking for once the System has fixed itself," Caethya said, retracting her hand. "It's fine to trust what you have built before."

"It's not that I don't trust it, but that I feel the need to understand it."

Her disciple sat herself down on the bed next to Aperio, idly brushing a hand over her wings as she spoke. "And you will have an easier time understanding when you don't have to piece it back together. The world has worked with the System, broken as it is, for millennia; a few more years will hardly make a difference."

The All-Mother let out a sigh. As usual, Caethya was right, but the knowledge did little to quell her need to know. Her desire to know more and better herself was part of her Domain — something that she should likely also properly figure out.

It had been months already, perhaps even a year since she came back to Verenier, and she still knew little about herself. Remembering who she was before certainly helped, but it mainly showed her what she did not want to be, not why she felt the way she currently did.

Aperio wrapped her wing around Caethya and pulled the Elf closer. At least I know I like her… Trying to run from her feelings any longer would only cause them both to suffer, something Aperio most definitely did not want.

"It's not wrong, is it?" the All-Mother mumbled to herself, glancing at Caethya. Her disciple's weight as she closed her eyes and nestled deeper into the offered wing was welcome, but negligible at best. A twitch away from being thrown across the room.

"What is not wrong?" Caethya asked, grasping one of Aperio's hands between her own. "Looking at the System again?"

"No," Aperio replied, lowering her head slightly before she continued. "My feelings for you… are they wrong? Should I feel this way for someone? I don't even know my birthday, let alone anything more noteworthy about myself. Nothing good, at least."

Caethya leaned forwards slightly to better look at her Goddess before she spoke. "Why should it be wrong? Just because you are the All-Mother and I am but a mere Demigoddess?” The look on Aperio's face prompted her to try again. “Or because someone else would object to it?"

"Because I do not know what I will become once I have retrieved all my memories."

"I doubt you will change for the worse," Caethya said after a moment of silence, tightening her grip on Aperio's hand a little. "The only thing I am worried about is that you will feel guilty for things you did not do… It hurts seeing you be so down on yourself for something you did not even know had happened a moment before."

"But it was still me who did it," Aperio said, closing her eyes and rubbing the bridge of her nose with her free hand. "Forgetting what I did does not absolve me."

Caethya let go of her hand and sat as straight as she could, likely trying to appear a little taller before she delivered her next words. "Continuously beating yourself up about it won't do anything either. If you cannot live with what you have done; change it."

"I am trying, but to right the wrongs I have done, I need to remember more—"

"Which only shows you more things you need to fix, I know," Caethya interrupted. "Focus on one thing at a time. So for now, we focus on finding Moria while you let the System repair itself." The Elf placed her hands on Aperio's cheeks, looking directly into her unblinking eyes. "Okay?"

"I’ll try," Aperio mumbled, gently removing her disciple's hands from her face. "But it is hard not to think about it. The same is true for the System — even now, I am looking through it to figure out how it can repair itself."

Caethya dropped her now-free hands in her lap, leaning slightly against Aperio's wing again. "Do you ever focus on only one thing?"

"I do sometimes, but it happens less and less frequently." She tilted her head lightly, answering a small prayer from Maria. "I don't know how I managed to live without being able to do a multitude of things at once."

"So even when I can, quite literally, feel the weight of your attention on me, you are still doing a myriad other things?"

"Yes," Aperio replied, tilting her head lightly before she continued. "But what do you mean by 'weight of my attention'?"

"You can feel the presence of other people, yes?" Caethya asked, continuing after the All-Mother nodded slightly. "I can sense yours, and when you focus on me, I can feel it drawing closer; bringing with it what I assume is a good amount of your mana."

"But I don't do anything? I just delegate whatever I was doing to the back of my mind and pay attention to you. How would that act shift mana?"

"Probably because you are who you are. You said yourself that using mana is as intuitive as breathing is for me. I am sure there are moments in which you use magic without even knowing it."

"Maybe I should ask Mayeia about this." Or Ferio, but she still doesn't want to talk.

A giggle came from her disciple at the words. "'I bet she would be eager to perform all manner of experiments to figure out why that is. Or, maybe, she already knows why it happens and could just tell you."

Instead of asking the other Goddess directly, Aperio merely shifted her focus to her; observed how she was scribbling notes. It only took a moment before she looked up from her work and faced the All-Mother despite the multitude of walls that separated them.

Mayeia's mental query asking if she needed anything came a breath later, the Goddess sounding eager even through her thoughts. Aperio's question was easily conveyed, as the phenomenon she wanted to ask about had just transpired.

"Do you mind if we go to Mayeia?" she asked. "I am not quite comfortable only talking via telepathy with her."

"Sure," Caethya replied. "But you will have to accept that I will continue to use your wing as a blanket." To underline her words, she retreated deeper into Aperio's wing and tried to pull it over herself a little more.

The All-Mother obliged her disciple, wrapping her wing a little tighter around her as a thought twisted reality apart and brought them both outside.

Roots' branches shook lightly as they appeared at his base, seemingly quite happy to see her. Mayeia, too, quickly turned around and took the few steps that separated her from Aperio and Caethya.

As the Goddess sat down on the grass in front of the All-Mother, a few books appeared floating gently next to her, seeming to wait to be used. "While I don't know why, exactly, this happens, I do know that it's not only divines that have this problem," Mayeia began.

"There are some mortals who also experience this," she continued as she plucked one of the books from the air and started leafing through it. "It doesn't really make sense at first glance, probably more so for you as magic is second nature to you… Do you even think about using magic, or do you just do it?"

Aperio tilted her head at the question. She understood what Mayeia had meant, but the choice of words struck her as quite odd. "I simply exert my will on reality. I want something to be, and then it is.

"Teleporting some people? That merely takes a thought. Something like the System, on the other hand, requires me to build every part of it on its own. It is too complex to be imagined in one go." While that statement was not entirely true, it came the closest to conveying the situation as it appeared to her.

The All-Mother could simply force something as complex as the System into being, but she was also very certain that it would not work how she wanted it to. And probably break the existing one even more… Aperio was confident that she, at times, even used parts of the System unthinkingly. As it was a part of her, though, did that really count?

"I wish I could use magic like that," Mayeia said as her eyes darted back and forth over the pages of her book. "Would make many things so much easier."

"How do you use magic?"

The Goddess of Magic looked up from her book at the question. "I have to channel my mana to where I want to use the magic I am trying to invoke, be it my hand to throw a ball of fire or my eyes to see what wants to be hidden.

"Then," she continued, "I have to either attune my mana to the fitting element myself or let the System handle it. Knowing how this is done could be considered a detriment as most mortals do all of this unconsciously and don't even know it."

"Like me, then?" Aperio asked, willing a small flame into existence that danced across the palm of her hand. "I do it unconsciously too, most of the time."

"Not quite. Most mortals rely on the System to attune their mana to the right elements, even when they are not using a chant to hand over the entire process."

"And your little flame there contains more mana than a normal mortal could expend," Caethya said, her eyes closed again as she simply leaned herself against Aperio's side. "Your control over the magic, once it has been formed, is also better."

"That is to be expected," Mayeia said. "She is basically magic given a physical form. The universe itself as a person, if you will."

"I am not the universe," Aperio snapped, her aura flaring slightly in irritation. "I am not this world, not you, nor anything else other than myself. Just because I made it does not mean I am it." She paused briefly, glaring at the Goddess of Magic with narrowed eyes. "Are you the clothes you made; the words you wrote?"

"Not really, no," Mayeia replied, her face having lost a bit of colour. "I apologise, I didn't mean to offend you."

"It is annoying when people assume that I am somehow everything," Aperio said with a sigh. "But, that is not what we were talking about, now is it?"

"No, it is not," the Goddess of Magic replied, her eyes cautiously wandering back to the book in her hand. "The truth of the matter, however, is that nobody really knows why an aura shifts mana to the person you are paying attention to.

"It could be something as simple as your mind not being able to differentiate your attention from a desire to know more about the person," Mayeia continued. "Something that would require your aura — your mana — to be close to the person in question to figure it out."

"Or it could be something completely different," Aperio said. "Like your Soul reacting to the presence of one that is stronger than itself."

"Perhaps," Mayeia said. "But studies of the Soul are outlawed. At least for most of the Pantheon. Some still do it, many of whom are the ones who are also less than pleased with your return."

"And those that do will pay for their transgressions." Aperio’s eyes were still fixed on the Goddess of Magic. "I do not tolerate the defilement of Souls."

Caethya's arms slowly wrapping around her caused Aperio to relax a little, the slight glow beneath her skin dimming again. Why that happened was another thing she had to figure out, but that could wait. Her next goal had already been made clear: finding Moria.

The talk with Mayeia was a distraction, the information she could gain certainly useful but not what she needed to focus on at the moment. With a small shake of her head and a sigh, Aperio gently shifted her wings, causing Caethya to sit a little straighter.

"As much as I would like to stay and find out exactly why my attention is a literal weight on people," Aperio said, "I have matters to attend to."

Mayeia closed her book, holding her place with her thumb. "Might I inquire what those matters are?"

"I have to find an old friend," Aperio replied. And hope she actually is one.

Revelations - Chapter 112: Matters of the Heart

"May I know the name of your friend?" Mayeia asked. "If they know you, it is likely I have sought them out in the past… Getting information about you isn't easy."

"Her name is Moria," Aperio said, tensing slightly at the prospect of having to inform Mayeia of the title the Beastkin held. "According to her daughter, she went missing some time ago. Nobody knows where she is.

"At first I thought that it could not have been her," she continued, relaxing a little as Caethya's hand brushed against her back. "I now know that I was wrong, and that I have to find her."

The Goddess of Magic lightly tapped her chin in thought for a moment before a bookmark appeared to replace her thumb in her book. "Finding her might be hard," she said, placing the now-closed book on the grass beside her. "I doubt you would say you needed to search for her if you knew the magical signature of her soul.

"Without that," Mayeia continued, a notebook appearing in her hand, "we would have to rely either on what other mortals tell us, or traces of her magic which have likely already vanished. I doubt she is a font of mana like you."

"She is not. But I can also do more than you think." Probably.

"Perhaps, but I still believe that it won't be an easy task," Mayeia said, opening her notebook. "Even if you can see the entire world at once — and she is even on this one in the first place — there are still millions of mortals."

And more than a few that I could mistake for Moria, Aperio thought to herself, her mind wandering back to her rather embarrassing encounter with Neria.

"I would start by asking her daughter," the All-Mother said. "I have met her in the past, but our ways quickly parted again. I am certain that she will be looking for her mother."

Caethya shifted next to Aperio, sitting herself up a little straighter. "Do you know Moria's full name, Aperio?"

The All-Mother nodded in reply. "Moria Kellborn. Though… I do not know if she has changed her name in the meantime." Perhaps she does not wish to be found…

"I doubt it," her disciple said. "You might not believe it, but I am certain that she kept the name by which you knew her."

Mayeia raised her hand slightly and quietly cleared her throat, only starting to speak once Aperio had turned to face her again. "If she is indeed a Kellborn, we would likely find information with the [Ancestral Guard] of Foderys. If I recall correctly, Edisicio once mentioned that all Kellborns serve them at one point or another."

"Foderys?" Aperio asked, unfamiliar with the city — or was it a country? "I assume that is on Solito?" While she might not know what Foderys was, assuming that it was on the continent that had historically featured the most Beastkin was a safe bet.

Mayeia nodded in reply. "It's the de facto capital of the continent; home to some-odd million mortals. A city-state unto its own that is neutral towards every tribe."

Aperio sighed internally. "Why do mortals always have to fight one another?"

"At the moment they aren't fighting. But I would argue that the Pantheon fights even more than the mortals."

The All-Mother narrowed her eyes at Mayeia, leaning forwards a little at the words. She was not surprised that the Gods fought amongst themselves, but she had hoped that it was intermittently at best. "And where do they fight?"

"On other worlds." The other Goddess shrugged. "I don't partake in the [War in Heaven]. Throwing away the life of my followers to deliberately claim an entire world makes little sense to me, considering that any given population will come into contact with magic — and therefore me — at one point or another."

"Do they send their followers to fight for them?" Aperio asked, the ethereal glow beneath her skin growing in intensity. "Is any one of them not a coward?" Why would I ever allow that?

"The mortals might think that Gods can't die, but we all know that is not true. Why should they risk themselves if they can just send some mortal pawns?"

Caethya's arms wrapping around her waist caused Aperio to let out a breath. The mana she had started to gather in anger simply flowed back into the raging river that coursed through her body.

"One thing at a time," her Disciple admonished, leaning her head against the All-Mother's side. "A mortal chooses their God. If they want to follow one that leads pointless wars, that's on them."

"Some people do not have the luxury of choice," Aperio said with a slight hiss as she turned her head to face her disciple. "I am certain that there are worlds devoted to but a single divine, one who makes sure that the mortals follow them and only them."

"She is correct," Mayeia said. "Though I only have second-hand information, I am certain that the likes of Lor'Kem and Epemirial have no problem killing off non-believers."

Aperio took a deep breath, the glow of her skin growing in radiance as she did. Moria first, she thought to herself as she breathed out a wispy fog of mana instead of the air she had taken in. "Do you know how to move between worlds?" she asked, shifting her gaze back to Mayeia.

"I do not. Not truly, at least," she replied, relaxing the grip on her notebook slightly. "All I know is that you need followers on the world you want to move to. Something you can do by sending an Emissary, though I do not have the ability to name one.

"The part of the System that enables this does not respond," she continued. "Only those who already have an Emissary can reassign that obligation."

Aperio furrowed her brows as she scrutinised the memory of Adam's entrance into this world. She could easily recall how the world beyond had felt; how the bridge between the worlds felt.

She tried to find something — anything — that could show her how she could move to that other world. All she needed was a hint, a small sign, and she could tear open reality and bring peace to the worlds her Pantheon had plunged into war.

Caethya's sudden but gentle touch on her face caused Aperio to push aside the memory. "Focus," she said, cupping the All-Mother's cheeks in her hands, and her Goddess allowed her head to be guided to a different position. "I know you are angry; can feel it. But just sitting here and trying to figure out how to solve your problems won't actually solve them.

"For now, we will search for Moria," Caethya continued, brushing her thumbs over Aperio's cheeks. "Mayeia can help us, and mayhap Roots can tell you how to move between worlds."

"I cannot," the tree rumbled immediately in reply. "I have taken root on many worlds, but I am not permitted to spread on my own. The knowledge is forbidden to me."

"Why?" Aperio asked, placing her hands on Caethya's and gently pulling them away, holding them instead.

"I do not know," Roots replied. "It is a restriction you placed upon me when first planting my seed. I have not felt the need to question the decision, nor do I feel it now."

A few of its branches shook slightly, Roots' crown tilting to point towards the sky. "Diskrye was in charge of the new worlds. The Sky moves between the worlds like my roots through the earth."

Of course, Aperio though to herself, a part of her mind already reaching out to the nebulous entity beyond Verenier. But will its method work for me?

While a part of her conversed with Diskrye, Aperio shifted her right wing to pull Caethya a little closer. She ignored Mayeia's slight smile as she wrapped an arm around her disciple as well, leaning her head to the right so it rested against Caethya's. It was a comforting position, and Aperio let out a sigh.

"I do have a question," Caethya said, her voice even and calm despite her quickened breathing and rapid beat of her heart. "I know that I said we should look for Moria first," she said after a moment of silence, "but, how do you travel to your Void? Isn't that just another world?"

Aperio blinked at the question. "My Void is not a world like Verenier or the one Adam came from." She knew that to be true; knew that it existed between the fabric and foundations of reality. "I merely have to twist the threads apart and pass through. I also know where it is, which I cannot say of other worlds.

"Which is why I was scrutinising the memory of Adam 'falling' to Verenier," she continued, said memory closer to the forefront of her mind. "I know how his home world feels. The lack of mana on it; the little piece of my Void that was weaved into it."

"A world without mana?" Mayeia asked, suddenly intrigued. "How does that work? Every world has mana; it is required for species to develop beyond mere animals, as far as I know."

"It is not," Aperio replied. "Adam had not a shred of mana in his body before he came to Verenier." The System grafted that into him…

"Interesting," Mayeia mumbled, another notebook appearing in her hand in which she promptly started scribbling. "You wouldn't happen to know anything else about that world, would you?"

The All-Mother shook her head lightly. "I do not, no. But you are free to ask Adam about his home, as long as he agrees to your questions."

"Of course," the Goddess of Magic replied. "Unlike other divines, I respect mortals."

"Now," Caethya said, speaking before either Goddess had a chance. "How do you intend to find Moria?"

Aperio remained quiet at the question. She was not sure how she would do that. Or if I even want to. The possibility of the only friend she had ever known turning out to be nothing more than an act still filled her with dread. What if she disappeared because she knew I would come back?

While she could not be sure, the All-Mother felt certain Moria shared a connection to her. One akin to Maria's and Caethya's, just more subdued and likely only letting her know that she was alive. Enough reason to go and hide…

The face of her disciple filling her vision and the small weight of her body in her lap caused Aperio's thoughts to pause. "Focus," Caethya said, poking the All-Mother's forehead with a finger. "You are overthinking things again."

Aperio sighed in reply. She pulled Caethya closer with the arm that was still wrapped around her waist and slung her other arm across to embrace the woman in a hug.

She did not know how not to have her mind whirl with thousands of thoughts at once, and though hugging Caethya did help her to calm down it was not really a permanent option. In fact, doing so just sent her mind down another spiral, one in which she asked herself whether the Elf actually liked her and whether she even should entertain the idea of a relationship in the first place.

Aperio knew she had a mountain of issues to work through, many of which would be painful for herself and, by extension, Caethya — if she chose to stay with her.

Her disciple leaned back, or at least she did once Aperio loosened her grip so she could, and ran cautious fingers through the All-Mother's hair. "Please. Focus. Not on what could have been, but on what you actually know. The here and now. Facts.

"Don't worry about what you think I feel, or what Moria might think," Caethya continued, placing her hand on Aperio's chin and, after the All-Mother obliged the motion, slightly tilting her head upwards. "I chose to be with you. I knew it would not be easy."

She carefully brushed a few errant strands of silver hair out of Aperio's face, tugging them neatly behind an ear. "Presuming what others feel is not only likely to be wrong, but it also hurts. I know of your past; can feel your dread and anxiety whenever it comes up, but just thinking up the worst outcome won't solve anything."

Caethya rose slightly, the All-Mother shifting her arm away as soon as she noticed the movement, but the Demigoddess seemed to hesitate for a moment before removing her hands and sitting back down at Aperio's side. She trailed her fingers along the inside of her wing, mumbling some unintelligible words to herself before she faced the All-Mother. “It hurts seeing you continuously doubt yourself. It is true that you carry a great burden, but there is no need to add to it by blaming yourself for things you did not do. Helping those that have been wronged is right, but you must also help yourself."

Revelations - Chapter 113: To Foderys

Caethya retreated deeper into Aperio's wing, hoping to hide the redness that had started to creep up her cheeks and ears. She had wanted to say something else, but it was not the time for that; nor the place.

The All-Mother noticed her distress, pulling her wing tighter around Caethya as well as wrapping an arm around her. While the Elf knew Aperio just wanted to soothe her, at the moment it had the opposite effect.

Still, she leaned into the embrace, letting herself be held by her Goddess. Caethya had not gone as far as she had wanted to with her words, but Aperio would only doubt the veracity of her confession if she gave it now. She had still managed to speak her mind in the hopes of getting her point across, and for that she was proud of herself.

"Caethya?" the All-Mother asked, a sliver of her magic running through the Elf's body. Aperio had her eyes fixed on her, the intricate pattern of blue lines and specks that crisscrossed her irises changing every time Caethya blinked.

"I think she has something else to say that you are not yet quite ready to hear," Mayeia said from her position on the grass a few steps away.

Aperio ignored the Goddess of Magic, simply continuing to look at Caethya. The Elf could feel the All-Mother's attention weigh on her. It was not the tidal wave that had once seemed to threaten to crush her, but the promise of a tight embrace that would bring nothing but comfort.

"There is no need to stay quiet if you wish to say something," the All-Mother said, brushing her hand over Caethya's cheek in the same way the Elf had just recently done.

Caethya gave a shallow nod in reply. "I will tell you when I am ready," she said, leaning a little more heavily against Aperio's wing. "For now, finding Moria is more important."

Aperio held her gaze a little longer before she gave a curt nod, a few strands of her hair falling in front of her ever-shifting eyes. "As you wish."

A thought accompanied the words; one filled with the All-Mother's worry for her, her uncertainty. Aperio had also conveyed a small question to which Caethya readily agreed.

She was effortlessly lifted into the All-Mother's lap with her back resting against Aperio's chest. A moment later, her Goddess wrapped her arms and wings around Caethya, holding the Elf a little tighter.

Mayeia smiled at the two of them, though she quickly averted her gaze after Caethya felt a brief flare of anger flow through the All-Mother's aura. Caethya placed her hands on Aperio's own in response, trying to convey a feeling of calm through her own aura.

"Where do you think we should look for Moria first, then?" the All-Mother asked, her body losing some tension as she leaned against Roots.

"Might I suggest Foderys?" Mayeia said, lowering the notebook in her hand. "The [Ancestral Guard] is likely your best bet for information, unless you plan to look at every little bit of Verenier at once."

The All-Mother tilted her head, Caethya perceiving the motion through her aura and by the slight tickle of silver-blue hair against her face. Is she actually considering it?

"Do you even know what to look for?" she asked. "I think asking the [Ancestral Guard] would be a good start."

"I know how Moria's soul felt the last time I saw her," Aperio said after a moment of silence. "But that was… a while ago, and I would have to abandon my form to properly search using that method."

Mayeia nodded at the words. "And you would rather not risk being stuck formless without Caethya while you figure out how to make a new shell to contain you."

"Yes," Aperio replied. "There are other reasons as well, but that is the main one. I do not know if I can reinforce my body fast enough to return to it after finding Moria."

The uncertainty Caethya felt in the All-Mother's aura made it clear that she herself was not even sure if she could find Moria that way. It was not the only thing that permeated the bond she shared with Aperio, however. There was also fear.

She knew little of what happened to Aperio in her time as a slave, but it was abundantly clear that the prospect of losing her body terrified the All-Mother. What Caethya was not so sure about was the reason her Goddess was so frightened of the prospect. Was it because she was attached to her physical form as it was now, and did not wish to lose her current 'shell,' as Mayeia had called it? Or, she considered as she was held just a fraction more tightly, was her Goddess frightened that a loss of physicality might harm their relationship?

A small sliver of her mana flowed around Aperio in the best approximation of a hug the Demigoddess could manage. Her control over her mana was still nowhere near that of Aperio or even Mayeia, but ever since she had become a Demigoddess it had become easier and easier. And I keep getting more mana too.

She was not entirely sure where it came from, but her best guess was the woman in whose lap she currently sat. Caethya wouldn't put it past her love to give her a little extra, just to make sure she could take care of herself. Or she's done nothing because she's forgotten amidst all the other things she's worrying about.

Though it was indeed possible that she was being given special treatment, it was more likely that Aperio had not given her anything extra. The All-Mother had made it quite clear that she did not want to influence her in any way; that she was scared of the mere prospect. Convincing her that her feelings did not come from the blessing but were truly her own was easier said than done.

But, we are making progress, Caethya thought with a small smile on her face. "We're going to Solito, then?" she asked, tilting her head back to look at Aperio with not only her aura but also her eyes.

"Yes," Aperio replied after a moment, shifting a little and moving Caethya effortlessly as she did. "It is the best place to start and I can continue my search from anywhere."

"If I may?" Mayeia interjected, continuing after Aperio waved her on with her wing. "I have a temple in Foderys and a good number of followers in the [Ancestral Guard]. Knowing your preference for staying off the map, I thought it would be best if I arranged a meeting for us."

Aperio squinted at the Goddess of Magic. Mayeia had a point, but the All-Mother also thought that she had pushed the issue away for long enough.

"Fine," she said with a sigh. "How long will that take?" Might as well look at the city while we wait. Maybe meet with Neria.

"A few hours," Mayeia replied. "A day at most if they try to delay it for some reason."

The All-Mother let her senses wander, finding Solito and the biggest city on it a rather trivial task for her. Aperio also had no trouble spotting Mayeia's temple; another library filled to the brim with books of all kinds.

"Are you trying to get Lore or Knowledge as a second Domain?" she asked, her eyes focused on the Goddess of Magic as her senses wandered through her temple in Foderys.

"Maybe," Mayeia mumbled in reply. "No luck so far, though."

"The other Gods aren't willing to help?" Caethya asked, shifting a little in Aperio's lap to better look at the Goddess of Magic.

"Edisicio told me I am on the right track, but that's about it." She shrugged and stood up. "In the end, it doesn't really matter if it takes a few more centuries or millennia. Time is not really a concern."

Perhaps she can't get one because that part of the System is also broken? Aperio was certain by now that the thing was only holding on by some form of divine grace — one that undoubtedly came from some part of her own subconsciousness.

"Are you ready to go, Caethya?" Aperio asked, looking down at the Demigoddess.

"I am," she replied. "But… What about Maria and Adam? I did promise to train them, and I would like to keep that promise."

"If you wish, I can bring them here and you can stay with them," Aperio said, her shoulders and wings slumping a little. "But I am certain that both of them would understand if you delayed their lessons by a little."

Her disciple remained quiet for a moment, tapping her fingers on Aperio's hands as she thought. "Can you land your temple?"

"Yes? But, what does that have to do with anything?" Aperio had brought her temple out of another dimension; landing it should most definitely be possible. If it can't do it on its own, I can just teleport it down. Probably.

"Nothing yet," Caethya said. "But I thought that it would make everything a little easier. People could just come here directly and you would only have to teleport me. And maybe I can eventually figure out how to do that too."

The All-Mother quirked an eyebrow at the words and shook her head after a moment. "Maybe," she said. "Do you wish to accompany us to Foderys or do you want to remain here?"

"I'll come," Caethya replied, attempting to stand up but failing to move from her Goddess' embrace.

Aperio stood up in response, effortlessly bringing Caethya up with her as she did. A touch of her magic ensured that the Demigoddess of Creation had not been injured by her movement. She folded her wings behind her back, giving Caethya a last squeeze before letting go.

"Are you ready?" Aperio asked, directing her gaze at Mayeia.

"Of course!" she replied, her own magic gathering but failing to take hold as the barrier surrounding the All-Mother's temple prevented it. A thought from Aperio brought Mayeia outside, where she stayed for a moment before appearing in her temple in Foderys.

The All-Mother shook her head lightly at the action. "She could have just told me where to go," Aperio mumbled, holding her hand out towards Caethya. "Have you ever been to Foderys?"

"No," her disciple replied, taking the offered hand. "I have spent most of my life on Spicor before coming to Vetus."

"I have never been to Spicor," Aperio said, looking in the direction the continent laid in. "Would I be welcome there? Even though I look like an Elf, it's only because I feel comfortable as one. But, in the end, it's a lie."

"Most would probably be honoured you chose to look like one of us when you could be anything," Caethya said, giving her hand an affectionate squeeze. "Some, however, would probably take it as an opportunity to proclaim that 'Elvenkind is superior'. Such people sadly exist in every species."

Aperio nodded, focusing on herself for a moment to get rid of the subtle glow beneath her skin. Another thought caused her wings to vanish and the armour to appear above her dress.

A tiny flex of her mental muscles twisted reality apart, bringing Caethya and herself into Mayeia's temple in Foderys. The shelves that surrounded them were not only stuffed to the brim with books and scrolls, but also runes. They were engraved in every visible part of the wooden surfaces, and glowed with mana. At least, they did to Aperio's eyes.

"Why do you have Wards of Confinement on your shelves?" Aperio asked, squinting at the struggling enchantments. At least they aren't breaking.

"Ah, yes, those." The Goddess of Magic looked at the shelf in question and sighed. "Those are books written by people not from this world, and the knowledge within has been deemed too dangerous by the Pantheon and the countries that originally held them. So, as a somewhat neutral third party, I hold onto them."

"Why not in your Dominion?" Caethya asked. "Wouldn't that be safer?"

Mayeia shrugged in reply. "It would, but the mortals wanted to keep them on Verenier and the other Gods didn't really care."

"Have you already sent someone to the [Ancestral Guard]?" Aperio asked, changing the topic.

"I did that as soon as you had agreed to it," Mayeia replied. "I will let you know what they tell me once they contact me. Until then, you could take the opportunity to explore the city. Perhaps it will help you worry a little less."

The All-Mother glared at the Goddess of Magic, only stopping when Caethya slung her arm around her waist and smiled at her. "I think that is a good idea."

While staying in a library had been a large part of her life as a slave, Aperio still enjoyed being surrounded by books. They had given her knowledge and a small taste of freedom with the stories they told. Walking these halls with Caethya would further her enjoyment, but so would walking outside.

Exploring the city was something she could do without leaving but, much like reading, she preferred looking at it with with her own eyes. Having her disciple by her side while walking through Foderys was a nice thought, and ultimately the one that won in her mind. She could spend some time with Caethya alone; finally get to know her a little more.

“Perhaps it is,” Aperio replied, a thought twisting reality apart to bring Caethya and herself outside.

Revelations - Chapter 114: Cake and Conversation

Aperio wanted to wrap her wing around Caethya as they appeared outside Mayeia's temple, but realized a moment later that she had hidden them on purpose. With a silent sigh, she offered her hand to the Elf. It would have to suffice.

Caethya happily placed her hand in Aperio's own, smiling at the Goddess as she did. "So," she began, "where are we going?"

"I don't know," the All-Mother replied with a small shrug. "I would like to try the food here, but I don't have any coins on me. I could probably make some, but that seems like a bad idea." And I'd have to figure out what they make their money out of.

A small leather pouch appeared in Caethya's free hand. "Then I shall treat you to dinner. Being a high-level Adventurer pays quite well."

"Thank you," Aperio replied with a smile, a part of her mind already looking through every establishment in Foderys to find something both of them might enjoy. The most immediate problem she encountered was that she did not actually know what Caethya liked. "Is there anything you would want to try?"

"Anything you wish to eat is fine with me," she replied with a smile. "I'm not the one who had not had any food in millennia."

"I had some," Aperio replied, tilting her head slightly. "Even though it was better than what I had before, most of it was... boring." Perhaps I just don't know what normal food is supposed to be like?

She had only ever eaten some formless gruel as a slave, and that was when she got food. Sometimes they had simply been given a cheap potion that would keep them alive for the day. Aperio's face twisted into a grimace at the memory of the taste. Disgusting.

Caethya gave a nod at Aperio's words, starting to hum lightly as she started to walk. The All-Mother followed, easily falling into step with the Elf. "You have a place in mind?"

"No," Caethya said, moving a little closer. "We can just stop if we find something interesting. It's better that way, no?"

"Perhaps," Aperio replied, her eyes wandering from mortal to mortal. Mayeia's temple was surrounded by a small park that saw little use. But, beyond its walls, the city was packed with people.

The two of them did not necessarily blend in with the crowds, but neither did they stand out. A good number of the mortals were as tall as Aperio, and some even managed to be taller. Elves were common enough, too, though the All-Mother still garnered some curious looks — some of which showed a little too much interest for her tastes — from those who felt a little stronger than the average mortal.

Perhaps they can sense my aura still? She had been employing the same trick she had used before, trying to weave her mana beyond the fabric of reality and purposefully muddling it with the ambient mana. It seemed to work well enough, as most people didn’t pay her any more mind than Caethya. Just those few…

A small mental query directed at Caethya revealed that it was not only her aura that drew people's attention, but also the way she held herself when she walked. The floating gait Aperio preferred had apparently evolved into something more warrior-like without her noticing. She could only scrunch her brows at the revelation as it made little sense to her.

"It doesn't matter though, does it?" Caethya asked, her voice crystal clear to Aperio's ears despite the buzz of the city. At least that got better…

"It does not," she replied. "I simply went through great pains to be able to do it, and not noticing a change seems… weird."

"You don't notice a great many things about yourself." Her disciple smiled at her, giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

"Oh? What else do I do without knowing it?"

"Command any room you enter, for example," Caethya replied, gently nudging Aperio around a corner and towards what the All-Mother instinctively classed as a tavern, though upon second glance it was obviously a lot higher in class.

"I think that just comes with what I am," Aperio replied, a touch of her magic ensuring only Caethya heard the words. "The amount of mana I carry within me far exceeds that of all the mortals here combined, after all."

Her disciple nodded. "You got pretty good at that, though. I can still feel some of it, sure, but it's pretty hard to find." She paused for a moment, looking at Aperio as she contemplated her next words. "Perhaps it also helps that you are… settling in, for a lack of a better term."

"In the world? My body? …Being with you?" Aperio was not quite sure which of these Caethya had meant, but knew that all of them were true to a degree. Despite the worries that had been shoved at her mind, the All-Mother had, of late, felt more at home in the world as well as her own flesh. She had also acknowledged her feelings for Caethya, which might have been the biggest change in itself had she not also begun acting upon those feelings as well.

"All of them," her disciple replied, stopping before she walked into the midst of the tables and chairs laid out in front of the fancy-tavern. "Have you ever been to a cafe?"

"No," Aperio replied with a small shake of her head. "What makes it different from a normal tavern?"

"They focus on other drinks, not just ale," Caethya replied, spotting an empty table and guiding Aperio to a seat. "I am also pretty sure they were brought here by someone from Earth."

"Earth?"

"The world Adam and Kiro come from." Caethya shrugged. "Apparently they have a lot of these, and less taverns and bars."

The All-Mother raised an eyebrow at the words but did not comment. Instead, she picked up the booklet that sat in the middle of their table. Flipping through it revealed that it was filled with small pictures of the things they sold, as well as helpful descriptions to explain what you might be potentially ordering. Seems a bit much for such a small place.

The images of the various foods and drinks didn't appear that appetizing to her, and nothing elicited enough of a response to be worthy of choosing. "Did Adam give you any recommendations as to what we should try?"

"No," Caethya replied, taking the small booklet Aperio offered her. "But I am sure I can find something good."

A smile spread across the All-Mother's lips as she watched her disciple flip through the menu. She had not stopped her search for Moria, but just being here with Caethya had helped to lessen her worry. They hadn't even done much yet, just some talking and now a pause to sit down for something unnecessary, but it didn't really matter what she did as long as Caethya was there. She was still worried about Moria's answer, of course, but somehow the potential of her having just pretended to be her friend didn't seem so devastating anymore.

"Perhaps we should do this more often," Caethya said, lowering the booklet and looking at Aperio. She also waved a waiter over as she spoke, handing him the menu as he arrived and ordering two teas, and some cakes with names the All-Mother was sure were not from Verenier.

"Maybe," Aperio said, her shoulders slumping a little at the small wince of the waiter. She had forgone ensuring only Caethya could hear her and her voice had seemingly been a little much for the young Beastkin. "I am still not sure it is okay for me to just walk around like this."

Her disciple tilted her head slightly. "Why would it not be okay for you to walk around? You stand out a little, certainly, but as you likely have noticed, as long as you keep your aura in check people don't seem to pay too much attention."

"I also can't talk to them," Aperio said, nodding towards the waiter moving away from their table a little faster than necessary. "He is scared because I spoke."

"I think he is going that fast to inform the proprietor of this business about a potentially important guest."

That wouldn't be wrong, Aperio thought to herself, a minuscule part of her mind following the waiter. He scribbled some unreadable words next to their order before handing them to another employee, then started to walk towards a heavy looking wooden door behind the counter.

"I hope that is the case,"Aperio said, observing the hapless employee handing their order over to a chef, and tilting her head slightly at the chaos that broke out in the kitchen. "I don't want to scare every mortal I encounter." Only some.

"You really have no idea how to live a normal life, do you?" Caethya asked after a moment of silence. "I knew that all of this would be new for you, but I keep forgetting. Before, you couldn't just go where you wanted or do what you wanted, and now you are… well, you."

"Normality is not something that begets me, it would seem."

Her disciple looked at her for a moment, tapping her finger against her chin. Aperio was not quite sure what Caethya expected her to do, and her only immediate response was to shift slightly in her chair. A touch of her magic ensured the wooden frame did not collapse under her weight. Whoever had made these had anticipated heavier people, but apparently not quite so significant a mass as what the All-Mother brought with her. Does mana weigh anything?

"Do you know what you will do after you find Moria?" the Elf finally asked. "Go after the other Gods that went against you?"

"Figure out what this [War in Heaven] is," Aperio replied. "I would like it if it solved itself and I could just take some time to live, but I doubt that will happen."

Further talk was cut short as a waitress brought their order. Unlike the other waiter, this one did not seem to be in much of a hurry to get away. Aperio knew why, of course; this waitress had been in the room with what she assumed to be the owner of the business when the first waiter had come in to report her presence.

"Thank you," Aperio said after the waitress had placed the last plate on the table and Caethya had thanked her. She seemed unaffected by her voice, simply bowing before leaving them to their meal.

Oyla Ki | [Devoted of the Veil] | Level: 222

Maybe that's why? Aperio thought to herself, dismissing the notification. This waitress was by far not the strongest person she had ever encountered, but it was certainly possible that the other Beastkin was much less leveled. Or maybe this Oyla is simply used to serving stronger mortals?

In the end, it mattered little, and the All-Mother returned most of her attention to the Elf sitting across from her. Caethya was looking at her intently, holding her steaming cup of tea in both of her hands and taking a sip every now and then.

Aperio followed suit and carefully picked up her cup to smell the tea. Perhaps it was her enhanced senses, but for the All-Mother, the smell of it was almost overwhelming. Not bad by any stretch, but still a little much.

She took a sip of the steaming beverage, savouring the scalding liquid as it flowed down her throat. Aperio could not name the flavours, or even describe them, but it was easy to determine that it was better than anything she had tried before.

"Do you like it?" Caethya asked, her eyes still fixed on the All-Mother.

"I do," Aperio replied, a touch of her magic bringing her slice of cake closer. "But it somehow lacks the ability to bring satiation. Or I lack the base needs to be sated."

"Perhaps that's because your body does not work like a mortal’s?" Caethya asked, watching the All-Mother take a bite of her cake.

Making sure the people surrounding them would not hear what they were not supposed to was rapidly becoming second nature to Aperio. Certainly helps that I can do it with my aura.

"Maybe," she replied, looking at the piece of cake before shifting her gaze towards Caethya. "I do not truly care for this, though. Being with you is what matters."

The Elf smiled at the words, her own food quickly vanishing as they sat in silence. Aperio did not mind, silently placing her plate in front of the Elf as she seemed to enjoy it much more than she herself had done. She also let a bit of her mana flow around Caethya, something she enjoyed doing and her disciple had not spoken out against, while a small part of her mind explored the city.

"Is there really nothing you would like to do?" Caethya asked after finishing both her own and Aperio's cake.

"I would like to have a friendly bout of fighting, but there is nothing that would be enough of a challenge," Aperio replied, mentally acknowledging Mayeia's message. The Goddess had heard back from the [Ancestral Guard].

"Exploring is also enjoyable," Aperio added, shifting slightly in her chair and wordlessly informing Caethya of what Mayeia had just told her. "But, I am open for anything." Don't exactly know what I should do, either.

"I will think of something," her disciple replied, waving over a waiter and handing him a few coins before standing up. "But for now, we have a visit to make, do we not?"

The All-Mother nodded at the question and rose from her chair. She could not help but notice the grey-haired man behind the counter looking at her, nodding his head almost imperceptibly as a bit of Aperio’s mana flowed around him. He smiled at the two of them, offering a small wave as they left.

Who is that ? Aperio idly wondered, the System providing an answer a moment later.

Miguél Bianchi | [Walker of the Veil (Hidden)] | Level: 296

Revelations - Chapter 115: Beyond Her Ken

Aperio led Caethya to an empty alleyway, teleporting them both inside Mayeia's temple as soon as she was sure nobody could see them.

She did not really mind people seeing her teleport but, in an effort to appear a little less godly, Aperio had chosen to do so out of sight. The All-Mother was also planning to ask Mayeia to bring them to this [Ancestral Guard] they were supposed to meet.

"Did you enjoy your excursion?" the Goddess of Magic asked as soon as Aperio and Caethya reappeared in her library.

"Yes," the All-Mother replied, her voice overshadowing a similar statement from her disciple. "Even if it was a little short."

"But we did not come here to sightsee," Caethya said. "We came to find Moria."

"Yes." Aperio sighed. "We did."

The All-Mother might have lost some of her worries about actually finding Moria, but that did not mean she looked forward to it. She did, however, want to make sure Moria was fine; a courtesy she would extend to her old friend, even it if turned out she had only pretended to be one. Her hiding because I came back might be the best outcome…

"Well," Mayeia began, "the [Keeper of Voices] has agreed to meet you." She hesitated for a moment before she continued. "I am pretty sure he already knows you are not an Elder but a Goddess. How he would know that is beyond me, but he definitely recognised your name."

A small thought flashed through Aperio's mind, causing her to ask, "Does the [Ancestral Guard] worship any specific God or Goddess?"

"Not really, no," Mayeia replied. "Their members follow different deities, but all of them offer their devotion to Chellien during their initiation. That he has died a long time ago does not seem to bother them."

"Of course they do," Aperio mumbled. She had little doubt that this order had something to do with some of the first vivid memories she had seen from Procul's dungeon crystals. "They know who I am," she continued, fixing her gaze on Mayeia. "I am certain the first of the order were the ones I gave Chellien's essence to after he died."

The Goddess of Magic blinked at the words, seemingly not quite sure what to make of them. "You gave the essence of a God to mortals? How? Their bodies should not be able to withstand it,” she said, her fingers twitching a little, almost as if she wanted to grab an invisible pen and write down what she had just heard.

Aperio tilted her head in reply. "I reforged their flesh. It was Chellien's last wish; or at least how I interpreted it at the time. I do not remember why I would grant him such a wish — just that I did."

She could recall in detail how she had guided what was left of Chellien through the bodies of the three mortals; rebuilding their bodies so they could actually make use of the dead God’s gift. The only memory that followed that featured one of the three was with Moria when she had given her the [Memento Mori] title — not something that helped her now.

"Interesting," the Goddess of Magic said after a moment of silence. "I did not think there would be an organisation left that is so directly tied to you."

"Probably because nobody knows that I had a hand in its creation," Aperio replied, her eyes fixed on Mayeia. "Even I did not know until recently."

The All-Mother did not believe the Goddess of Magic would do something to endanger the [Ancestral Guard], but she would still keep an eye on both of them. Mortals and Gods alike were willing to oppose her after all, even if they knew they could not win. Though, perhaps the mortals don't.

Assuming that their Gods told them who exactly she was was a stretch. If they did, they probably would not be quite as willing to throw themselves at her. Natio did not seem to know who I was…

They had managed to get rid of her once; so why wouldn't it work again? Aperio did not know why it would not. She only knew that — according to Ferio — she was much stronger than ever before, something that did not necessarily make sense to her. How could she be stronger when she had already had the ability to do anything she wanted? Doesn't get stronger than willing the universe into existence…

And yet, Ferio had said she was stronger. Vigil and Inanis had seemed surprised that she could stop their attempt so easily. Maybe I did do this to myself… but why? Forgetting was an easy solution to the guilt she now felt, but Aperio doubted her actions bothered her much before.

With a shake of her head, Aperio dismissed the thoughts, spreading her wings behind her before wrapping one around Caethya. Having her feathered limbs on display was freeing in a way that did not quite make sense to her. Maybe I should just say they're a cape… She could make them look like one — at least a little — but she doubted it would convince people.

"Well," Mayeia said. "As revealing as this conversation is, I think we should not keep the Keeper waiting too long."

Aperio raised an eyebrow at the words. She had not expected a Goddess to be mindful of a mortals schedule; even one as nice as Mayeia. Or does she only do it because I am here? "Yes, we should not keep them waiting."

The Goddess of Magic nodded once before disappearing into a blue portal. Aperio squinted to appraise the magic Mayeia had made, dismissing it with a thought before bringing Caethya and herself to the sprawling complex Mayeia had teleported herself to.

"Did you not like my portal?" the Goddess of Magic asked as Aperio and her disciple appeared next to her.

"It was… crude," the All-Mother replied after a moment. "Like the gate Fel'Erreyth has in his dungeon, your magic forces its way through the fabric of reality in a way that is both wasteful and unstable."

Aperio was aware of the Beastkin in the room; how he scrutinized her. "So it is true," he said once the All-Mother looked at him. "You have returned."

"Yes, I have," she replied, her voice easily filling the large hall. "What does it matter to you?"

The Beastkin hesitated for a moment, seemingly shrinking a little under Aperio's gaze. "We have rites to perform; people to inform. Your return has been prophesied throughout the ages… Though the one who had offered us insights into you has vanished some time ago."

"Moria?" Aperio asked, appearing in front of who she assumed was the [Keeper of Voices]. She could sense a pang of sadness from Caethya at her departure and, a small flex of her mental muscles brought the Elf back under her wing.

"Yes," the Beastkin replied, his eyes wandering between the Elf that had wrapped her arm around the All-Mother's waist and the Creator herself. "If you have come to find her here, I will have to disappoint. We have been searching for her for more than a year now and are no closer."

"We came to gather any information you might have," Mayeia replied. "As the Keeper, you should know that even the divine is limited in what we can do."

"Painfully so," the [Keeper of Voices] replied, grasping the small pendant that hung from his neck. "Despite what we have been told, I had hoped that the Creator would be all knowing. There are so many questions we have."

So do I, Aperio thought to herself, tilting her head before she asked her next question. "What have you been told?"

"The Kellborn have always told us that you would return," the [Keeper of Voices] said. "That you would oust many of the Pantheon and bring change akin to an apocalypse for many.

"Three have already fallen," he continued, "We had assumed you had returned, but we weren't sure. It would not be the first time that the Gods kill some of their own, after all." He grabbed the pendant a little tighter as he finished speaking, and a small speck of mana left his body to vanish into the workings beyond the fabric of reality.

"No," Aperio said, following the speck of mana with a thought. "It would not be the first time." But hopefully the last. "What can you tell me about Moria?" the All-Mother asked, leaning forward slightly. She towered over the sitting Beastkin, but he did not seem to be too intimidated by her. Maybe Moria told him he doesn't have to fear me?

The thought was quickly stricken from her memory as she could sense the Beastkin's heart start to beat faster and his breath to quicken.

"Perhaps we should ask for his name first?" Caethya suggested, lightly pressing her hand against Aperio's stomach so she would not loom over the [Keeper of Voices]. Aperio obliged Caethya and moved back a little, the [Keeper of Voices] calming slightly as she did. Her disciple bowed her head lightly before she spoke her next words. "I'm Caethya Martinek, the only one here whose name you probably do not know."

The [Keeper of Voices] did not reply immediately, lowering his head instead as he took a shaky breath. "Kenmo," he whispered, after another moment of silence. "Just, Kenmo."

"My condolences," Mayeia said, crossing her arms in front of her chest in a gesture Aperio did not know. "I know it is not easy to lose the one you love."

"Thank you," Kenmo replied, making another similar — but one armed — gesture in return. "But it is a price I have to pay as the Keeper."

The [Keeper of Voices] had given them his name, but apparently that somehow connected to him losing a loved one. Am I missing something? She was about to ask when Caethya almost imperceptibly shook her head.

"I lost my partner," Kenmo said, having picked up on Aperio's confusion. "And with it a part of my name; a part of me. I knew it would happen when I took the title as [Keeper of Voices], but sadly that spares me none of the pain.

He sighed after a moment of silence. "But you have not come to hear about the sorrows of an old man. You have come to meet Moria, but all I can offer you is the meagre information we have gathered."

"That is what we came for," Mayeia confirmed. "We already knew Moria would not be here."

Aperio let her senses spread through the complex, ignoring the various Beastkin that took notice of her action. She had hoped to find Neria here so she could ask about her mother, but she was not there.

"Of course," Kenmo said, clearing his throat and shifting in his chair. "Pardon me but, try as I might, I cannot quite gather my thoughts in the presence of a Goddess and the Creator."

"There is no need to worry," Aperio said, widening her search for Neria to encompass the city surrounding the complex of the [Ancestral Guard]. "I have not come to demand information or wreak havoc if I do not get to meet Moria." Perhaps that is what I would have done in the past…

"I would not have assumed that you would," he said. "But neither did I expect to meet you today. A priest of Mayeia asked for an audience for an 'important guest by the name of Aperio'. I had hoped it was you, but one never knows."

The [Keeper of Voices] eased a bit of his mana into two stones embedded into his chair, sending it racing through the walls and floor to a room in the middle of the building they were in.

"Some of us have you as their namesake," Kenmo continued, standing up from his chair and leaning heavily on a staff that had appeared in his hand. "Most do not know where it came from, and those that do expect me to offer them respect they do not deserve."

"Respect is earned, not given," Aperio said, squinting at the Beastkin. She paused for a moment, simply watching the [Keeper of Voices] slowly make his way to one of the doors in his chambers. "Do you need help?" she finally asked, mentally wincing at the disrupted flow of mana in his body.

"No need," he said, tapping his staff against the door, causing it to open. "Please, follow me. I had the [Archivists] prepare what information we have."

His grey fur moved in an unseen wind as he waited by the door, and the All-Mother eyed the old Beastkin for a moment longer. There was something about the way he held himself that was familiar to Aperio.

She shook her head slightly, pulling her wing away from Caethya as she began walking towards the door. The Elf frowned slightly, but quickly followed nonetheless while Mayeia hid a smile behind her hand.

"It is not every day you get to visit the inner sanctum of the [Ancestral Guard]," the Goddess of Magic said, a few magic-assisted steps bringing her next to Aperio.

The All-Mother did not react to the words, focused on black pearl seated on a small pedestal in the middle of the room beyond. She could easily see it with her eyes, but the black marble was invisible to her aura. What is that?

Revelations - Chapter 116: The Black Pearl

Aperio stepped past Kenmo, a tiny flex of her mental muscle twisting reality just enough so she would end up in front of the black pearl. Why can't I sense it?

Though it looked like the essence of Chellien, albeit lacking the fog, she could clearly recall the feeling of the dead God's soul. This orb simply did not exist as far as her more magical senses were concerned.

A thought stopped the two golden-furred Beastkin that tried to intercept her before the [Keeper of Voices] told them that it was fine. Aperio would have inspected the pearl even without the consent of Kenmo, as its presence did not feel quite right to her. Something about it was… off. Corrupt.

As far as Aperio was concerned, nothing should be outside her perception, but she had to concede that she was limiting herself by inhabiting a body. A touch of her magic flowed around the sphere, lifting it off of its pedestal and letting it hover over her palm.

She ignored the conversation happening between Caethya, Mayeia, and the [Keeper of Voices], focusing entirely on the orb that floated above her hand. Now that she was close to it, Aperio could faintly sense the black pearl in her hand. It was a strange sensation, weak and distant, almost as though it was not even in the same space that she was.

The All-Mother tilted her head at the thought. Another flex of her mental muscles tore open reality and the kaleidoscope of colours beyond. If the orb was connected to something, it had to be beyond what she already knew; could already sense.

Aperio's face twisted into a frown of confusion at what she found beyond the basic foundations of reality. Out here, it was basically the same as her Void. Her mind latched onto the idea, and sent a part of itself off to search through the seemingly endless black abyss she had come to call home.

She searched, and searched, venturing far beyond where she had ever explored before. She could not have possibly told how long she had focusing on this task, but eventually there, at the far reaches of her Void and the space beyond reality, she found what she was looking for. Herself. Aperio was, from within her Void, looking at herself holding the black pearl; the space seemingly also encompassing physical reality. Could I use this to go to other worlds?

The All-Mother let the magic that had held it above her hand cease. As soon as the sphere touched her palm, she was sure that it was connected to her Void, and she grabbed hold of it with both hands. Past its glass-like surface, she could sense - feel - the cold comfort of the black abyss. But how can it possibly be hiding from me?

Her thoughts stopped as the orb's hue began to shift. A silvery-blue that looked very much like her mana started to billow out from the depths of the darkness within. Soon it spilled out into physical reality Aperio found herself in, bathing her surroundings in visible mana. The only problem was that she had put none of it into the pearl. As if to answer her unspoken question, the orb in her hand began to open; the surface peeling away bit by bit as if it was a flower starting to bloom.

The hole Aperio had ripped in reality slowly repaired itself as the All-Mother herself focused on what she could only describe as a seed inside the pearl. It shone with the same light that gleamed through her own skin whenever she drew a bit more on her well.

A hand brushing past her wings and resting against the small of her back caused Aperio to look away from the glowing seed, directing her eyes at the owner of the hand. Caethya was standing next to her, squinting at the seed and straining against an unseen force. It was only then that Aperio noticed the dome of mana that separated her from the rest of the room.

She only needed a glance to know it was the Goddess of Magic who had made it, but it also revealed that the barrier was already breaking down. A touch of Aperio's magic replaced Mayeia's barrier and also wrapped itself around Caethya, causing her to let out a shaky breath.

"What are you doing?" she asked, leaning a bit more heavily against the All-Mother as she took deep breaths. "If Mayeia hadn't contained the mana, you would have levelled the city. Even with your blessing I can barely stand against it."

"This is somehow connected to my Void," Aperio said, nodding towards the orb in her hand. "It resembles the seeds of divinity I took out of Vigil and Inanis, but it seems… tainted and drained. Almost as if someone tried to use it but did not know how."

The Demigoddess let out a sigh at the words. "Whatever you're examining, you can't just do it here. What happened to the Aperio that cares? Normally you are concerned how your mere presence affects people, but now here you are, ripping open something that could end countless lives at a whim."

Aperio froze at the words for a brief moment before she covered the seed with both hands and a barrier of her magic that was likely strong enough to withstand at least a few of her own attacks. "I'm sorry," she said, lowering her head. "I do not know how I did not notice… I was so focused on finding out why I could not sense the orb; needed to know why."

The All-Mother had to consciously relax her hands, the barrier she had made around the seed drawing ever more mana as she crushed it between them. With an unneeded breath, Aperio directed the mana that had filled reality and compressed into a small, silver-blue ball no bigger than her hand. Another thought caused the sphere of condensed mana to melt into her being like the countless tiny orbs in her Void had once done.

Unlike that time, however, the mana she received from this orb was only noticeable because she tried to see what happened. Slowly, Aperio uncovered the seed in her hands, making sure any mana that it emitted simply flowed into her body. It might not have been the best choice, but her body still consumed ungodly amounts of mana to strengthen itself, so adding a little more was not the worst thing she could do.

"I am sure you would have noticed if it had affected the others," Caethya said, lightly rubbing Aperio's back. "But please, be more careful. We aren't all as strong as you are."

"No," Aperio mumbled, her shoulders slumping as she looked at the slowly pulsating seed in her hand. "Everyone else is fragile. Even with you I have to be careful to not accidentally hurt you when I hug you." And I just can't stop hurting people, it seems.

The Elf smiled at her, gently nudging away the All-Mother's arm that held the seed and wrapping her own around Aperio. "That just means I will stay with you to help you and, maybe one day, get strong enough that you don't have to worry about me.

"Did you at least figure out why you could not sense it?" Caethya continued after pulling away slightly to better look at her Goddess. "I can't see it either, but I am fairly certain you can sense everything, in a way."

Aperio shifted her gaze from the seed to Caethya. She couldn't help but see her as small and fragile — in need of her protection. The fact that the Demigoddess barely reached her chest did not help with that, but she had chosen her form because she did not want to be viewed in the way she saw most everyone else, and she liked her appearance.

"It is a part of my Void somehow," she said, a minuscule effort of her mind lifting it out of her hand and letting it float back to its pedestal. "It also feels like a seed of divinity, but not quite."

As soon as the seed arrived at its old resting place, the sphere that had opened to reveal it slowly closed and cast the room in a blue and silver light. Aperio no longer had to draw the excess mana it produced into herself as it flowed through the pedestal into a formation hidden beneath the floor. Countless runes came to life as soon as the magic flowed through them, their angled lines like the ones she had seen in the System and not what the mortals used. What.

Close to the pedestal’s base, Aperio could see a cluster of runes — the ones for 'Allow' and 'Forbid' far more prevalent than any other, but always followed by another rune. Does it need to spell out what can be used?

"What did you do?" Caethya asked, her eyes wandering over the now-glowing floor.

"I simply put it back," Aperio replied as she tried to figure out what the runes were supposed to do. "It probably was not working right because I was not there." Well, my mana wasn't there…

Aside from the many occurrences of 'Allow' and 'Forbid', Aperio could also see runes meant to measure something and create something according to the measurement. The only part about the entire contraption that gave Aperio pause was the fact that it was made with the same runes she had used to make the System. And they are too small to be made by mortal hands.

The runes were not visible to the naked eye; not even Aperio's own. At least not until she truly tried to see, that was. Being able to see every particle the world was made of was not something she usually saw much benefit in when her aura could provide her with much more — and actually usable — information.

"Done experimenting?" Mayeia asked, having dismissed the barrier she had summoned. She eyed the glowing runes for a moment, her aura sweeping the hall before she turned her attention back to Aperio. "You gave the mortals quite the scare."

"I apologise," the All-Mother replied, her wings twitching slightly as the eyes of a few mortals lingered on Caethya, who still had her arms wrapped around her waist. She gently ran her hand through the Demigoddess' hair, her eyes lingering on one of the guards that seemed to have more than a few problems with the display of affection. "Something about the seed felt… off."

"The seed?" Kenmo asked, his gaze flicking between Aperio and the object in question. "[Chellien's Pearl] used to power Foderys before it was stolen by the Imperium of Geshwen. We retrieved it, as you can see, but never managed to repair it."

Aperio directed her attention at the orb again, a mental message asking Caethya to let her go. The Elf obliged, running a hand along the wing the All-Mother draped over her instead.

"It needed my mana," she said after a moment. Kenmo's comment had led her to believe this was Chellien's soul, but another check showed that to not be the case. He is right, it is a thing…

While it was still obscured from her senses, there was something that she could only describe as lifeless about the orb. A soul had an inherent will to it — wanted to do something — and [Chellien's Pearl] lacked that. It should have been obvious to her, but Aperio had been preoccupied figuring out why she could not properly sense it. The answer to that particular question was rapidly becoming clear now.

Is it part of me? She tried to reach the pearl through her Void, finding it surprisingly easy to both spot and interact with now that it was no longer dormant. Aperio did not want to actually do anything with it as she had no idea what it was supposed to do, but knowing it was more connected to her — more so than everything else, at least — helped explain a few things. Don't feel my organs either, after all.

"Your mana?" Mayeia asked, walking past Aperio and looking at the now-glowing sphere. "Did you make this?"

The All-Mother squinted at the Goddess of Magic, but did not reply. She might be fine with her knowing that she forgot, but that was not true for the mortals in the room.

Seeing she would not receive an answer, Mayeia shifted her attention to the [Keeper of Voices]. "May I take a look as well?"

After she received a nod from Kenmo, the Goddess of Magic started to let her mana flow around the pearl and through the floor; undoubtedly trying to figure out what it was supposed to do.

Aperio merely shook her head, pulling her wing — and Caethya — closer to herself. Her disciple leaned into the feathered appendage, likely enjoying its unnatural softness. The All-Mother shifted her gaze onto the [Keeper of Voices], the man stiffening slightly in response.

"I apologise for the interruption, but I believe you wanted to show us something else."

"Yes," he said after a moment of hesitation. "Of course. Follow me, please."

Aperio could not help but narrow her eyes slightly at Kenmo as she moved to follow him. The man that had greeted them had seemingly vanished, replaced by one that exhibited the annoying signs of devotion Aperio did not like.

Revelations - Chapter 117: Finders, Keepers

Caethya rubbed Aperio's back as she felt the muscles tensing there, trying to soothe away the slight mixture of annoyance and anger that was flashing through the aura that surrounded them. The motion caught the attention, and a few looks, from the Beastkin they passed, but she gave it no mind. "What's wrong?" she asked instead.

A slight tingle ran over her skin as the All-Mother's magic flowed around the two of them, creating an almost imperceptible barrier that garnered a raised eyebrow from the Goddess of Magic who had abandoned her study of the runes in favour of following them. It was quickly followed by a long, ethereal sounding sigh. The more annoyed Aperio got, the more her nature as the Creator seemed to show.

"Nothing serious," she finally replied, her gaze briefly pausing on every member of the [Ancestral Guard] that looked at the two of them weirdly. "I had simply hoped that he would keep his straight-forward attitude and treat me like anyone else. Or at least just like a Goddess, and not the Goddess… And they keep staring. As if it's the first time they have seen someone showing affection."

"You did just fix the thing they had thought broken for a long while," Caethya pointed out with a small chuckle. "I think they are all a little shocked. They probably also did not think that you would show interest in such base desires."

"Why would I not be able to feel something for you?" Aperio asked, her ever-shifting eyes settling onto Caethya's own. There was anger hidden in their depths. "Do they think I'm some thing that does not deserve to feel? To be alive?"

"No," Caethya replied after a moment, her gaze wandering to the floor. "They aren't trying to tell you what to do. They probably just find it weird that a Goddess would deign to be with a mortal."

"But you aren't a mortal," Aperio interjected. "You are a Demigoddess, and will be an actual Goddess in time."

"They don't know that, though," the Elf replied, looking at her Goddess again. "To them I am just a stronger than average Elf." She held up her free hand to stop Aperio from talking, continuing herself instead. "I know, it shouldn't matter, but mortals don't usually see the divine in person. And they never get to see them being affectionate with, at least as far as they know, a mortal."

The All-Mother narrowed her eyes slightly, her aura losing a bit of the suffocating feeling after a moment. "That still leaves Kenmo's newfound devoutness. I didn't actually repair it — did not do anything." She sighed in exasperation. A few wisps of mana flowed out with her breath as if to underline her next words. "It simply needed a bit of my mana, which it got when I touched it."

Aperio mumbled a few more words that Caethya could not quite make out despite her excellent hearing. Being able to discern the conversations of the people around her from the usual background noise of a city was not something she was used to quite yet. It did, however, offer a topic for conversation that would hopefully shift Aperio's thoughts away from the [Keeper of Voices] a little.

"How do you deal with all the noise?" Caethya asked. The All-Mother looked at her for a moment, tilting her head slightly before she seemed to figure out what the Elf had meant.

"I ignore it," she replied after a moment of continued silence. "Or at least I try to. It got better with time, but now that you brought my attention to it, I am having a hard time not hearing every conversation in the city at once."

"Despite the barrier?"

"Yes," the All-Mother replied. "It only stops them from hearing us."

Caethya grimaced at the words. "I'm sorry," she said, removing her hand from Aperio's back. "I just thought a different topic would help you a little."

Her Goddess' wing wrapped a little tighter around her, the feathered limb easily pulling Caethya closer. "It did help," Aperio said, her hand running through the Elf's hair before resting, warm and near, on her shoulder. "I am still annoyed at his change in behaviour. But… It's my fault for expecting otherwise."

Progress! Caethya thought to herself as a smile graced her lips. "Perhaps," she said, wrapping her arm around Aperio's waist again, "you just need to remember that what you consider normal is likely not. Before, you couldn't know what was normal, and now your nature skews your view."

"Your normal is not a normal mortal's normal either," Aperio countered. She did have a point. Caethya had been working to become an adventurer since her early teens. Her skill with magic caused her to forego most normal education an Elf her age would take, leading her to not make many friends her own age.

That remained relatively unchanged as she grew older. When the few people she did become closer with went out to play, she would train. Be it her magic, sword fighting or simply trying to get her body to be on par with her magical might; it all took time away from learning what was normal. Now she was one of the highest levelled individuals walking the worlds, and before even turning thirty.

"Still more grounded than you, miss mana," Caethya said, leaning her head against Aperio's side. Despite the fact that they were walking and her Goddess was a lot more sturdily built than any mortal, it was one of the most comfortable things she had done.

A slight sheen emanated from the All-Mother's skin in reply to Caethya's jest. Wisps of mana joined the glow after a moment, lazily dancing around them and growing in number with each step.

"I am the Goddess of Mana," Aperio declared in a mocking tone, giving Caethya's arm a gentle squeeze. It was followed by a moment of silence, then a slight sigh from the All-Mother. "Hoping that it was actually a Domain of mine was perhaps a bit much…"

Caethya wanted to ask about her Goddess' Domains, but the [Keeper of Voices] had suddenly come to a halt, and the barrier that had kept their words private vanished — an indication that their conversation was put on hold for the time being. They had arrived in front of a large, heavily ornamented set of doors. She had paid so little attention to where they were going — being content to talk to Aperio — that she had only noticed it when the All-Mother's hold on her loosened a little and the glow and wisps faded out of existence.

"Welcome to the Ancestral Archives," the [Keeper of Voices] said, opening his arms wide which caused the doors to do the same. "Please, step inside."

Aperio squinted at the door, its metal decorations reminding her a little too much of the ones that the Empire liked to use. A light touch of Caethya's magic pulled her from her thoughts; stopped her from going down yet another dark passageway of her memory. She moved her wing ever-so-slightly in reply, brushing it over her disciple’s back. While talking was nice, words were not needed.

"What, exactly, is this for?" the All-Mother asked, her eyes taking in the rows of shelves that seemed to reach endlessly upwards. There was a fog covering them further up, but her senses told her that they continued on — farther than should be possible. The building they were in was large, yes, but it was not high enough to house this.

"Knowledge," was the reply from the man behind the desk. "We collect and keep every piece of knowledge the guards, hunters, and now the Witness bring.”

Aperio had seen and sensed his location a little ways away from the group, but had thought him a simple librarian. If the guards were anything to go by, none aside from the [Keeper of Voices] seemed all that eager to talk to them.

"Witness?" Caethya asked, taking a step forward from beneath Aperio's wing.

"A member of the order who witnessed the death of our God and the planting of the seed that would become the [Ancestral Guard]," the [Keeper of Voices] said, his eyes fixed on Aperio. "The latest Witness is someone you have already met—"

"Neria?" Aperio interrupted.

"Yes," Kenmo replied. "She has not only met you in the now, but also witnessed your gift to Chellien's Trinity during her initiation."

The All-Mother hesitated for a moment before speaking again. "Is she here?"

While their last encounter had been a little awkward, she still thought that meeting her could be helpful. She is Moria's daughter after all… Maybe she knows something.

"Not at the moment," the librarian replied. "She and her mentor have been dispatched to take care of a few Demons in the Shiel'ma mountains."

"Allow me to introduce my colleague," Kenmo said, glaring at the librarian with barely concealed anger. "This is Selehan, the [Keeper of Tomes]. He is more interested in books than manners or propriety."

The man in question scoffed at the words. "I am interested in knowledge, my dear Kenmo; it doesn't have to be books." His eyes shifted to Aperio, his ears twitching ever-so-slightly, and his tail increased pace slightly from the regal swooping it had been doing before.

"And now we have a veritable font of it walk into these halls, specifically to seek help from me?" he continued, clasping his hands in front of his chest. "How could I not be excited? I have read so many things about the Creator; asked Moria so many questions before she disappeared."

"Don't expect too much," Mayeia said with a sly smile on her face. Aperio tensed for a moment before the Goddess of Magic continued, alleviating her fear and causing her to let go of the magic she had started to form. "Most of what she talks about is beyond what I know, and the other things she remains silent on."

A laugh came in reply from Selehan, causing Aperio to quirk an eyebrow and Caethya to smile slightly. "I would not expect the All-Mother to answer any of my questions," he said. "I hope to learn something by merely observing."

"Aren't you the one that is supposed to give us the information we came for?" Caethya asked, tilting her head slightly.

The Beastkin looked briefly startled before beaming at her disciple's words and producing a giant leather-bound tome from somewhere below his desk. "Why yes I am!" Selehan exclaimed, eliciting a long-suffering sigh from the [Keeper of Voices]. "Everything I know about Moria is in here." He tapped the book. "I have also compiled a list of potential places where she could be and who could have brought her there.

"Usually the divines do not touch our order," he continued, looking at Aperio. "But with your return I would not rule divine intervention out. Though, the likeliest option is still that she left on her own accord."

Because of me, Aperio thought to herself, directing her eyes to the floor. The warming touch of Caethya's mana helped, but did not manage to wash away her guilt this time. Neither did the hand of her disciple rubbing her back and the words of her prayer entering her mind.

The only upside of the situation was that it showed that Caethya cared. She knew why Aperio reacted the way she did and tried her best to help her.

With an almost imperceptible shake of her head, the All-Mother dismissed the thoughts — as best as she could, at least.

"May I see the book?" she asked and, after she received a nod from Selehan, waved her free hand. The book teleported into her grasp.

"There are also some other archivists that have gathered information for you," the [Keeper of Tomes] said, taking out another, smaller, book from beneath his desk. "Some of them have some rather… colourful ideas on what happened, but I believe any idea is worth investigating at this point."

He sighed, scratching the base of one of his ears before he continued. "While the order can work just fine with two Keepers or even none at all, the disappearance of the [Keeper of Relicts] is… unsettling."

"[Keeper of Relicts]?" Caethya asked. "What do these titles even mean?"

Kenmo stood a little straighter at the question, smoothing out his robe with his free hand. "As the [Keeper of Tomes], Selehan holds the combined knowledge of every member of the [Ancestral Guard]. This library is akin to a Domain, albeit a lot weaker than that of a God or even Demigod.

"Moria," he continued, "is the [Keeper of Relicts]. The one that holds the tools of our order within herself and teaches members how to use them."

Kenmo hesitated for a moment before he cleared his throat and spoke again. "I speak with the voices of those who came before; interpret their will in the here and now. I listen to the plights of the members that fall, be it in battle or old age, and carry them onwards to the beyond."

After a couple moments of silence in which Aperio only stared at the two Beastkin, trying to determine how what they claimed their titles did would work, the [Keeper of Tomes] spoke.

"Our titles find a new host when we perish," he said. "There is no new [Keeper of Relicts], so we know Moria is still alive. We just need to find her."

Revelations - Chapter 118: Reading into Things

Aperio held the book the [Keeper of Tomes] had given her, her eyes flicking over the rapidly changing pages. Despite the fact that she still had one arm wrapped around Caethya and held the book in her free hand, each page turned over in rapid succession with the barest effort of her mind. She could have read the book without opening it, but something about the slight rustling of the papers as her magic turned them over and the act of actually reading the words — even though she barely spent a second on each page — felt nice.

With a sigh that echoed too much for her liking, Aperio teleported the book back to its owner. Sadly, there was not much to be learned from the book, as she had already checked on most of the locations the [Keeper of Tomes] had written down, and already checked out the ones she had not as she encountered them in her reading. The only ones she had yet to search were, for the most part, the Dominions of Gods and Goddesses she had less than a stellar opinion of, which meant that getting within the Dominions themselves to take a look was quite a bit harder. I'd have to find them first, too…

Aperio did not know where she would even begin with that search. Finding Vigil's Dominion had been mostly luck — having Inanis come to his aid even more so. I doubt every deity is as… bold as they were.

"Find anything useful?" Caethya asked, turning slightly in the All-Mother's gentle embrace.

"No," she replied. "Most of the locations listed there are ones I have already searched, and the ones I had not yet searched also turned out to be wrong.

"I did not look into the Dominions yet," Aperio continued, her wings twitching a little at the prospect of fighting more deities. "I would have to find where they put them first."

The [Keeper of Tomes] blinked at her words, opening and closing his mouth a couple of times as he struggled to find the words he was looking for. Mayeia giggled at the man’s unbelieving face but made no move to say anything, likely not wanting to risk saying something the All-Mother would find disagreeable.

"I am not omniscient," Aperio said, quirking an eyebrow. Not that I couldn't be. It was very much a conscious decision; her brief stint as a formless fog had done a good job of dissuading her from the idea. Another reason for staying corporeal was currently wrapped in her arm and a wing, bringing a sorely needed note of calm to the brewing storm in Aperio's mind.

Selehan took a moment longer to get his bearings, the information he had received seemingly a bit much despite its rather mundane nature. He cleared his throat, placing the book somewhere beneath his table again before he asked, "But could you be?"

The All-Mother narrowed her eyes as she glared at the man. Caethya's free hand settling onto her stomach caused her to let go of the magic she had started to weave and shift her attention to the countless books surrounding them. "Is there anything else you can tell us?"

"I do not think so," the [Keeper of Tomes] replied. His voice was unsteady; a little higher than before. Almost as if he is scared now.

Aperio tilted her head as she inspected the Beastkin a little more closely. Something about his behaviour was… off. But, against expectation, she did not find anything wrong with the man. At least not with his body. Selehan had also seemingly not noticed her more forceful look, something that only furthered her suspicion.

A light, almost unnoticeable tap on her stomach caused the All-Mother to shift her attention to the new arrivals. Caethya then removed her hand from Aperio's stomach and nudged the winged Goddess' arm around her shoulders away. Aperio obliged, folding her arms in front of her chest instead; only keeping her wing loosely draped around her disciple.

Why Caethya reacted to these new people with less comfortable casualness as she usually did was a mystery to the All-Mother. A quick mental query did not help either, only getting her a mental shrug.

In the end, it mattered little as long as Caethya was around. Even if it's a little selfish… The calm her disciple brought, the fuzzy warmth Aperio felt when she was near, it was all unquestionably good, but she did not feel she gave something of equal value back.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the annoying practice of bowing to someone of a higher social strata than yourself. Aperio merely sighed, her free wing sweeping upwards slightly in a motion the new arrivals easily understood.

The group of Beastkin rose, the rustling of robes and slight creaking of leather filling the room as other sounds had seemingly left the world at the All-Mothers exasperation. "Are these the Archivists you mentioned?" she asked, her eyes settling onto the [Keeper of Voices].

They had been scattered throughout the hall, noticeable in her aura in the same way a mortal might see something in their periphery. She likely could have inspected them more closely, but the All-Mother was making an effort to not intrude too much into everyone's life. Which I do anyway just because I am who I am…

"Yes," Selehan replied. His voice sounded normal again, the man having seemingly gotten over whatever had unsettled him in the first place. "There are some who are currently not present as we dispatched them to check some of the locations we considered good candidates.

"Of course," he continued after a brief pause that seemed to bring back of his previous agitation, "that is no longer necessary."

"I will have a [Communika] call them back," the [Keeper of Voices] said as a bit of his mana flowed through his staff, gently illuminating a few runes. After a brief moment, Aperio could sense a sliver of the magic flow into the network of runes that seemed to be omnipresent in the building.

"Perhaps it would help if they actually tell us what they know instead of just staring," Caethya said, inclining her head to the newly arrived Archivists. "It's pretty rude."

Aperio shifted her wing slightly to better cover Caethya. While she did not like them much either, she had not considered the mortals’ stares rude. It was the first time many of them likely saw a Goddess; something her disciple had usually been the first to point out. Maybe it’s the way these ones do it?

"That will happen a lot more in the future," Mayeia said. "The path you are on is one is less travelled and will get more attention one way or another." She paused, and Aperio could feel a small pulse of mana emanate from the Goddess of Magic, as well as the slightest narrowing of her eyes.

"Caethya has a point, however," she continued. "Everyone here seems awfully slow in their search for the third Keeper. I would have thought that this would be something the [Ancestral Guard] would enlist the help of the Tribes for."

A tense silence settled over the hall as neither of the Keepers replied. It was only broken by an ethereal sigh of the All-Mother.

"I do not care what they have done to find her," she said, her voice filling the room despite her having not raised it. A few wisps of mana had also started to float around her as she drew a little more on her well. "I came here to find out what they know," Aperio continued and turned to face the new arrivals. "So please, tell me what you know."

It was not one of the mortals in front of her that replied, but a cat-eared Beastkin that had hidden herself behind one of the impossibly tall shelves. Her black fur melted into the background, and the yellow highlights — almost golden — reminded Aperio of the one she had seen in Fel'Erreyth's Dungeon.

"They do not want her to return," she whispered with a shaky voice, retreating back into the shadow of the shelf. It was clear that not everyone had heard her — but Aperio did. The All-Mother heard the next words the Beastkin spoke too, the ones said with eyes fixed upon her. "The [Keeper of Relicts] prophesied the end of the times we know, and her voice carries too much weight for them to ignore."

The magic that had started to form around the woman ceased to be as Aperio simply waved it aside. She had expected Selehan or Kenmo to be the source of it, but it was one of the Archivists that had gathered before her. Did they expect that to work? They had to either not know who Mayeia and she were, or simply be a lot more stupid than Aperio had thought possible.

"I have not come here to dabble in your games," she said with slightly more power in her voice. The Beastkin that had spoken appeared before her as, simultaneously, the one that had tried to cast the spell found herself unable to move.

The All-Mother directed her attention at the Beastkin who now stood before her, suppressing a sigh as she tried to make herself as small as possible. "What do you know?"

There was no reply. The cat-eared Beastkin just stared at Aperio and shook as she tried to make herself smaller still. The All-Mother's wings and shoulders slumped at the reaction; the room seemingly growing colder with the action. I helped her and now she is scared, why?

Caethya emerged from under her wing, Aperio lifting it slightly to let her disciple move past. She carefully approached the Beastkin, a few wisps of the All-Mother's mana trailing behind almost as if they did not want to let go. In a way, that was true. Aperio liked being near Caethya, and her mana was very much a part of her.

Aperio stretched her wings slightly before folding them behind her back. She tilted her head slightly as Caethya pulled out a small notebook from a nonexistent pocket on her dress and held it out towards the Beastkin.

"You don't have to be scared," she said as the Beastkin took the book. "But if you don't wish to speak, you can just write it in there, okay?"

The All-Mother wanted to tell Caethya to not treat the woman like a child, but she kept quiet as the Beastkin nodded ever-so-slightly and started to scribble into the book with the pen that had been attached to its side. That worked?

She would be lying if she claimed she had foreseen a positive outcome from her Disciple's actions, but nonetheless the attempt had succeeded. Aperio gave Caethya a small smile that she could not see and conveyed her gratitude in the form of some mana dancing around the Elf and a mental message.

A part of her mind was also reading what the Beastkin frantically scribbled into the book while another held the one that had tried to cast magic just a little tighter. With every word the cat-eared one wrote, the small flame of anger in Aperio's chest grew.

So far, the mortals she had seen had only shown their worst side after a more direct interaction with their Gods. That was not the case here, however. At least as far as she knew. The [Ancestral Guards] did not follow one God or Goddess, but many.

Perhaps she was a fool for thinking that the mortals would be less corrupt and misguided without direct influence of their Gods, but the All-Mother — despite her own mistrust — did not want to believe that they were all as tainted by greed as the Beastkin's allegations made them out to be.

"Do you have anything to say on the matter?" Aperio asked, her eyes flicking between the [Keeper of Tomes] and the [Keeper of Voices].

Neither of them looked like they wanted to be here right now; but they both knew full well that they could not leave. Kenmo sighed, leaning a bit more heavily on his staff. The [Keeper of Tomes], on the other hand, produced another book. Unlike the previous times, he retrieved this one from a black rift, and it was instantly clear that the volume was bound by chains that rustled slightly as it was held aloft.

"That," Mayeia said, squinting at the book, "should not be in a mortal's hand."

"Usually, it is not," the [Keeper of Voices] said. "Moria left it here when she disappeared. Despite what Meherisha has told you, we most definitely want to find our friend. She merely thinks we are part of the problem when, in reality, we had been unaware until recently."

"And are powerless to change it without Moria," Selehan continued. "Our titles may grant us power, but they are tied to the will of the entire [Ancestral Guard]. Most wish to be on this path, and we are forced to follow their wish."

The [Keeper of Tomes] carefully removed the chains that bound the book. Hushed voices filled the room shortly thereafter, whispering about things that could happen — promising great power, if you only opened it and spoke its text aloud.

"The [Keeper of Relicts] still holds the pages we require to remove the ones that have been corrupted by greed," Selehan said, offering the book to the All-Mother. "Mayhap it will help you in finding her."

A touch of Aperio's magic brought the book into her hand. The whispers ceased as soon as the tome was in her grasp, whatever magic was responsible either no longer working or too scared to continue. The All-Mother assumed it was the latter, as something about the book felt decidedly alive.

“I do not like being deceived,” Aperio said, glaring at both the [Keeper of Tomes] and [Keeper of Voices]. “You are lucky I want to find my friend.”

The mention of Moria as her friend had the desired effect as both of the Beastkin froze in place. Aperio directed her attention to the book in her hand, carefully leafing through the pages. Mayeia appeared next to her and also peered into the book, seemingly quite interested in what it had to say.

Aside from the fact that the book felt alive, Aperio was also sure that it was trying to read her. How would it even do that? Pushing the thought aside, the All-Mother kept leafing through the book. Caethya joined them after a moment longer, bringing the cat-eared Beastkin named Meherisha with her.

Aperio stopped. Written at the edge of the page were words she recognised before her mind grasped their meaning. When she had first laid eyes upon these words, she had not been able to read them. They had been written on an item that had been given to her by the one who had acted most like a mother to her during her mortal life. It was perhaps a foolish idea to think this phrase was a hint, but Aperio was willing to take that chance. She would still go and look.

Revelations - Chapter 119: Reunion

Finding the place she had called home during her time as a slave had been surprisingly easy. The ruins of the Empire's capital were still standing, though mostly abandoned. A few of the more intact houses at the edge of the city housed people — researchers of some kind, if Aperio had to guess.

The All-Mother did not care for them, however. She was looking for one of the few places in the city that did not fill her with disgust or dread. A place Moria and she had often used to hide from the horrors of the world.

It had only ever given them a short reprieve; neither of them wanting to stay there for more than a handful of minutes in fear of being spotted. Perhaps they always knew, Aperio mused to herself as she weaved her mana through the fabric of reality. Give us some hope so they can make us suffer more.

Suddenly, the memory no longer mattered. She had located their old hideout, and within sat Moria, who had made no attempt to hide and was instead sitting cross-legged on a cloth blanket. Her eyes were closed, and as Aperio took a moment to observe, there was barely any difference between the Moria she remembered and the one she now saw. A few more grey hairs, perhaps, or a negligible change in height, but overall she was exactly as her memories had pictured her.

She looked at peace. That was the only way Aperio could describe her. As if her life's work was now complete and she was just waiting for Aperio to come and collect.

The space behind the All-Mother unfurled itself as she took extra care to not break anything. She was excited for the meeting, while also dreading it, and her mind was already busying itself with many potential outcomes of their impending conversation. Being able to think about as many things as she could, as fast as she could, was not always a blessing.

Caethya gently brushed her hand over Aperio's arm, her magic dancing across the All-Mother's skin in its wake. "Did you find her?"

"Yes," Aperio replied, the portal behind her coalescing into a steady pool of silver and blue. She looked at Caethya for a long moment before the book in her hand vanished into her Void, freeing her arms to pick her disciple up. Wings followed arms to wrap Caethya in a hug, one that was returned by all four of the Demigoddess' limbs.

The All-Mother simply held her for a while, ignoring the looks of the other people in the room. "As much as I want to bring you with me," she said, her voice muffled by Caethya's hair as most of her face was buried in it, "I have to do this alone."

"I know," her disciple replied, rubbing Aperio's back. They held the embrace for a moment longer before Caethya spoke again. "I think it would be best if you brought Meherisha and me to the House of Healing.”

"Okay," Aperio mumbled in reply, giving the Elf one more gentle squeeze before letting her down. Once Caethya was standing on her own two feet again, the All-Mother brushed a few errant strands of hair out of her face and then shifted her gaze to the cat-eared Beastkin. "Do you wish to accompany Caethya to Ebenlowe? Given the current situation…"

She didn't need to finish the sentence for Meherisha to nod fervently and quickly seek refuge between the All-Mother and Caethya. For someone that knew Aperio was supposed to herald the end of the world she knew, the Beastkin did not seem to mind being near her at all.

Meherisha stiffened as Aperio shifted her wings slightly, moving to stand behind Caethya a little more with her ears pressed against her head. She mumbled something about them being real as she eyed the All-Mother up and down. Aperio tilted her head slightly at the action but did nothing else — she knew she did not look like any Elf the Beastkin had seen before.

"Ready?" she asked, a small smile spreading across her lips as she looked at her disciple again.

"I am," Caethya replied. "I don't know about our new friend here."

"I'm ready," Meherisha replied with only a slight shake to her voice.

The All-Mother nodded and, with slightly more force, unravelled reality to bring both of them to the House of Healing. Caethya's prayer, letting her know not to hesitate to fetch her Disciple if anything was needed, came at the same time she informed Laelia of what had happened and where she was planning on going next. Simultaneously, she extended an offer to return Mayeia to Roots and her temple if she wished to do so.

Her Scion gave her a stoic nod that would have looked weird to everyone who did not know she had just spoken to her Goddess, while Mayeia simply appeared outside of Aperio's temple, waiting to be let in.

The All-Mother obliged, sending Caethya a brief message letting her know she had been heard before turning her attention to the remaining mortals in the room. They shrunk slightly under her gaze and aura as she drew more heavily on her well. "Depending on what I learn, I might be back to punish those responsible for the corruption of the [Ancestral Guard]. Trying to hide will only make the punishment worse."

She did not wait for a reply, taking a step backwards that covered more distance than it should and vanishing into the portal she had created.

Moria opened her eyes at Aperio's arrival, taking a good, long look before speaking. "You look different," she said, shuffling to the side on the blanket so the All-Mother could sit. "Strong. Imposing, even. But… I guess that was to be expected."

"…Was it?" Aperio asked as she carefully sat herself down across from the one she used to call mother, spreading her wings slightly to accommodate the motion. The dread she had felt at meeting Moria had mostly disappeared. All she wanted to do at the moment was hold her surrogate mother, but she restrained herself. She did not know what Moria thought of her; how she viewed the time they had spent as slaves.

"Yes," Moria replied with a nod. "I did the same in my following lives, after all." She paused, giving Aperio a bittersweet smile as the winged Goddess grimaced at the mention of multiple lives. "You said that there was a chance you would not remember much of your life before; that you would not stop the others from interfering. I know you now blame yourself for what happened. Don't."

Moria took a breath before continuing. "I chose to go with you; chose to keep the title you have given me. I know you didn't plan for it to go as it did, even if you do not believe it yourself now."

"Chose to keep the title?" Aperio asked, not quite understanding what Moria meant. She also ignored her remarks on whether or not she had actually planned to end up as a slave. Knowing what she did, Aperio found it unlikely — but not impossible — for her old self to consider a life as a slave as atonement for her actions. "Can you simply remove it?"

Moria hesitated for a moment before she nodded. "Yes. When I die, the System gives me the choice to leave the title behind and let my soul be washed clean."

"But you don't."

"No, I do not."

Aperio hesitated for a moment and drew her wings closer to herself. Moria could, of course, be keeping the title from life to life only because being able to draw on countless lives was useful, but the All-Mother wanted to believe that Moria did it because she wanted to remember the ones she loved.

"You are still as easy to read as when you were a mortal." Moria smiled. "Yes, a large part of why I keep it is the friendship I had with you. Though… I would be lying if I said I did not consider forgetting over my last few lives."

"But why? I was a monster." Am a monster…

For all the good she was capable of doing, Aperio found it hard not to think of the times she grew angry or excited. It was so terrifyingly easy to slip up, and to hold back a little less... and thereby kill most mortals around her. She wasn't even a corporeal being to begin with, and was squeezing her normally formless self into a shell made from more mana than any God could ever hope to wield, all the while making it ever stronger so that none could force their will on her.

But the part that firmly planted her in the realm of monsters in her mind was the fact that she enjoyed it. She liked growing stronger by the second, looking like she did. Even intimidating the mortals with her mere presence brought her certain amounts of joy, despite the fact that it made living among them much harder than it needed to be. She didn't want to be scary, didn't consider herself as such either, but some primal part of every mortal was in tune with the part of herself that disagreed with that notion.

"You are intimidating, and sometimes downright frightening," Moria replied, placing her hand on Aperio's knee. "But you are not a monster."

"I condemned an entire planet to eternal punishment because their God upset me," Aperio mumbled, her eyes cast down.

Moria gave a snort in reply. "You punished a God who subsumed the souls of his followers and turned them into mindless drones that only served his will. He was a monster; you are not.

"But, I am sure I am not the first person who told you that," she continued after a moment. Moria shuffled herself slightly closer before she continued, brushing Aperio's hair out of her face with the same gesture that was ingrained in both their memories. Normally, this would follow into Moria's hands separating Aperio's hair, braiding it to keep it out of the way, but a small gesture of the All-Mother's hand stayed the Beastkin's. Despite having hair that was longer than it had been in any memory that had not been forcefully reclaimed, Aperio wanted to keep wearing it loose.

As Moria seemed unsure about how to proceed, the All-Mother gave in to the urge she had been fighting since the moment she had arrived in their secret spot. She wrapped her Beastkin friend in a hug comprised of arms and wings, and held her tightly as she dared.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled, her voice carrying more power than usual, riding the surge of her emotions as she failed to restrain herself properly. She let go as soon as she noticed a slight tap against her arm and let a bit of her mana flow through Moria to find what had gone wrong. Luckily, her surrogate mother seemed to have stopped her before she went too far as Aperio could not find anything amiss.

"You still lack restraint, I see," Moria mused with a small smile on her face. The expression only lasted for a moment, however, as she flicked Aperio's forehead. "And I told you I chose this. Stop being sorry for everything. It's not your fault, and it doesn't suit you."

"I know you said you chose to come with me, but that does not change how it makes me feel," Aperio sighed. But everyone tells me to apologize less… Well, Caethya also does, but that's two for two.

Still, it remained just as she had said. It did not change the fact that she felt responsible. She was still the same person, even if she seemingly had different values now than before. But then, the crystals seem to only give me one side of my memories.

"Some of your old confidence would not go amiss, then," Moria said. "Or at least the full story and not just the half truths you seem to remember."

"I only remember what I do because I retrieved some memories by destroying dungeon cores."

Her surrogate mother sighed at the words. "I figured," she said. "Some of them have taken to forming avatars that look a lot like you. Some tweaks here and there, but it's clear where they got the idea from."

"I know," Aperio said, her aura briefly flaring in anger as she recalled her encounter in the Ebenlowe dungeon. "One of them talked to me, said I have no right to my own memories."

"I see," Moria said before falling quiet.

Silence reigned as Aperio did her best to calm herself and tried to think of something she could talk about. Moria had never been one to talk much, but she seemed more reserved around her now than she used to be. Was she only so open because I was a mortal at the time?

The gleam of a silver and blue armlet caught Aperio's eyes, taking her from her thoughts. Moria had pulled the piece of jewellery from the same black rift that seemed popular with higher levelled mortals.

What really caught the All-Mother’s attention was not its feather-like design, but the fact that it was made from the same material as the armour that usually covered her dress, and the fact that she knew this armlet was hers. It looked a little too small for her now, but Aperio felt with certainty that that would not be an issue.

"You said I should give you this when I met you again," Moria said, her voice barely a whisper. "But… I couldn't. The collar prevented me from taking out any of my soul-bound items and, even if I somehow could have, they would have just taken it away."

She ran her thumb over the metal surface, the blue becoming more pronounced as her mana reacted with the armlet. "I did not want to risk losing it — you never took it off before, after all. I don't know what it meant to you, but I think it's time you got it back. Perhaps it can help you remember."

Aperio carefully took the arm ring from Moria's hand, tilting her head at the familiarity of the item. Merely looking at it filled her with a fondness that was only ruined by an ever-present feeling of loss and regret. Why a piece of — arguably extraordinary — metal caused her to feel this, Aperio did not know.

"Thank you," she mumbled, her eyes still fixed on the armlet as she moved it between her hands for a moment longer, watching as it sparkled and glowed in the dim light. Then she slipped it over her right bicep.

Her assumption had been correct. As soon as she tried to put it on, the ring shifted slightly, just enough to fit her current form. Nothing changed after it was done, no influx of emotion or memory; just the slightly tainted feeling of fondness.

The All-Mother shifted her gaze towards Moria, her surrogate mother giving her a sad smile as she slowly turned a ring on her left index finger. It made sense that her surrogate mother was married, but going by her expression and absent-minded toying with the ring, her other half was no longer there.

Aperio wanted to wrap her surrogate mother in another hug, but hesitated. She wasn't sure if it was appropriate, or even wanted. Her rather forceful brand of physical affection was likely not enjoyed by many.

"It's okay," Moria said, embracing her de-facto daughter in a hug. "It's not the first time, and it won't be the last. Outliving the ones I love was something you made me very aware of before giving me the title.

"We have much to discuss," she continued, pulling back slightly and taking a breath. "I have found more than a few concerning things."

Revelations - Chapter 120: Shades of Memory

"What did you find?" Aperio asked, her left hand idly brushing over the armlet Moria had just given her. She had never noticed that there had been a slight weight missing from her arm before, and had barely noticed when she had added it, but now, it felt as though her arm was somehow more complete. As if she was no longer naked. "Anything to do with the other two Keepers?"

Her surrogate mother hesitated for a moment before she nodded. "Amongst other things, yes," she said. "But I am more concerned about the Pantheon at large. I assume the ones that have been… removed from power by your hand were ones that were somehow involved with how your mortal life went."

"They called me a tyrant. Tried to kill me with one of my own weapons," Aperio said, drawing a little on her well to calm herself as the memories she had reclaimed from the dead Gods surfaced in her mind. "They each had a bit of my mana within them… and a few of my memories.

"Fel'Erreyth held some, too; saw a few of them himself," Aperio continued after a small pause with a slight shake in her voice. "He got them by somehow merging with a dungeon core, one which was connected to many more that hid in their own pocket of space."

Moria's ears twitched slightly as she looked at the All-Mother; a sign that she was trying to remember something. It took a moment, but eventually a black rift opened next to her and she pulled a crystal shard from it.

Aperio tilted her head as she looked at the shard, focusing her aura on it enough that Moria seemed to notice, raising a brow. "It feels familiar," the All-Mother said after a moment. "Not like the armlet, or anything else I have found; but I feel like I know this."

"You should," Moria replied, her voice growing softer as she looked at the crystal in her grasp.

"What is it?"

Her surrogate mother hesitated for a moment, turning the object in question in her hand. "A focus... for memories. The more lives I live, the harder it gets to recall the earlier ones. You did not want to teach me how to make this kind of focus at first, saying that the ability to forget was a luxury I should not give away, but after I repeated my request countless times you relented and finally taught me.”

"Are you trying to say I somehow made the dungeon cores?" Aperio asked, not quite believing the implication.

Moria nodded at the question. "You would be the only one who could bind your memories to one," she said. "At least, if I go by what you told me. If I wanted to do the same, I would have to pull the memories out of my mind, or my soul. You once said that your bodies didn't really have a brain as a mortal would, so it would stand to reason that your mind does not follow the same rules as mine.

"Perhaps that is different now," she continued, looking at what used to be her daughter with a small smile. "But, back then, you always split yourself between multiple bodies doing countless things at once. They were probably more of a projection than anything else."

"I told you all of this?" Aperio knew her old self was fond of Moria, but it did not seem like her to tell someone that much. Especially how to take memories from someone…

But, at the moment, Moria was the only person aside from Caethya who she was willing to open up to. That had nothing to do with her relationship before her life as a slave, however, and more with the fact that all she remembered about Moria were good things. And Caethya… is Caethya.

She still couldn't quite put her feelings for the Elf into words. There was one that came to mind, but a lot more needed to happen before Aperio would consider the barest implications of its meaning to have been met. At the moment, the fact that they both enjoyed each other’s company as a little more than friends was enough for her.

"Not all, no," Moria said, even quieter than before. "Chellien told me a lot of what I know. We didn't exactly like each other for a long time. Long for me, that is." She turned the crystal in her hand again, its surface shifting through a multitude of colours. The way the light within seemed to catch on the surface of the focus reminded Aperio a little of the world beyond the fabric of reality.

"After he died…" Her voice trailed off as her ears lowered slightly. She took a deep breath. "After he died, I was ready to do the same. But you stopped me." She laughed bitterly. "You probably didn't even intend to save me at the time, but you did. After that, you would visit us, helping build what would become the [Ancestral Guard].

"I don't know why you did that," Moria continued, her expression softening a little as she looked at Aperio. "But you obviously thought more of Chellien than other Gods."

The All-Mother did not reply immediately, still thinking about the implication that she had taken her own memories. But why? According to Moria, she had chosen to live as a mortal for a while and knew that she might not remember everything. I also told her that forgetting is a luxury… But what would I want to forget?

As far as she knew, she couldn't actually forget something outside of what happened to her right before she was a mortal. And even that isn't truly forgotten. The memories still existed. Were still a part of her creation; part of her, in a way. She just had to get them back.

"In any case," Moria said, taking Aperio from her thoughts. "This crystal contains everything I have gathered and found suspicious over my lives since you disappeared. I, uh, never asked if you could actually read my memories from these, but I hope you can." With those words, her surrogate mother extended the crystal shard towards Aperio.

The All-Mother took it, a tingle running through her hand as it touched her skin. She could feel the mana flowing within; calling to her despite not being her own. Weird. There was something besides mana stored within, quite unlike the dungeon cores which were wholly filled with her mana.

It vanished into her Void with a thought to be inspected later. For now she wanted to spend time with Moria, not fill her mind with even more worries about what the Pantheon had done during her absence.

"It would seem that your disregard for the very rules you made is still alive and well," Moria said, her eyes fixed on Aperio's now empty hand. She remained quiet for a moment, taking a slow breath. "I assume this means you want to talk."

"Yes," the All-Mother replied. She shifted her wings slightly, the rustling of her feathers and dress filling what remained of the small room they were in. "There is something I need to know; need to hear you say it."

"Yes?"

Aperio hesitated for a moment. Their interaction had technically already told her what she needed to know, but she still felt as though it was not the truth. She needed Moria to say it to know.

She focused on her surrogate mother, every sense she had looking at the Beastkin to see her. The All-Mother took an unneeded breath, drawing on the comfort of her well.

"Do you fear me?"

One of Moria's ears twitched at the question and the woman shifted slightly on the cloth blanket. Aperio could feel the fabric strain as it tried and failed to move under her weight; could see every one of Moria's hairs sway in the gentle breeze as her surrogate mother slowly opened her mouth to respond.

Aperio's eyes darted across the Beastkin's form, trying to find anything that would confirm her fear. Show her that the words Moria was beginning to say were not the truth. Would let her hate herself.

"I don't," was the reply she received without the slightest hint that Moria had lied. "At first I was scared, sure, but that quickly vanished once I figured out you didn't really care about mortals." Moria paused for a moment, narrowing her eyes as she looked at the woman she had essentially raised. "Did you think I was here because I feared you would punish me if I wasn't?"

Aperio hesitated to answer. Moria was right, of course. That is what she had thought — what a part of her wanted to be true.

"Yes," she finally whispered in reply, pulling her wings around herself as if they could hide her from the world. "How could I not? I know how I behaved in the past and know what my mere presence does to most people." Her mind wandered back to Caethya, her aura dutifully informing her that she was currently talking to Adam and a very excited Maria.

A bitter smile crept onto her face as she directed her attention back towards Moria. "I can't even be sure if what people claim they feel is what they actually feel, and not just a byproduct of my meddling."

Her surrogate mother tried to gently push her wings aside, only managing it after Aperio herself allowed them to be moved. "Your 'influence' does not affect people's minds," Moria said. "Not in the way you seem to think, anyway."

She brushed her hand through Aperio's hair like she had done so many times in the past when the then-Elf had been agitated. "I can't claim to know what exactly your presence does to a mortal, but I do know what it did to me before you gave me a title." Moria paused, looking Aperio in the eye. "Do you want me to explain or do you want to—"

"Explain," Aperio interrupted, her voice carrying a touch more power than she had wanted it to. While a part of her still somehow wished for Moria to lie, she knew the Beastkin would not. But how can I know that? And how can I still want to be wrong? The All-Mother took a deep breath, the gentle breeze that flowed through the broken room gaining a bit more strength as she did. Her thoughts contradicted one another; made no sense. "Please."

Her surrogate mother shifted slightly, settling into a more comfortable position. "How about we begin with you telling me what you remember about yourself?" Moria asked, giving her a reassuring smile. "If you feel like you can, that is."

Aperio absentmindedly turned the armlet around her bicep as she fixed her gaze on Moria. "I do not know what more I can say," she began. "I was a monster; but I already told you that. That Eschengail used the souls of his followers does not make it better that I condemned the mortals that were still free of his influence to live through his punishment as well.

"The other things I know are not much better," the All-Mother continued with a sigh. "I created a pantheon of Gods and Goddesses that does not care for the mortals that give them their power. I was also fine with them enslaving them, forcing them to do what they wanted; all in my temple. My home."

Moria held her hand, a conflicted expression on her face: part sad smile and part worried mother. "You think inaction makes this your fault," she said, gently stroking Aperio's hand. "Even if that was the case, you have to accept that it is in the past and can’t be changed.

"I would also argue that you are not even the same person anymore," her surrogate mother continued. "You chose to live as a mortal for a reason; one you never told me, but still a reason."

"Why would I want to forget?" Aperio asked, tilting her head. She didn't believe that she was absolved from responsibility just because something had happened in the past, but arguing the point was not something she wished to do at the moment. She froze when a possible answer surfaced in her mind. "…Did I want to kill myself?"

But Moria said me forgetting was only a possibility, the All-Mother continued in her mind. It was yet another thing that made no sense to her. Before, her past had been easy to understand. It was not nice to think of herself as a monster, but it had been easier than what she had to consider now.

The God she banished had broken a fundamental rule she still punished people for. Souls were not to be touched by anyone. But punishing the mortals that she assumed were still on the world was plain wrong. And it should have only taken me a thought to get them out.

Moria sighed and produced another crystal from the small black rift. "I think showing you how you were in the past is easier than telling you." She turned the shard in her hand as a bit of her mana flowed into it. "You'll have to allow it to happen. I can't force you to view the memories, just offer you a way into my mind to see."

"Are you sure?" Aperio asked after a moment of hesitation. She knew what she was capable of doing by simply letting loose a tiny little bit. Having that happen in someone’s mind seemed like a bad idea. "What if I lose control again?"

"You viewed them without restraining yourself to a body before," Moria said, shrugging. "You do feel more powerful now, but I assume that is because you are consolidating all of yourself in one place."

"Ferio said that I am much stronger than ever before," Aperio mumbled, her eyes wandering to her arms as she balled her hands into fists. "I certainly feel stronger than ever before."

"Do you remember how strong you were before?"

"No," Aperio sighed. "I do not."

"It is still worth a try," Moria said. "I cannot think of a better way to show you what you were. I won't say that you were not evil at times, but you almost always had a good reason."

The All-Mother hesitated for a moment longer, unsure if she should. Her thoughts seemed to argue and clash, and there was no distinct conclusion she could draw at the moment. In the end she decided to trust Moria, even if only so she could be a little closer to the woman that had been her mother for most of her remembered life.

"I do have a question before we try," Aperio said, waiting for her surrogate mother to nod before she continued. "How old was I when you… when you died?"

"You didn't know?" Moria's gaze softened as Aperio shook her head. "Twenty-seven by the time I died. That is, we were together there for twenty-four years at that point, and you were three when you were sold into slavery."

"It felt a lot longer," Aperio mumbled as she looked at Moria. She sighed, shifting a little on the blanket. "What do I need to do?"

The Beastkin smiled at her. She channeled her mana into the crystal shard, causing it to float above her palm, and multiple rings of runes appeared hovering above it. "Just follow my lead."

Revelations - Chapter 121: Moria's Memory

At first, Aperio was not sure what Moria had meant by 'follow my lead', but it was quickly becoming clear. Her surrogate mother was weaving her mana into the crystal, causing something within the shard to flow back towards her.

That 'something' was still mana, but it resembled her own much more than that of Moria. Taking control of someone else's mana only required a thought from her — something that did not sit well with her, but was very helpful now.

As gently as she could, Aperio took hold of the mana that flowed from within the crystal, trying to mimic how Moria's mana clung to it. What followed after was not what Aperio had expected. She was not viewing the world from Moria's perspective as she had thought, but was more like a ghost floating around in the memory, free to look where she wanted. How?

She wanted to ask Moria but, unlike herself, the Beastkin seemed to be in a trance and did not react to Aperio moving. The All-Mother did not want to risk anything by actually touching her surrogate mother and instead erected a barrier around the two of them. While she was easily able to look at the memories Moria showed her and keep track of the real world, the All-Mother did not want to take any chances. Not like this requires any effort.

Aperio allowed more of her attention to drift towards the memory she was currently viewing, the large number of people garnering her interest. Everyone present wore colourful garments made from fabric that was visible to more than just her eyes. It was clear that Moria was fairly accomplished in reading things with her aura, the magic flowing through many of the attendees’ clothes clearly visible. However, it also showed just how much more Aperio herself could see.

The Moria in the memory stood next to another Beastkin — one that appeared strangely familiar to Aperio — that wore a rather tight-fitting suit that did not quite match his more beastly appearance. Where Moria could superficially pass as an Elf or a human if you discounted her ears, tail, and few patches of fur on her body, the man next to her looked like a wolf that had decided walking on two legs was preferable.

Aperio's attention was quickly taken from the mortals as she watched herself appear in the room. A version of herself, at least. She did not loom over everyone, and had no wings, but the face and general look was the same. Also, she just teleported there. What she did have, however, was the armlet Aperio now wore.

Most did not even notice her entrance, only a few select mortals looking in her direction. A few steps of her memory self were enough to close the distance to Moria, a bit of magic obviously at play as she crossed the space between them in only a couple of strides.

Perhaps it was a trend at the time, but the Aperio in the memory also had her hair in a braid; one that she easily recognised from her time as a slave. Did Moria get the style from me? Her surrogate mother had had a large variety of hair-dos that Aperio got to pick and choose from at the time. All of which had been more appropriate for her masters than a lowly slave like herself, and even at the time she had wondered how she had gotten away with it more often than not.

"Hello Moria." The voice of herself echoed through the hall, easily filling it but yet somehow not interrupting anyone else's conversation. "How have you been?"

Aperio could not quite describe the feeling of seeing herself walk and talk to Moria and, perhaps more importantly, see just how similarly she talked and carried herself now. She had thought her floating gait and rather posh speech had come from the fact that she had been forced to learn it from a young age, but seeing herself in Moria's memory caused her to doubt that a little.

"Well enough," the Beastkin replied. "I just wish these events did not come with such a stupid dress code."

"I did not make the rules," the All-Mother replied with a small shrug. "They wish to express themselves, and I see no reason to stop it."

"You don't see a reason to stop most anything," Moria mumbled, her voice obviously loud enough for Aperio to have heard as she just shrugged again.

"Why should I bother? It's gonna change in a few decades anyway." She folded her arms in front of her chest. "That I am attending this meeting is already more than they could ask for."

Aperio wanted to object to what her other self had said in the memory, but that was not possible. Moria, too, seemed to be not quite as happy with the words, but remained silent, while the truly beastly Beastkin looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there.

Her remembered self seemed to enjoy the Beastkin's struggle, as she gave him a smile that Aperio would now deem inappropriate for most any occasion — especially for someone she had just met that was already uncomfortable.

"I expected more from the future leader of the Lycans," the All-Mother said, squinting at the man in question. "Is he really your son?"

"Yes," Moria said. "And he has heard a lot about you."

There was a moment of silence before Aperio heard her own voice echo through the memory. Not the room they were in, but the memory itself. Is that what it sounds like when I use telepathy?

Her voice was inescapable, the question she had asked having seemingly embedded itself deep into Moria's mind. It was not a reprimand, or even a particularly harsh question. Her past self had simply wished to know if Moria's son knew about her title and past lives. Apparently, he did not.

Aperio moved herself next to Moria, gently wrapping her surrogate mother in a hug of arm and wing. Moria had wanted to show her that her past self was not as bad as she now thought and, while there had been no senseless murder just yet, Aperio was still appalled at the memory self's conduct.

Nice is something else, Aperio thought to herself as she shifted her attention to the mortals in the room. Her weird — almost ghostly — vision of the memory allowed her to drift away from Moria and her old self to look at the other groups. They were a little indistinct, and their voices not as crisp as she would perceive them in reality, but it was enough to figure out what they were talking about.

Most of the mortals present were discussing politics that Aperio did not understand and, likely, no longer mattered either. She didn't know when — or where — this memory was taking place, but the fact that Moria had stored it in a crystal meant that it had been some time ago. And that it is somehow important to her.

It undoubtedly had something to do with Moria's son. Maybe a crown ceremony? Her past self had addressed the Beastkin as the future leader of the Lycans, and that seemed like a fairly important event for both Moria and her son.

Aperio raked her mind to find his name, but came up empty. She definitely knew the man, but not why. Perhaps because he was Moria's son.

"I am honored that you chose to attend the day of my Delma," Moria's son finally said after a little nudging from his mother.

"You should be," her past self replied, still looking at him. "Not everyone gets to be in my presence."

Perhaps it was because she was viewing Moria's memory, but Aperio had not noticed until that point that the room was a little emptier than before — something she was certain had to do with her old self's last words.

"Plus," the All-Mother continued, "by just having me attend you are already guaranteed less potential usurpers. People magically lose interest in deposing the mortals I am closer to." She tapped her chin in an exaggerated manner. "Really weird, that."

Moria sighed at the words, shaking her head. "Don't mind her, Teldo," she said, patting her son's shoulder. "Just focus on the event."

Much to Aperio's surprise, her past self did nothing. She merely squinted at the future leader of the Lycan tribe a little longer before appearing in a cushy chair behind the mother and son pair. "Why did you ask me to come early, Moria? Doesn't seem like there is much going on."

"I had thought you would enjoy a change of scenery," Moria replied as she turned to face the All-Mother. "Though, you are probably looking at a million things at the same time right now."

"Well yes, but I had thought there would be some action here. Excitement."

"I doubt there will be any fighting tonight," Moria said, eyeing the All-Mother who was now lounging in the chair, legs dangling over the arm rest.

Aperio knew that Moria wanted to say something about her past self's behaviour, but did not. If she hadn't known Moria as well as she now did, she would have thought that her silence would stem from fear. She knew better — her surrogate mother was simply tired of trying to convince her old self that not everything needed a fight.

There was even some vague feeling from the memory that led Aperio to believe that she was likely partaking in some altercation at the same time as she was in the room with Moria. She did not know for certain, of course, as her surrogate mother had no way of knowing that either. What a weird feeling…

Aperio leaned back a little, still holding on to her surrogate mother with her wings as the memory Moria was showing her sped along in front of her mind's eye. Her hand wandered to the armlet again, slowly turning it around her bicep.

The fact that the metal ring changed its form to always sit perfectly against her upper arm was ignored as Aperio watched Moria's son take an oath that made little sense to her despite reliving the memory through her surrogate mother. Maybe she doesn't know either… Or do I not understand because I do not know the language?

She had no trouble with that in her own memories, but there was likely a difference between her own and Moria's. All in all, however, Aperio failed to see why her surrogate mother showed her this specific memory. It did not really show her anything important, just that they were on decently good terms before and that her past self did not go ballistic at small snides. Something I had always felt like I should do until recently…

The rest of the memory was nothing more than a simple inauguration; quite similar to the ones Aperio had witnessed during her time as a slave. The only difference here is that I was present as an important guest. She did not do anything special in the memory, only continuing to lounge in the chair and looking generally disinterested.

Her past self did look at a few mortals as if she was appraising them but, even then, her attention was quickly pulled elsewhere again. Did I just forget I had a body there for most of it? …Was I just a formless mass most of the time?

Moria shifting in her winged embrace caused Aperio to let go, moving herself in front of her surrogate mother with a small flex of her mental muscles.

"And?" Moria asked after a moment of silence and a deep breath. "A bit eccentric, and most definitely not normal, but also not inherently evil."

"Also just a single memory against the ones I already retrieved," Aperio countered. "And I wasn't exactly nice either." A useless exercise… mostly.

She still enjoyed seeing a bit of her past that showed her being at least friendly with Moria, even if it was clear that her past self clearly saw herself as the superior being.

"It also makes me question why I would ever consider to live as a mortal," the All-Mother continued. "It simply doesn't fit with what I saw."

Moria let out a quiet sigh as she placed the crystal back into the black rift. "I do not know why you did that either, and I doubt any of the memories I kept through my lives will help you understand.”

She paused, rubbing the back of her neck. "I can't show you all of them either. It might not seem like much, but going through the memories in the crystals takes a lot out of me. Even more when I have to bring someone in with me. It did feel, though, like you were watching, and not reliving the experience like I did."

"I was," Aperio confirmed. "Like a ghost. But my view of the world was… dull. Subdued compared to what I usually see. I also did not really feel what you felt, just some vague hints at the back of my mind."

Moria offered a small smile. "Your mind does work quite differently from my own. Perhaps the way a mortal thinks simply does not work for you?"

"Maybe," Aperio mumbled, the crystal shard Moria had given her appearing in her hand. She turned it over in her palm, careful not to break it. "Perhaps I should try with this?" Maybe ask Caethya to help?

"A good idea," Moria said. "But I would be more comfortable if you had someone besides me with you when you do it. Most of what I figured out is… likely to upset you."

The All-Mother stopped turning the shard in her hand and fixed her eyes on her surrogate mother. "What happened?"

Moria held up her hand to placate Aperio. "Is there someone you trust that can view it as well?"

Aperio narrowed her eyes a little, regarding her friend with suspicion as she tilted her head. "Yes," she said slowly, reaching out to Caethya. "There is someone. But why?"

"Because I think you will need their support."

The All-Mother raised a brow at the words but did not dispute them. Aperio knew she had not been the most stable of people lately. Just a bit of anger could kill people…

A thought brought Caethya to her side, the Demigoddess having readily agreed to help her. Moria studied the Elf for a moment before raising a brow of her own as Aperio pulled Caethya into her lap and wrapped her arms around her stomach.

"Caethya has agreed to help," Aperio said, holding onto her disciple a little more tightly. "Now, what did you find?"

Revelations - Chapter 122: A New Directive

Caethya leaned back against Aperio as her Goddess held on a little tighter. She brushed her hands over the All-Mother's arms as she offered up another prayer to ask what, exactly, she was supposed to do.

"Help me not get unreasonably angry," Aperio said. "Moria thinks that whatever she found out will greatly upset me, and you are the only person I trust to help me at the moment." Ferio would probably try for a crusade…

"I will certainly try," Caethya said with a small nod. "But, shouldn't you introduce us first?"

Moria simply smiled, causing the All-Mother to shift a little from the words of her Disciple. "Yes, I think proper introductions would be good," her surrogate mother said, keeping her eyes fixed on Aperio.

"Fine," Aperio mumbled, slightly wrapping her wings around Caethya. "This is Caethya; currently a disciple of sorts, and perhaps… more." Her surrogate mother's smile widened a little at that. "The stupidly smiling Beastkin," she continued, trying and failing to hide behind her disciple, "is Moria, an old friend and the closest I have ever had to a mother."

"Old friend?" Caethya asked, looking up at Aperio. "Do you remember her?"

The All-Mother's wings and shoulders slumped a little at the question. "No…" she replied after a moment of silence. "I remember our time together when I was a slave, not what happened before. I simply know that we were friends of sorts."

"Are you absolutely sure you want to do this now?" Moria asked, her eyes wandering to the crystal shard that was still floating next to Aperio. "What I found is not good, yes, but it is also not something that you can fix at the moment."

"I have to know," Aperio said, lifting one arm away from Caethya's stomach to reach out for the floating crystal shard. Even before she grasped it fully in her hand, she could feel the mana flowing within calling to her — could hear its yearning to tell her all that Moria had uncovered.

The All-Mother paused as she felt worry permeate the bond she shared with Caethya. "Are you sure?" her disciple asked, gently brushing her hand over the arm still wrapped around her midsection. "I will help in any way I can, but you seem almost…desperate to know."

Because I am, Aperio thought to herself, her gaze stuck to the crystal shard in her hand. It was not just the memories of Moria in this crystal, but all the memories she had lost. Her fear of turning back into who she was before had vanished, replaced by a desire to know. Why — or even when — that shift had happened, the All-Mother did not know. But it was in line with her growing more comfortable with her power and her role in the world. Namely, that my role is what I make of it…

"I want to fix what I have done in the past," Aperio said, hesitating for a moment before she continued. "I want to find out why I forgot. Was it really something others did? Or did I do it myself?" And if it was me…

"Most of what you did was very much justified," Moria said, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "I do not know everything you did, of course, but I know that you did not really care about the mortal worlds.

"That's not necessarily nice," Moria continued, offering Aperio a small smile as the All-Mother was decidedly displeased with her words, "but it also means that you rarely did anything to mortals that would need fixing now. Most of your violent interactions with mortals that I know of came about because they were experimenting on souls."

Aperio narrowed her eyes, her aura giving a slightly subtle flare.

"I see you are still as angry about that as before," her surrogate mother said, a little more quietly. "This is also why I am hesitant to tell you to look at what I found. The Repens Nabu is… very interested in figuring out how souls work."

The words gave Aperio pause. She had a memory of Gods and Goddesses that were part of the Repens Nabu in her temple, experimenting on mortals. While she could not recall what they were trying to do, it wouldn't be a stretch to think it had something to do with souls. But I did not care about that at the time… Her anger at the memory was not remembered, but stemmed from her current view of the world.

"If they are playing with souls, it is even more important that I see what they are doing," Aperio said, trying her best to keep her rising anger at the mere idea under control. "Thus far I have not done much to pursue the Repens Nabu, but if they all mess with souls like Vigil and Inanis did, I will stop them."

Her surrogate mother hesitated for a moment before lowering her head. "I do not know what exactly they did, but I know what I saw wasn't very good. It felt wrong."

Caethya shifted a little in Aperio's lap, holding out her hand towards the crystal. "May I?" The All-Mother obliged and gently placed the shard in her disciple's hand. "Weird," Caethya mumbled as she turned it over in her palm. "It feels like it doesn't want to be held by me."

"Because it doesn't," Moria said. "Those are my memories, and they would rather stay with me and mine."

"Understood," Caethya said, handing the crystal back to Aperio. "I was just curious."

The All-Mother shifted a little, inspecting the tiny shard again. "How do I view them?" she asked in an effort to stop any tension from forming between Caethya and her surrogate mother.

"Just do what I did," Moria said. "I am sure you saw exactly how I guided my mana to unlock my crystal. Even in your brief time as a mortal, you were more sensitive to it than most."

"And how can I let you and Caethya see?" They can't take over mana like I can, after all.

Her surrogate mother did not reply immediately and simply looked at Aperio. "You can't," she finally said. "I don't think either of us is skilled enough to do that, let alone strong enough to force even the slightest bit of will on any of your mana. Even if you do allow it to be controlled."

"She is right about the last part," Caethya said, turning a little to look at Aperio. "Your aura alone makes it harder to cast magic. It's easier for me now, but I still notice it."

"So my mere existence makes mortals stronger, but at the same time also makes it harder to use magic?" Aperio asked, tilting her head slightly as she considered the phenomenon. Her next words were only a murmur. "I hope they cancel each other out after a while…"

She took an unneeded breath and stretched her wings to their full length. The motion was too wide for the hidden space, and as Aperio's wings brushed past the edges of it a few stones crumbled away, eliciting a giggle from Caethya as well as a raised eyebrow from Moria. The All-Mother ignored both of them and wrapped her wings around her disciple again. For convenience, she told herself. Not because I'm embarrassed...

The crystal shard, now the object of her attention, seemed to react to her gaze by floating in front of her face. It slowly spun before her, the mana inside brimming under her scrutiny in the same way her own mana yearned to bend to her will when she reached out to manipulate the world around her. The crystal mirrored her own excitement, her own desire, and Aperio let out a breath of wispy mana as she began to weave her magic into the same formation Moria had used.

"I'm ready," she declared, having mimicked Moria's mana formation with her own to a degree that she felt acceptable.

Caethya moved slightly, shifting herself from Aperio's lap to sit on the floor in front of her. The All-Mother allowed the movement, retracting her wings so that they spread behind her, out of the way. Moria's ears twitched slightly but she remained quiet, simply giving her de-facto daughter a small nod.

Aperio closed her eyes and gave her mana the last nudge it needed to complete its formation. The yearning force within the crystal flowed into her, and a part of her mind was on a continual loop of checking that it was doing nothing but presenting her with memories. She frowned as nothing seemed to happen, oblivious to the fact that barely a moment had passed.

Another unneeded breath later, Aperio found herself looking at a piece of paper. She could not read the words written on it, but she still knew what they said. It was a simple list of names — ones she recognised quite easily as soon as Moria's memory had translated them for her.

The Repens Nabu, Aperio thought to herself just as her view of the memory shifted. She was no longer viewing the world through Moria's eyes, but was back to spectating the memory like a ghost.

Her surrogate mother, flanked by two other Beastkin, was slowly making her way through a field of corpses. Aperio could smell the stench that filled the cavern, could feel how the other two Beastkin tried to hide their disgust and fright.

The sudden sound of breaking bones caught everyone's attention, and as Aperio was freely observing the scene she quickly spotted a skeleton with red fire for eyes at the end of the cavern, one that was slamming another cluster of bones into a wall.

"You came," it rasped, adjusting its black robe and brushing a bit of bone dust off of themselves. "I know that words cannot atone for what has been done, but I will still offer my apologies.

"What my kin has done here is unacceptable," it continued, a purple fire spreading over the other robed skeleton who started to scream in pain. "I can only offer to burn him free of his sins before sending him on."

One of the two Beastkin with Moria mumbled something about the Great One as he looked at the skeleton. Her surrogate mother, however, merely sheathed her blade and let go of the mana she had started to gather in her hand.

"You are lucky she isn't around," Moria said, ignoring the screaming skeleton. "I hope you have a good explanation for her when she comes back. For your sake."

The skeleton — a Lich, if Aperio recalled correctly — remained quiet for a moment before it sighed, the noise sounding more like someone drawing their nails over a gravestone than an actual sigh.

"I will face whatever punishment she deems just when the time comes," the Lich said. "But I have tolerated them for too long."

Moria made a motion with her hand that Aperio did not understand but which caused the other two Beastkin to start moving through the sea of corpses, taking the time to place each cadaver on their backs as well as closing their eyelids. The two of them crossed their arms in front of their chest for everyone they rearranged, mumbling a prayer — the mana that left them at the words leading Aperio to believe it was one, at least — before moving on.

"What do you know?" her surrogate mother asked after making another motion that caused the screams of the other skeleton to cease.

"Extraction of memory and power," the Lich replied. "He said it's for the greater good; that the Gods are on his side." It sneered at the words. "Anyone who claims these methods are right is not a God, but a Demon."

Before the conversation could continue, Aperio was whisked away to another scene Moria had stored in the crystal. The rapid changing from one scene to the next was nowhere near as smooth as with the other memory crystal her surrogate mother had used, and was more akin to her experience with the dungeon cores.

The memories stored in this one entered her mind but did not take hold right away; they needed a moment to be accessible. Why she got stuck on any one of them for any amount of time was a mystery to her, but the few scenes that had already flashed before her were already enough to make her angry.

How Moria had managed to observe Vigil remove the soul from a mortal and start engraving the runes she had already seen on it in the past was beyond Aperio. But, here she was, watching it happen.

He was not the only deity present either. A little further back, near the corners of the dimly lit room, the All-Mother could spot Epemirial. The Goddess of Duty and Loss had a wicked grin on her face as Vigil performed his vile act, looking decidedly too pleased with what was happening.

There were other Gods, ones Aperio did not know herself, but Moria's memory helpfully supplied their names. Lor'Kem and Heshtar stood out to her in particular, as they were on the list of deities the System claimed had tried to access 'higher privileged functions'. There were also others: Olderia, Indurom, Viekal, and Poskerium. All were names she did not know.

How many members does the Repens Nabu have? Aperio asked herself as the disturbing memory of soul-etching retreated into the swirl that had come from the crystal.

Memories danced past her mind’s eye, never staying long enough to hear what was said or see more than a glimpse of the people present. All Aperio knew was that every single image showed her more deities taking the souls from mortals and changing them to suit their needs.

Aperio's anger was flaring up, despite the far-distant touch of what had to be Caethya's hand on hers. Her focus had narrowed to the things playing out before her in these memory records, and all Aperio wanted to do was to figure out a way to turn back time and stop them. Punish them. Kill them.

The influx of Moria's memories was banished to the back of her mind by a twofold interruption: a familiar blue window materialized in front of her mind's eye, and a rather significant drain on the mana in her well appeared. Whether it had been something else the crystal had brought to her, or her full-minded desire for the offending Deities to stop, something had caused her System to react.

New Directive created. Non-System interactions with component designated 'Soul' have been disallowed for all entities.

The Court record has been updated.

Quests generated.

In accordance with previous Directives, entities 'Roots-Beneath-All’ and 'Diskrye' have been exempt from the Directive.

Side Story - Neria 1: Ancestral Call (And a New Cover!)

Neria sighed as she stepped off of the ship and onto the plank leading to solid ground. Finally, she thought. I hate boats. She had spent the last few weeks on one as she returned to Solito, the continent she usually called home. The sight of the city caused her tail to wag just a little faster, the prospect of being able to live in her own home again bringing her more joy than she had thought it would.

A few of the people greeted her as she passed; some with words, and others with a subtle nod. Neria might not be as widely known as her mother had been, but as an adviser to the Council, most people would at least know of her. That she looked a lot like her mother, and therefore their ancestral founder, only added to that.

The looks she got here, however, were those of admiration or simple curiosity, quite unlike what she had to endure on Vetus. Not that many Beastkin had made their way back to the Cursed Continent, the deeds of the old empires that once resided there not yet forgotten.

For most, there was no need to leave Solito, as it was by far the biggest continent in both size and population. While Ebenlowe might be a big city, it paled when in comparison to Foderys. The capital might not be home to the [Guides] like the island city was, but it had its own sets of guilds that enjoyed world wide recognition. The oldest — and most influential — branch of the Adventurer's Guild called Foderys its home, after all.

Neria stopped by a small stall, putting a few copper coins on the counter. "Two Jeyli, please."

The man running the stall grunted and swiped the coins off the counter, replacing them with the two fried fish Neria had requested. She took them, offering a small nod before she continued on her way.

It might have struck an outsider as odd, that she chose fish as her first meal when back on land. Doubly so when one considered that the main meal on the ship consisted of the exact same species of fish. But for her at least, the small grey and black fish, fried in oil that would not pass any reasonable health inspection, was an indicator of home. A feeling she had lacked on Vetus.

Her stay in the frontier village in the Eternal Forest had been cut short after that strange Elf had turned up; they had sent most home after Ira and his paladin guard left. Though, now that Vigil and Inanis are gone, that village is definitely gone. Most of its protections had been provided by those two deities, their churches footing most of the bill that the excavation they performed brought with it. A morbid part of her almost wanted to go back, to linger and watch as the followers of the now-dead Gods slowly descended into madness as they tried to find a new deity that would take them in. Not that that should be hard.

Neria herself had converted from Lor'Kem to Kensar early on in her life, the God of Battle and the Hunt much more fitting for her personality than Might and the Sea. What is Might even supposed to mean? That she also did not like the sea only furthered her desire to switch deities.

Lor'kem's church had not liked her switch of faith, having barred her from entering any of their institutions ever since. There were a few other deities that openly frowned upon mortals that dared change their faith, but most others did not care much, seeming sufficiently happy if a mortal searched for a God that better suited their personality.

Neria took another bite of the fried fish as she rounded another corner, finally coming up on the main market square. Proper stores slowly overtook dinky carts and ramshackle sheds, signs of civilization she had missed in the frontier village.

"Finally back, miss Neria?"

The Beastkin stopped at the words, turning her head to see the speaker. It was a young man of Lycan decent like herself. His fur was not the mottled brown she and her mother shared, but an almost radiant gold. She did not need to see the insignia he carried on the dragon-mail he wore; there was only one tribe on Verenier that had golden fur like that.

Neria turned to fully face the [Ancestral Guardsman], bowing deeply and almost dropping her fish. "Indeed, I have returned. The news I bear is sadly not so kind."

"That is sad to hear," the Beastkin said. "But it is of no matter at the moment. I have been ordered to bring you to the Council once you return. So please, follow me."

Neria swallowed slightly before she nodded to herself and fell into step behind the Guardsman. She shouldn't be nervous about being summoned to the council — she worked for them after all — but them sending an [Ancestral Guardsman] meant that something was off.

On the surface, the Tribe of the Ancestors did nothing more than run Foderys. They staffed all the official buildings, supplied the guard, and generally handled the day-to-day activities that were required to run a city. Neria, however, knew that they did a lot more.

They enforced neutrality in the council, none of their members ever taking part in any disputes between the tribes. None usually left the city either, unless it was absolutely necessary. Sometimes it was unavoidable – their duty as mediators required elsewhere, or their assistance called upon to guard delegations to other nations.

The greater part of their duties, however, lay here in Foderys. The vast histories of all the tribes would not collect and sort itself, after all. Neither would any tribe accept a marriage not officiated by one of the [Ancestral Guard]. They also maintained their own version of The Record the [Guides] had, one they claimed was more accurate.

The thing that made Neria respect them the most, however, was their unwavering devotion to their cause. Milennia ago, when Foderys had been raided, the [Ancestral Guard] had fought to their last to defend the city from invaders. The ones that had had the greatest failure of all — failing to protect the leader of the Lycan tribe that was Neria's own distant ancestor — later took their own lives to repay that irreparable blunder.

While it was a bit too far for her, she could understand why they had done it. Any [Ancestral Guardsman] would rather die than fail in their mission. Good thing they rarely fail. She was not privy to specifics, as those were reserved for the Elders on the council, but she had heard tell that no-one below level four hundred was permitted to enter active service as a Guardsman.

Still a long way to go for me. She had wanted to join the Guardsman ever since she first knew of them, but the world saw it fit to throw a great many wrenches into her plan. First had been the death of her father, and while she was reeling from that loss, her mother had disappeared. Neria was without siblings, so if whoever responsible for the abduction and murder of her parents was after the eradication of her entire family, she was clearly next on the chopping block.

Neria shuddered slightly at the thought. She had hoped her expedition into the Eternal Forest would have yielded some answers, as the Elders had suggested. The arrival of that Elf, and the subsequent fall of Vigil and Inanis, only served to provide an almost infinite amount of new questions. She glanced at the remaining fish she had and put it into her bag of holding, her appetite having been thoroughly quashed.

Maybe that Elf was who I was supposed to find? The Elders had never told her what, exactly, she was supposed to be seeking; only that she would be able to find something at that distant village location. She had asked them for clarification before her departure but had only been met with silence.

"Something on your mind, miss Neria?" the Guardsman asked as he held open the door so Neria might step into the council building.

"You don't get an escort from a Guardsman to the council every day," Neria replied. "It does have me a bit worried."

The man chuckled as she stepped past. "Nothing to worry about, they simply wanted to ensure your speedy arrival. The council is very interested in what you have to say. Even if the news is not good."

The words failed to reassure Neria; she couldn't quite imagine that they would be happy with what she had to report. Which is nothing. She had managed to acquire some more information about the empire that had raided the city millennia ago — it wasn't exactly nothing — but factual tidbits for the Archivars was not what she had hoped to find.

"Please, follow me," the Guardsman said again as he started to walk through the spacious hall.

Neria did as she was told, falling in behind the man. Her steps echoed through the building, the polished marble floor, while pretty, not the most silent of materials. Not that it mattered; the noise of her steps simply joined that of the others as there were a great many people hurrying about in the Council hall.

Her destination, however, was vastly different from the others. Neria and the Guardsman were heading towards a rather unremarkable door that was guarded by two other Guardsmen. They nodded at their compatriot as he opened the door and stood aside so that Neria might pass.

"Please, the Council awaits."

After a shallow nod, Neria stepped past the Guardsmen and into the Council’s wing. The noise of the city and hall itself were silenced as soon as the door closed behind her. The [Ancestral Guardsman] had not joined her inside, obviously not invited to stand before the Elders. Steeling herself for the encounter, Neria made her way through the small collections of rooms that were situated in front of the [Chamber of Voices]. She received a few nods from the staff as they went about their business, but ignored most of them, her mind focused on the meeting she was about to attend.

Her hand did not even touch the metal of the chamber doors before it swung open, another [Ancestral Guardsman] inviting her in with a slightly bowed head and a sweeping motion of her arm. Neria could not help but notice the engraved falchion that hung at her hip, a weapon she very much wanted to carry herself but would not be able to wield. For now.

"Neria Kellborn." The words of the [Keeper of Voices] echoed through the chamber, silencing the Elders that had talked amongst themselves. "Your arrival has been eagerly awaited. With the recent fall of the Despicable and the Liar, we are most eager to hear your report."

Neria winced slightly at the titles the Keeper used for Vigil and Inanis, still finding the idea of addressing what were once actual deities in such a way to be a bad idea. Despite the discomfort she felt, Neria straightened her back and made her way to the centre of the chamber. None of the Elders spoke as they, prompted by the words of the Keeper, waited for Neria to begin her report.

After she had lightly cleared her throat — the gentle noise of which carried, via enchantments in the podium in front of her, throughout the entire chamber — Neria began to speak. "I am saddened to report that I have not been able to find any conclusive evidence to the whereabouts of Moria Kellborn. The only hint at new knowledge came from an Elven mage who mistook me for the first Kellborn, leading me to believe she knew my mother. Sadly, I was not able to question her further. The only information I have on her is the name 'Aperio' and that she left the village in the Eternal Forest for Ebenlowe.

"I did, however, acquire some more information for the Archivists. The empire that raided Foderys and captured the first Moria Kellborn was the same one that brought about the Fall of Vetus with their ritual. While this has been suspected before, we now have definitive confirmation."

"We know the woman you speak of," the Keeper replied. "She is not an Elven mage, however. Aperio, Sacrae Numen Ea. The All-Mother. The Creator. Those are just a few of the names we discovered in the archives. That she knew the first Kellborn was something we did not know, however, and will require a change of your next mission."

"Next mission?" Neria asked. She was supposed to complete her history studies after the excursion to Vetus, a task that would take at least another year.

"Your application to become a Guardsman has been expedited, and accepted. We hope the training will help you in your mission to find and make contact with the Creator. You are likely asking yourself why we do not send a Guardsman we already have — understandable — but we have reason to believe that the Creator would not be willing to speak to just anyone. It has been many millennia since the Archivists have heard of her being on Verenier, after all.

"With the recent shake down of the pantheon, however, the Council has concluded that bringing into the light the motivations of the strongest Goddess we know should take precedent. We hope that your connection to the first Kellborn will help in this endeavour."

Neria could only stare at the [Keeper of Voices], her mind struggling to comprehend what he had just said. Her dream was coming true, yes, but she was also supposed to make contact with a woman that had apparently created everything they knew. A notion she couldn't quite believe, when she thought back to her encounter with Aperio.

"Do you accept your [Ancestral Call], Neria Kellborn?"

Neria swallowed slightly before slightly bowing her head. "Yes."

Side Story – Neria 2: Induction

Neria looked at the weapon in her hands. The [Keeper of Voices] had said her induction would be expedited, but she had not expected to undergo the first ritual only a few days later. While she hadn't been idle in those days — managing to raise her level to one hundred fifty-three with the help of one of the Guardsmen — she was still far from what she should be to undergo the ritual.

She swallowed slightly as she very carefully laid the weapon back down, picking up her new clothes instead. The material was soft to the touch, but somehow resistant to being cut — even with her new weapon.

"I don't think you can change your clothes by staring at them," a voice called from behind her, causing Neria to drop her uniform and spin around. Her eyes landed on her instructor and future partner, Kemeria. "You should get ready, they are expecting you."

Neria nodded after a brief moment of hesitation, turning back to pick up her clothes after Kemeria had left. She was right, of course; Neria had spent Kensar-knows how long just staring at the equipment, trying to mentally prepare herself for what was to come.

She let her old clothes fall to the floor, her hand lingering over the scar just below her heart. The furless patch a reminder of her failure. Of her inadequacy. Pushing the thoughts away, Neria slipped into the first layer of her new clothes. My new life.

The rest of her attire — shift, pants, belt, pauldrons, greaves, and bracers — was quickly put on, the time in which she had to prepare quickly running out. Only when she went to affix her falchion did Neria slow down again. The weapon was heavy in her hands as she fastened the blade and its sheath to her left side. Far from usable, despite the unnatural sharpness of its edge; she could barely carry it. It would take some time to get used to wearing a sword that, when swung, would be about as effective as using a too-heavy club, but it was the way of the ancestors to have it by one's side at every time of day. She would not complain.

A last look in the mirror showed the thin, short reflection of herself. Her mottled brown fur somehow clashed with the white and gold colouration of her new uniform. You can do this, Neria thought to herself, straightening the top of her armour one more time before turning and leaving her chambers.

"Took you long enough, new blood," Kemeria said, pushing herself off the wall she had rested against. "Come on now, it's time for the induction."

Neria just gave a slight nod in reply before falling in behind the older Guardsman, still not quite accustomed to the familiarity and lack of professionalism Kemeria displayed.

While she could no longer tell which tribe Kemeria originally came from by just her looks, Neria still had a good guess. The carefree attitude reminded her of what she had seen when visiting the Cattaú tribe.

They were the only one of the big five that still stuck to the nomadic roots all the tribes shared. The Kin that hailed from that tribe often also cared little for most things the other tribes would consider essential. Like formality. Kemeria certainly fit the bill when it came to behaviour, it was just that she lacked the thin tail and shorter, pointy ears the Cattaú usually had. Adopted, perhaps? But the Vulpíere and Cattaú hate each other...

Neria could vividly remember the Elders of both tribes yelling at each other as her mother tried to mediate the dispute. Would it have been any other clan, they would not have cared that the Cattaú passed through their territory, most even welcoming the merchants and storytellers.

But the Vulpíere did care. They had made it a whole ordeal that had cost the young Neria a summer with her friends. It wasn't the explicit duty of the Lycan tribe to be mediators, but most of their ranks saw it as a necessity as the [Ancestral Guardsmen] only did so outside of Foderys as a last resort.

That the Lycans also let almost anyone join their tribe only cemented them as the Beastkin diplomats and mediators. And why most of the [Ancestral Guardsmen] come from our tribe. That duty and honour were still among the more favoured virtues among most Lycans also helped.

The voice of Kemeria interrupted her train of thought. "What's on your mind, Neria? The ritual is not dangerous. You do know that, right?"

"The Keeper told me that, yes," Neria replied, her hands suddenly in dire need of something to do. "But, I am not even close to the level I should be. What if it fails? ...I don't even know what is supposed to happen."

The other Beastkin waved her off. "You'll be fine."

"But what do I have to do?"

"Not much," Kemeria laughed. "Just go inside and do as you are told. You don't even have to recite your duties like you did before gaining access to the inner sanctum."

Neria winced slightly at the reminder of her first step as a Guardsman. It wasn't like she had forgotten what she had to say or what movements she had to make, but she had been nervous enough that her entire recital was more like a broken record. You can't just repair first impressions, though.

Repairing the recording on a cracked crystal disc, while hard, was possible. All you needed to know was the right spell. Magic to calm the mind did exist, but it was usually reserved for priests, something about it not being their magic but that of their chosen deity.

"You are doing it again," Kemeria said and lightly flicked Neria's forehead. "Relax. And don't forget to breathe."

Neria rubbed her head but did not reply, instead taking a deep breath as she laid her eyes on the heavily decorated stone doors that barred their way to the ritual chambers. Despite how much they had to weigh, Kemeria pushed them open without much apparent effort. Level four hundred…

Behind the massive doors lay a hall that dwarfed most everything Neria had seen in her life. Almost the entire floor of the hall was made up of rune-bearing black marble tiles, the magic strong enough to even be felt by someone as inept at the arcane arts as herself.

"I bring before you, as ordered, Neria Kellborn." The sudden proclamation startled Neria as she could not spot anyone inside the chambers. Nevertheless, Kemeria continued. "In accordance to the scripture of our ancestors, she will now face the past and be judged."

Neria swallowed slightly at the words. She did not like the idea of facing her past, or being judged. Who will judge me, anyway? Kemeria was the only one present after all, and Neria doubted the warrior would officiate any ritual.

After a subtle wave of her caretaker, Neria stepped into the ritual hall. The runes lit up beneath her feet, pulsing for a moment before a path illuminated itself in front of her.

"Follow the trail and face the trial." With those words Kemeria lightly pushed the confused Beastkin, closing the heavy stone doors behind her and effectively locking Neria inside.

"Hello?" she called into the darkness, expecting some sort of reply. She was met with only silence.

After a couple of shaky breaths that did little to calm her nerves, Neria took her first step of the trail before her. Nothing happened. Another step onto the glowing runes without adverse reaction allowed a bit of confidence to return to the woman, and soon she was walking along the snaking path.

It wasn't long before Neria noticed a slight change in her surroundings. It started as a soft whisper, an almost silent hum at the outskirts of her mind. She turned her head in an effort to find the source but came up empty no matter where she looked. The noise was everywhere and nowhere, steadily growing in volume and intensity as her feet carried her further along the path of dimly glowing runes.

A shudder ran down her spine as she stepped forwards and found herself in a circle befreed of runes. Instead, the language of magic itself encircled it — and her. Neria glanced behind her but was only greeted by an all-consuming darkness her eyes could not pierce. Once she had turned around again, she was standing in a desert bathed in the scorching rays of the sun.

"What?" The word came from her lips unbidden, the heat, wind, and coarse sand she could feel so far removed from the cold, polished marble she had tread on before that she almost believed she had been teleported. But I wasn't, right?

Before more questions could form in her mind, a particularly strong breeze kicked up a cloud of loose sand that obscured her vision for a moment. She blinked rapidly, hands raising to further protect her eyes, and as soon as her sight had cleared Neria was looking at a small procession of Beastkin walking through the desert, clothed in nothing more than the fur they were born with.

"Your ancestors, child." Neria whipped around at the words, her hand immediately resting on the weapon at her side. What she saw was the vague, sandy outline of a person, tall and broad-shouldered, his build fitting the deep rumble of his voice. "You have nothing to fear from me, child. I am here to teach you. And to test you."

"Who are you?"

In response the sandy figure lifted his arm to point out a Beastkin in the middle of the pack. "That is me with my pack. The first of our kind to brave the deserts to answer the call of our maker; the ones that would eventually found this tribe."

His words were marked with a shift of their surroundings that brought them closer to the pack, allowing Neria to see the unmistakable golden fur. She did not know what the Guardsmen called their tribe — the knowledge not shared with outsiders — but it was clear who the people in front of her were.

One thing, however, did not make sense to her. "Our maker?"

"Yes," the figure replied, changing the scene with a wave of his hand. "It is largely forgotten now, but our rise to civilisation was long and troublesome. It did not happen by mere chance. Follow me."

Neria did so, quickly falling in behind her sandy ancestor as he walked without trace over the dunes in front of them. Each step she took seemed to advance time by leaps and bounds, the desert soon giving way to more and more greenery.

Along the way Neria saw some of the Beastkin leave the procession, choosing to stay behind to start a new pack of their own. But the core of the original pack remained, always continuing on their journey no matter what happened. They braved the heat of the deserts, the floods of the forests and later still the cold of the mountains that froze the snow to their fur.

Somewhere along the way, they had acquired simple hides to better protect them from the growing amount of monsters that attacked them. Their enemies were relentless in their assault, willingly throwing their life away but only managing to slow the pack of Beastkin down a little.

"Not everyone wanted us to reach our maker," her ancestor said as he noticed Neria's confused look. "The rulers of this world are often uncaring for mortal matters, some even abhorring the mere idea of making contact with their creations."

"And they would try to kill them? Why?"

"I could not tell you the thoughts of a divine. But yes, some had deemed it necessary to stop us. Others decided a worse punishment was in order."

This time they stood in what was, despite its simplicity and unadorned state, a temple; the centerpiece of which was a statue of what Neria could only describe as a more beastly — Primal? — Beastkin. His hands ended in long, sharp claws, and his teeth looked like they would easily bite through anything that got between them.

"Chellien, our maker," her ancestor said as he motioned towards the statue. "He uplifted us from our primitive selves so that we may live a more prosperous life. He made the five tribes you know today; gave us the foundations for our civilisation."

Neria wanted to ask so many questions but found herself unable to speak, the solemn feeling that had befallen the area constricting her throat. Rushing through the door was the recognizable living form of her sandy-outlined ancestor, as well as a group of other men; the ones that had stuck with her ancestor for the entirety of their journey. Together they carried what she easily recognized as Chellien. What? How?

One of his arms was missing, black blood that melted the stone it touched dripping from the wound. His chest was equally scarred, countless cuts stretching over it like a deadly web.

"Some divines had deemed his transgression too high, that he needed to die for his violation of their rules." She could see the group carefully arrange the body below the statue before they started praying, uncaring for the black blood that burned through their fur. "It was too late. The ones that wanted him dead outnumbered him — locked him in the mortal realm to die a final death."

A shudder seemed to run through the world. The light that had once glowed behind Chellien's pained, tired eyes faded away, and in response the statue at the feet of which he lay began to crack. Fissures spread from the chest of rock, snaking and coiling their way over the entire form, until it could withstand no more and crumbled into a pile of rubble.

As the last breath escaped the dead God, a person appeared in front of the group. Neria knew who it was, the black and blue wings and long silver-blue hair unmistakable in her mind. Aperio?

The woman made a grabbing motion, a black marble appearing in her hand as she did so. She said a few words that Neria did not understand before gently brushing her other hand over the sphere. A moment later the body of Chellien began to fall apart and a black mist started to stream from the marble, quickly enveloping the Beastkin that had prayed for their God.

"Our God was dead and we thought we were lost, but a final gift from Chellien saw us graced by the Creator. Our kind given another chance by the dying wish of a God."

As quickly as Aperio had appeared she had vanished, leaving behind an empty temple and a group of passed-out Beastkin. Only her ancestor was still conscious, his eyes locked at the small black sphere that floated where the Creator had stood.

"Now it is your time to brave the blessing of Chellien, the Tortured Soul." His words were accompanied by a black mist quickly spreading through the entire chamber, the illusion of the temple she had seen before crumbling when the fog touched it. As soon as it reached Neria she started to scream, falling to the ground as she writhed in agony. Before darkness could claim her, the shadow of her ancestor spoke once more.

"Survive, child. Greatness awaits.”

Side Story - Neria 3: Newfound Strength

A sharp pain in her head jolted Neria awake. Before she could open her eyes, she could already see the System notification hang in front of her. Her mind, however, was not drawn to the words but the warmth coursing through her veins.

Her grasp on the arcane had never been strong. Now, though, she could feel the mana flowing through her, could sense the world around her through her vastly changed aura.

"What..." she mumbled to herself as she focused on the message in front of her eyes.

You have been awarded the [Ancestral Witness] title for surviving the [Trial of the Tortured Soul] and beholding the truth of its creation!

Your race has changed to [Golden Lycan] to meet the requirements of the [Ancestral Witness] title.

There were more messages for her — hundreds of them — all telling her that she had levelled up and her stats had been increased. Neria mentally flicked through them all, trying, and failing, to keep count as the notifications flew by her mind's eye. What the fuck…

When the last of the System's notifications materialised in front of her, Neria could not believe what she saw, shaking her head and rubbing her eyes despite knowing the acts were useless.

You have reached level 400. Class selections and evolutions have been postponed until the [Class Ban] has been lifted by the Creator.

Slowly, Neria lifted her arm, letting her eyes wander over the golden fur that now covered her. Her eyes had no trouble making out the tiny, individual hairs, and the way they each swayed slightly differently in the light breeze unnerved her and forced her to look away.

As the lingering drowsiness of sleep relaxed its clutches on her, the further changes in her body and mind became apparent. As she started to recall what had happened during the ritual, the speed at which she noticed every single novelty of her person increased.

Neria could recall the pain. The mana of a dead God had flowed through her body, washing away the impurities of her mortal flesh to reforge her as a warrior made in his image. Chellien… The name echoed in her mind, bringing forth the image of Aperio turning what was left of the God into a tool to be used by his followers.

"His last wish?" she asked herself, once again inspecting her new coat of fur. "Why would he wish for this?"

With a thought she opened her [Status], tearing her eyes from the drastically increased attributes after a moment of disbelief to focus on the title she had earned.

[Ancestral Witness]

You follow steps of the first Beastkin that survived the Trial of Chellien, the Tortured Soul. A part of the God's strength now resides within you; waiting for you to step on the path of Divinity. You have gazed upon the Creator both past and present, allowing you to witness the truth of the Trial's creation.

Neria closed the window, whipping her head around to face the door as she could feel a presence approaching. This is weird, she thought to herself before the door swung open and Kemeria stepped inside.

"Finally awake, huh?" she asked. "How are you feeling?"

"Weird," Neria replied after a moment. "If I look at something too long, I start to see impossibly small details. It's giving me a headache. I can also somehow tell where you are without looking… I don't even know how I know that."

Kemeria gave a short laugh at her words. "That's normal. Rapid advancement in levels and being knocked out for a week will do that. Just wait until you try to pick something up only to break it. Or just stand up."

Prompted by the woman's words, Neria sat up straight and swung her legs off of the bed she had been resting on. That she had been moved from the ritual chamber to her room had been relegated to the back of her mind as she had been presented with far more important things.

She felt lighter than before, each movement she made somehow easier to perform. Gently pushing herself off of the bed to stand on her legs resulted in her falling forwards, having used far too much strength. The stats weren't lying…

Luckily, strength was not the only thing that had been increased. With a preternatural grace that Neria knew she had never possessed, she twirled twirled once on one foot before firmly planting the other onto the ground.

"This is weird," she mumbled again. "How can I do this?"

"A helping hand from the System," Kemeria replied, a small smile gracing her features. "It wouldn't do if you became stronger only to break everything, including yourself."

"I suppose," Neria replied, looking down at herself and slowly poking her finger into her stomach. How can flesh become this hard? ...Am I even still flesh and blood?

"Calm down,” her mentor said with a little motherly laugh, ”you are still yourself. The ritual only grants you the means to ascend faster, it doesn't change who you are." The words of the older Guardsman calmed Neria a little, even if the change she had undergone was still a bit much for her to take. "What title did you get, anyway? Guardsman? Archivar? Or, perhaps, Rogue?"

"Witness," Neria replied absentmindedly, her hand slowly unsheathing her falchion. So light…

"What level?" Kemeria asked, the slightly higher pitch of her voice causing the newly-minted [Ancestral Witness] to sheathe her weapon and look at the woman.

"Four hundred, why?"

The woman remained quiet for a while, simply staring at Neria. "There haven't been many that received the Witness title; even less that also reached four hundred through the ritual."

"The System said I got it because I 'gazed upon the Creator both past and present, allowing you to witness the truth of the Trial's creation'," Neria said, reciting what the System had told her. "Which doesn't make sense to me. I have seen Aperio, yes, but that was the present. The only time I have seen her in the past was during the ritual, however." Which isn't really the past…

"You should talk to the Keeper again," Kemeria said. "We knew you had contact with the Creator before, but this seems outside expectations."

Neria nodded slowly, very carefully setting herself down on her bed as she began to actually think about the words the System had given her. Is she watching me? Because I look like someone she knew? She would not put it past Aperio to do such a thing, the Creator seemingly very close to her distant ancestor. At least, if I go by her initial reaction.

"What level did you think I would reach?"

"Two fifty, perhaps three hundred," Kemeria replied. "The ritual grants a lot of power, but what you got is definitely outside the norm. Getting used to your new strength should not take much longer, however. Like you said, you know how to use your new abilities."

"Did you go through this as well?" Neria asked, a thought bringing up her [Status] again. "I had always assumed you only get to be a Guardsman if you are already at a high level; that I would spend the next months or even years training to catch up. Not this."

She wanted to say that only a God could do something like this, but in a way, that was the case. Just that Chellien is dead. That fact just served to illustrate how much stronger a God truly was; even the remains of one able to catapult her to the upper echelons of power in a single push. It just hurts a whole lot.

"Of course I did," Kemeria replied. "But I went in at just above level four hundred; the ritual sent me past five hundred where I have been stuck ever since. The monsters I need to kill to advance further are not as common here."

As she thought about the ritual, something else came to mind. The searing pain, so intense that she expected to die at any moment. "Did someone ever die during the ritual?"

Kemeria shook her head in reply. "No. The worst that happened was a mana burn that took a week of healing to fix. The trial is more a test of spirit than anything else. It judges you and decides if you are worthy to be part of the order. I wasn't lying when I said it's not dangerous."

"The pain was still not something I had ever thought I would have to endure," Neria said. "I felt like I was dying, I think that counts as dangerous."

"Pain is temporary and it alone won't kill you," Kemeria replied with a shrug. "There are far worse things out there."

Neria's mind wandered back to the supposed Demon near the Eternal Forest, the one she had heard about just before she met Aperio. The beings were rare and dangerous, sometimes causing entire cities to be evacuated if a group of them roamed near it. The [Ancestral Guardsmen] had already defended Foderys against a number of attacks from the things.

Nobody knew what they wanted — or if they could even think — as they did not talk and the Gods were unwilling — or unable? — to provide answers.. Neria herself had not spared them too much thought. To her, Demons had just been another dangerous beast she should avoid if she could. Won't get to avoid them anymore now...

"Does the title we receive dictate what we do?" Neria asked, not quite sure if her [Ancestral Witness] would qualify her for the guard duty she had originally sought to do.

"Well," Kemeria began, "yes and no. Usually the title you receive from the ritual is already in line with what you wanted to do. Most people who would want to fight become a Guardsmen and those more inclined towards the academic side of things become Archivists."

She paused briefly, tapping her chin as she stared at nothing in particular. "The last time an Archivist wanted to fight, he was allowed to do so. His title even changed after a few years, almost as if Chellien is still watching."

"Any idea what I might be told to do?" Neria asked as she cautiously made her way to the door, trying to be mindful of her own strength. "Or is it something the Keeper will make up on the spot?"

The more experienced Guardsmen shrugged again in reply. "I don't know, but I'd assume you will be sent out to search for the Creator. That you got a special title because you met her also speaks for that."

"But the only reason she met me was because I look like Moria. ...Not even my mother, but some ancient ancestor."

"You should know that our ancestors live on through us," Kemeria said, stepping beside her charge and putting her hand on her shoulder. "Perhaps the Creator saw her old friend in you."

"She almost crushed me," Neria mumbled, remembering the overbearing embrace the creator had wrapped her in. "Must've missed her pretty dearly."

The sound of laughter coming from her mentor caused Neria to turn her head and look at the woman. While the movement might have been simple in the past, now it caused her vision to swim as she moved far faster than she had anticipated.

"What's so funny?" Neria asked after she caught her bearings again.

"You got a hug from the Creator? I think that should also give you a title!"

A small smile crept onto Neria's lips at Kemeria's reply. There was something about the upbeat attitude of her mentor that was infectious — a quality she very much appreciated at the moment. An onlooker might have mistaken their conversation for nothing more than happy banter with a friend, if they didn't manage to spot the bit of moisture beginning to pool under Neria's eyes.

She might have wanted to join the [Ancestral Guard] to perform a duty she thought worthy, but also to, perhaps, uncover what happened to her mother. Neria had not been as close to her as she would have liked when Moria had disappeared, their last conversation on a sour note as she had not wanted her mother to go on yet another journey right after she had returned.

That Neria had been right in her warning did little to soothe her every time she thought about the conversation. The fact that her mother had disappeared at all weighed on her mind much more than the truth of her words at the time. Years gone and I am still no closer…

"Everything okay?" Kemeria asked, stepping in front of Neria and lifting her head. "That was just a joke, I did not think it would offend anyone."

"You did nothing wrong," the newly risen [Ancestral Witness] replied with a slight shake of her head. "I just remembered something I'd rather not." With those words, Neria stepped past her mentor and opened the door, only damaging the bronze doorknob slightly with her newfound strength. "Just bad memories."

Side Story - Neria 4: The Fight At Hand

Neria breathed heavily as she sheathed her sword again, the thing in front of her no longer alive. She closed her eyes, folding her hands in front of her chest and bowing slightly as she felt the influx of mana from the System, rewarding her for killing the Demon at her feet and finally putting the tortured soul to rest.

Kemeria did the same, another of the shadowy creatures at her feet. Neria could sense something else in the woman, a change in her mana that she could not quite place. It was only after a smile slowly formed on her mentor’s face that she realised what might have happened.

“Level five-hundred?” she asked, closing the small distance between them in a few steps.

Kemeria nodded. “Yes. No new titles though,” she added with a tinge of sadness in her voice. “The System just said that classes are still banned by the Creator and that an evolution will take place once that ban is lifted.”

“What does it mean by evolution?” Neria asked, looking through her own notifications to see if any of the Demons she had killed had given her anything beyond just experience. They had not.

The other woman shrugged in response. “I don’t know, but I can’t wait to finally get a class. Have you read some of the scrolls about what they are like? It’s ridiculous.”

“I have not,” Neria replied, looking back at the slowly dissolving remains of the Demons. “And I probably won’t. What I can do now is already beyond what I ever thought possible; becoming even stronger? The thought scares me.” A single person could take out a country… That strength should be reserved for the Gods alone.

“It has only been a few months, just wait a while longer to get used to your power and you will think differently.”

Neria shook her head in reply. She did not think she would ever enjoy a single person being able to decide the fate of a country, but she could not deny that using her strength — and levelling up — felt intoxicating in a way. “Maybe,” she replied with a small sigh. “Still a scary thought, however.”

Her mentor nodded at that, the motion perceived through her aura. “Definitely, but you also have to consider that the Gods would not take kindly to a mortal killing their followers.”

Neria’s mind wandered to the All-Mother, the woman not striking her as someone who would take the death of her followers lightly. But then, she did nothing when Chellien died… Or did I not see what she did?

“Do we know what happened after Chellien died,” she asked suddenly, turning to face Kemeria. “I only saw how the All-Mother did something during his last moments.”

Her question was met with a silence that lasted for a few moments before a long sigh interrupted it. “No, not really. The texts we have mention the creation of the Heslmel Mountains as a response; that the Creator cut off the desert that spawns these”—she gestured at the Demons—”things, so that Chellien's people might live in peace, but other texts are claiming she did nothing.

“The deities that are prominent now don’t provide answers either,” she continued, motioning for Neria to follow as she turned to leave. “They either don’t want to answer questions about the All-Mother or cannot do so.”

“Or maybe she stops them from doing that,” Neria mumbled as she walked with her mentor. She did not necessarily believe her own words, her mind wandering back to the rather bizarre first encounter she had with the woman. Being nearly crushed in a hug by the All-Mother was probably not something people would have believed happened to her if it wasn’t for the old [Guide] confirming the story.

“I doubt that,” Kemeria replied, ducking through the small opening that led outside.

Neria followed suit, taking a deep breath of the fresh air. “I hate caves,” she said, trying to shift the topic away from the All-Mother. “Why are they always in caves?”

“Because outside of dungeons, they have the highest chance of being full of ambient mana,” her mentor replied. “Why do you keep forgetting that?”

Neria rubbed the base of her ear at the question, pointedly not looking at Kemeria. “I am still new to this, okay? The lessons all just jumble up in my head.”

“Then don’t take them all at once. Just because your initiation was expedited does not mean you have to cram years of studying into a few months.”

A sharp crack interrupted her mentor’s speech, and a bolt of lightning flew from her opened hand to strike the stone above the small passageway they had used to enter the cave. Neria could feel Kemeria’s magic run through the stone, collapsing the entrance and a large part of the ceiling of the cave.

“I wish falling rocks could kill Demons,” Neria said as a touch of her own — newly gained — magic cleared the smoke her mentor had created. “Or I could just suffocate them.”

“Sadly,” Kemeria began, her spear appearing in her hand, “those creatures aren’t exactly alive or even completely in this realm. At least, that is how it has been explained to me. A Demon is born when a soul cannot pass on from the realm of the living, gaining a hatred for those that get to live while it’s forced to exist in a limbo.”

“And they are beings of mana and will,” Neria finished for her, repeating the words many of her teachers had drilled in her head as her hand rested against the dimly glowing hilt of her falchion. “Only a weapon imbued with the power of the divine may banish the Demon and put the soul to rest.”

She sighed before she continued. “Who is blessing our weapons, anyway? I assume it says it right on the blade, but I can’t read those runes.”

“They forge our weapons with a piece of Chellien’s armour,” Kemeria explained, pausing briefly to signal the third member of their team with a sharp whistle. “You would learn it eventually, so I doubt it hurts to tell you now.

“Much like in the titles we receive — a blessing of a sort, really — Chellien also lives on through the weapons and armour we wield. We carry out the duty to protect our kind in his stead. He has given peace to us in life; we will give peace to him in death.”

The shrill cry of a bird cut further talk short, an enormous shadow flowing over them. Neria looked up to see the large Dustwing Falcon lazily gliding above them. While it was Kemeria’s mount, the giant brown-feathered bird could easily carry both of them where they needed to go.

Her mentor produced a raw Jellien from her [Dimensional Storage], throwing it into the open beak of her Falcon after it had landed in front of them. “Spotted anything, Yel’dah?” she asked, gently brushing its neck as it rubbed against its owner.

The bird cawed quietly in response; Neria was unsure if it understood its owner or not. it was reply enough for Kemeria, however, as she nodded curtly and mounted the bird in a graceful leap. Neria followed shortly after, not easily as her mentor but still far beyond what she could have done just a few months before.

Yel’dah lifted her long neck, giving both of her riders a view of the mountainous expanse they found themselves in. A sharp wind blew past them, ruffling Neria’s fur and bringing the smell of death and decay that was so prominent here to the forefront of her mind.

“Why are we letting a necromancer live in the desert, exactly?” she asked, her eyes focused on a more distant set of mountains that split the Deserts of Solito from the rest of the continent. “His… people leave their stench wherever they go for weeks.”

“The Deremkyir have a mining outpost close by,” Kemeria said, an unspoken command causing the Dustwing Falcon to propel itself into the air. “That’s where the smell is coming from.”

Neria groaned at that. “Can’t we just let ourselves be teleported back? They managed to dump us all the way out here, after all.”

“No,” her mentor replied, spurring on her mount. “They can target the magical signature of a Demon, but not anyone else. As far as I know, the gate was also built by a divine as a gift to us after Chellien’s death. I doubt the Archivars know how it works.”

“Would’ve been nice if they told me that,” Neria mumbled as she looked at the mountains passing below them.

A sigh came from Kemeria. “As much as I hate to admit it, the Guard can be a bit elitist and your skipping to level four hundred and getting a very rare title after such a short time does not sit right with quite a few people. I might trust you, but your expedited induction did not do you any favours.”

“So they are withholding information because they are spiteful?” She shook her head. “I expected better.”

“Strength might change some things, but we are still of the Kin. We all make mistakes.”

Neria just huffed in response. She had not not planned on meeting the Creator, nor had she picked her title. Fate had handed her these cards and she would be a fool not to play them.

As they continued to fly, Neria’s mind wandered. What class will I get? she asked herself. If her title was this rare already, she hesitated to think what an equally rare class would do to her. I don’t want to be a one woman army…

The thought was only partially true, however; she enjoyed what she could do now. Enjoyed the feeling of using her magic; of fighting. Is this why mother did not want me to join the guard… Did she know?

She would have loved to ask her mother, but there had been no progress in finding her. Moria was alive, the [Keeper of Voices] had confirmed it. He had not been willing to tell her how he knew, however.

Maybe they are not doing their best because of me? Neria shook her head at the thought. Her mother was too important for the Council, and they would try all they could to find her. Sadly, the Gods did not really see it as their duty to offer any sort of help. Following a dead one was seen as heresy in the eyes of many of the pantheon.

Luckily, descending onto the mortal plane was costly for the divine and they would rather not throw the lives of their followers away for something that was, in the end, inconsequential. Not that it stops them from raiding us for slaves…

That, however, was more an action of various countries than their Gods. Raiding parties from Geshwen were hated all over Verenier for a reason. The Eternal Empire of Zeltar controlled most of the continent, and was of the stark opinion that anyone not born on their continent should be a slave. Why did Vetus get burned down, and not that one?

A shake of her head forced the line of thinking from her mind. Instead, she entertained the idea of asking the Creator for help in finding her mother. Finding Aperio again was a mission they would soon send her on — once Kemeria decided she was ready to hold her own against anything she might encounter. All-powerful Creation deity excluded.

Her mentor’s voice sounding out in front of her pulled Neria fully from her thoughts. “Looks like the Deremkyir also had a run in with some Demons.”

Directing her eyes at the ground below, Neria saw tens of zombies in matching armour holding two Demons at bay as a skeleton in an ornate robe raised its hands up high. Its skeletal jaw moved, the Lich chanting an incantation.

A pillar of light fell upon the skeletal mage a moment later, Neria squinting against the barrage of holy magic. “Isn’t that suicide?” she thought aloud. “Holy magic is poison to the undead.”

“Not to the Deremkyir,” her mentor replied, directing Yel’dah lower as she prepared herself to throw her spear.

“What?” Neria asked, not truly expecting an answer as she readied herself for battle. Kemeria did not have to tell her what her intention was. As part of the Ancestral Guard, it was their duty to help any and all that may find themselves at the mercy of Demons, or others of their ilk.

As the Dustwing Falcon reached a few meters from the ground, Kemeria and Neria jumped, the latter slowing their fall with her magic. The zombies did not seem to care about their arrival, busy keeping the Demons occupied as the Lich mumbled another incantation.

With a flare of her own magic, Kemeria kicked off of the ground, leaving slight cracks in the stone that glowed red with the blood she had just sacrificed.

Neria followed suit, the winds following her bidding and carrying her silently into battle as she pulled her weapon free of its sheath. The runes on the blade shining brightly in anticipation for the coming fight.

Revelations - Chapter 123: Sua Sponte

Caethya removed her hand from Aperio's as the All-Mother opened her eyes. Being asked to help her Goddess remain calm had been a strange request, but she knew how Aperio reacted to some memories. She could still feel the anger in the All-Mother's aura; the coldness in the air. However, her reaction was a lot less intense than she had expected.

She could not claim to know how Aperio felt any one emotion, but she knew that some things made her irrationally angry. A very mortal trait that was, perhaps, a leftover from her time as one. But then Moria would not have asked for help, right?

"How are you?" Caethya asked, leaning forward and up a little to brush a few of Aperio's hairs out of her face.

Her Goddess' ever-shifting eyes rested on her for a moment before Aperio let out a sigh, one that was accompanied by a few wisps of mana which immediately took to lazily floating around her.

"Angry," Aperio said after a moment of silence in which her wings gently wrapped themselves around Caethya. "But less than I feel I should be." She paused for a moment before mumbling her next words. "Maybe because I can't see them all clearly yet…"

"You need time to integrate them?" Moria asked from behind Caethya with a hint of confusion in her voice. "I had thought that wouldn't apply to you."

"It does," Aperio replied, and at the same time her Goddess' voice echoed through her mind, asking Caethya if she could come closer. "Some of the memories I have retrieved on Procul are still a little foggy, for example." Caethya moved herself next to Aperio as she spoke, gently brushing her hand over her Goddess' back to counteract the way her aura flared a little with anger. "I do already know what happened in the memories you gave me, just not the identity of every deity that disgraced themselves."

"I see," the Beastkin mumbled. Her ears twitched slightly, perhaps picking up a sound Caethya herself could not hear, before she spoke again. "All we can do is wait, then." Moira nodded to the crystal, and it was then that Caethya noticed that it now looked to be nothing more than a piece of glass. "As this one contained more memories than simply my own, it could only be used once. My own mind is not made to handle the memories of all my lives.

"I cannot remember every single deity that took part in the rituals," she continued after a moment of silence. "What I do know is that Epemirial is one of the higher ups of the Repens Nabu. Higher than Vigil and Inanis were, anyway."

Aperio tensed at the words, the already frigid air growing colder still. Caethya could have sworn that the world itself was holding its breath as her Goddess set her eyes on Moria.

"Then I shall visit her and inform her about the error of her ways." The words, delivered with a clarity and lack of emotion that was entirely uncharacteristic of the All-Mother she knew, gave Caethya pause.

Aperio usually reacted with a wide variety of emotions to anything and everything, even when it was not really warranted. Despite her claimed trouble in expressing them, Caethya had never found it hard to figure out how her Goddess felt. Even without the bond. The All-Mother's wings alone had always told her a lot. Couple that with Aperio's tick of tilting her head and the subtle twitches of her ears, and Caethya was usually fairly certain of what was going on in Aperio's mind.

In accordance with her own gut feeling on the matter, the Demigoddess of Creation brushed her fingers across the armlet Aperio now wore on her right bicep. "Where did you get this?" she asked. "It feels… old. Ancient, even."

Aperio blinked at the question. "Moria kept it for me," she replied. "It was something I used to wear at all times, but for some reason gave to her before my life as a mortal."

"Was it always filled with mana?" Caethya asked, turning a little to look at Moria. "There is enough in there that I can't tell how much there actually is." Just like an ocean… Or Aperio. In truth, Caethya was almost sure that the small armlet somehow held more mana than Aperio currently did. Though, she can probably draw on much more.

"It was," Moria replied, offering a slight nod. Much like Caethya, she seemingly thought that a change of topic was in order. Or I am reading her wrong. "But I do not know why."

Her Goddess absentmindedly turned the armlet with her free hand after Caethya had removed her own. "Is it really that surprising?" she asked after a moment, looking at Caethya. "According to most people, I carry a ludicrous amount of mana in my body. Why would an armlet with some more be weird? Especially since I made it when I actually knew how everything worked."

"Not surprising," Caethya said with a small smile on her face. "But very interesting. Everything I know about you led me to believe that worldly possessions were not something you took much interest in, but it turns out you had one even before you knew the life of a mortal."

"I do not know the life of a mortal. I knew the life of a slave," Aperio snapped, setting her unblinking gaze onto Caethya.

The Demigoddess shrunk slightly under her Goddess' glare, and retreated further from the anger she felt in her aura. Before she could apologise, Aperio sighed, her wings brushing against Caethya's back as they slumped a little.

"I'm sorry," the All-Mother breathed, moving to remove her wings completely before Caethya lifted her arm in an attempt to stop the movement. "I…" Her voice trailed off as she looked at something only she could see. A notification?

"Your daughter?" Moria asked, seemingly knowing something that Aperio did not.

The All-Mother tilted her head slightly as she looked at the Beastkin. "How did you know?"

"Just a hunch," Moria said, her ears twitching slightly. "I felt you doing something, and if I can feel something with the System change, your daughter most assuredly can as well."

Aperio shifted her eyes back towards the notification. This gets her attention, but not my multiple attempts to talk to her? Ferio had asked her to her Dominion, something the All-Mother had considered doing without an invitation multiple times now. Why now?

She would go — that wasn't a question — but it still hurt that her daughter only wanted to talk to her after she had made a change to the System, and not because Aperio was reaching out on her own.

The warmth of Caethya's arm wrapping around her back caused Aperio to relax a little. For a brief moment she had feared her reaction to her disciple's earlier question would have put her off, especially so after she did not even properly apologise. At least I can apologise now.

"So," Caethya began, brushing her free hand over the inner feathers of Aperio's wing. "Are we going to visit Ferio?"

"Yes," Aperio said, raising a brow at Caethya's motion before glancing at her surrogate mother. "Do you wish to accompany us?"

The Beastkin did not reply immediately, and only looked at her. Aperio shifted a little under her gaze, not quite sure what Moria wanted her to do. "I think I'll stay here," she said. "I think my presence would not help matters. I also have to figure out what to do with my colleagues and what has become of the [Ancestral Guard]." She sighed, mumbling her next words quietly enough that Aperio had almost missed them. "Might as well start over with that…"

"Can I not help you with that?" Aperio asked. "I know that Selehan and Kenmo talked of corruption in their ranks; one stemming from the Pantheon." The All-Mother hesitated for a moment before she continued. "They also said that they are looking for you because you have the proof they need to fix the problem."

Moria gave a bitter laugh at the words. "Of course they would say that." She shifted a little, adjusting her clothes to hide the slight shake of her hands. "They are as corrupt as the rest of them; they just want the artefacts I carry."

Aperio extended her wing and almost moved herself and Caethya next to Moria before she stopped herself. As much as she wanted to give her surrogate mother a hug, she knew that it wouldn't help her. Moria had been very clear about that during her time as a slave.

"We will stay a little longer," Aperio said, letting a bit of her mana flow around her surrogate mother. Moria might not have been fond of physical touch when she was sad or in distress, but it still felt wrong to the All-Mother to just stand there and do nothing. "Perhaps we should deal with this first?" If Ferio wanted to make me wait, she can wait a little too.

"No," Moria said after a deep breath and a moment of silence. "I need some time to prepare myself." She offered Aperio a smile — sincere, but sad. "It's good that you are back. I was getting worried, despite your claims."

Aperio hesitated briefly. "I'm sorry that I am not the one you remember."

"Don't be," her surrogate mother replied. "Change was the whole reason you did this, after all." Moria sighed, fixing her gaze onto Aperio. "I did not lose a friend — I gained family.

"I got to know the real you, know who you are when you shed the eons you lived alone in the nothing. The you unburdened by the knowledge that the other Gods want to use you." A silence briefly fell over the three of them before Moira spoke again. "I think you wanted to forget. Gain a fresh start, of sorts."

“I failed, if that was the goal,” Aperio mused. “Floating alone in my Void would have been better than life in the Empire. I also still feel like most people — be it mortal or God — want to use me.” She shifted a little, still wanting to reach out to her surrogate mother, but as Moria disliked physical means of comforting and any words she could offer would feel empty, she was at a loss of what she could possibly do.

Her surrogate mother seemed to notice her dilemma, moving herself a little closer to touch Aperio's shoulder. "I know you want to help," she said. "And you can in the future, but for now I have to make peace with the fact that the people that have been like family to me died long ago."

"What about Neria?" Aperio asked. "She has been searching for you."

"I will meet her in time," Moria replied with a heavy sigh. "She will have to be the one that rebuilds the [Ancestral Guard]. I failed to do that. Twice." Her surrogate mother sighed again and shook her head slightly. "Go, meet your daughter. I need some time to think."

Aperio gave a hesitant nod and directed a mental query towards Caethya to ask if she was ready. Once her disciple had answered in the affirmative, the All-Mother mentally accepted Ferio's invitation.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, the System's magic weaved itself around Aperio. The All-Mother narrowed her eyes slightly and, with a small flex of her mental muscles, bent the magic to also incorporate Caethya.

"I'll be there if you need me," Aperio said, looking at her surrogate mother.

"I know," Moria replied with a small smile on her face, offering a tiny wave before the All-Mother and her disciple vanished from the mortal realm.

Aperio blinked at the amount of people present in Ferio's Dominion. She had expected to find only her daughter, not a room filled with mortals as well as quite a few deities. At least they feel stronger than Caethya… Some of them might not actually be Gods as they merely felt slightly stronger than her disciple, but Aperio's view on such things was a little… skewed.

"Greetings, Mother," Ferio said, then glanced at Caethya who still had her arm wrapped around Aperio's waist. "And to you too, Caethya."

Her entrance had caused the few conversations that had been on going to cease and attention to focus on Aperio. She could easily spot Edisicio, the God of Knowledge and Love giving her a small nod. Aperio did not know any of the other Gods — or what she assumed were Gods — present.

A pair of figures further back managed to grab at her attention despite the vast number of other people in the space. One of them seemed to be made of light, while the other seemed to be made of darkness. Both of them seemed very interested in her, just like the third glowing being in the room. Aperio had noticed it as well but had not paid the being much attention, as it had felt far weaker than the previous two, until she spotted that it seemed to flick back and forth between brightness and darkness every other breath.

The All-Mother did not pay them any more mind as she faced her daughter. "Hello," she said, shifting one of her wings around Caethya slightly to better support her and offer her a little cover from prying eyes. "You wished to talk?"

"I do, yes," her daughter replied, motioning for them to join her as she walked towards a large table at the center of her sunlit Dominion. "I had hoped this conversation could wait, but your new Directive makes that an impossibility."

Aperio narrowed her eyes at her daughter's back, and a few of the mortals in the room took a step back as a bit of anger crept into her aura. Caethya let a bit of her magic flow around her Goddess, following it with a mental message and slightly tighter grip around her waist.

The All-Mother wanted to confront her daughter about her silence, but knew full well that now was not the time for that. "And why is that?" she asked instead.

"Because it changed the rules for the [War in Heaven]," her daughter replied.

Revelations - Chapter 124: Pro Hac Vice

"I have no interest in your war," Aperio said, eyeing the presumed Gods and Goddesses in the room. I would end it if I knew how. "If part of it required you to experiment on souls, I could not care less that you lost that ability."

"That's not really the issue." Ferio sighed, gesturing to the two beings made of light and dark respectively. "The Directive you implemented puts the [Court of Heaven] in charge of handling every transgression.

"Yes, I know that is what you made it for," her daughter continued, informing Aperio that it was indeed something she had made without telling the others present that she forgot. "But neither of the Judges will be able to enforce a ruling against the people who are actually in violation."

Perhaps I should just make a new Pantheon, Aperio thought to herself as she looked at every person in the room through her aura. Most did not notice the inspection, but a few of the more powerful deities stiffened a little at her scrutiny.

The fact that they did sparked a little joy in Aperio's mind that she tried to shove as deep down as she could. She did not want to enjoy lording her strength over others, but she still very much did.

Aperio fixed her gaze on the two figures in question. She had not even meant to create a Directive, and now she had to deal with this. That she was also annoyed — though more sad and angry — at the fact that Ferio had ignored her until there was a problem she could not fix did not help.

"And how am I supposed to fix it?" Aperio asked, a touch of her magic ensuring only Caethya and Ferio heard her. "I do not know who these people are, what they do nor why they do it." The All-Mother took a breath, leaning a little into Caethya's embrace. "I am also not really inclined to help after being called here to fix your problem after being met with silence for weeks." Or months… How much time passed?

"Really, Mother?" Ferio asked, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "I told you I was busy. You rejected me again and again when I was trying to help you, so you can't claim to not know why I remained quiet." Ferio's eyes wandered to Caethya before she looked at her mother again. "Especially when you instead chose to trust someone mortal you barely know."

Aperio squinted at her daughter. "I know Caethya better than you by now," she said. "I know you are my daughter, but aside from that I know nothing about you. I don't know who you are; what you like."

Ferio held her gaze for a moment before she sighed and directed her eyes to the floor. "Perhaps… But I had hoped that you would remember me, at least. Had thought that you did." She rubbed the bridge of her nose again. "I merely wanted you to care about me like I care about you. But," she sighed, "I guess that will need even more time.

"For now," she continued. "we will have to deal with this. The Court cannot do what you directed it to do without your help. How exactly this should be solved is not something I know yet, but I know that you can fix it."

"How?" Aperio asked, trying her best to hide the annoyance in her voice. "I do not even know what this Court you speak of is. Or where the limits to what I can do are." If there even are any.

The only real thing she knew she could not do was travel back in time. There were a great many other things she knew she could do, but not how. But then, maybe I just don't know how to manipulate time yet… The mere potential that she could mess with time was already enough for Aperio to bury the thought deep in her mind, right next to the twisted joy she got from being stronger than others.

"You know how to bless someone and strip a blessing," Ferio said. "Technically, Godhood is quite similar. It is not exactly the same, of course, but I had hoped you could do something to either strengthen the Judges in the Court or make other deities weaker."

"Make a level playing field?" Caethya asked, shifting slightly under Aperio's wing. "I am surprised that's not how it works already."

"Mother made the Court to deal with the Gods and Goddesses that ascended on their own," Ferio huffed in reply. "Not with the ones she chose herself. Even that, however, only goes so far. The self-ascended deities are slowly becoming too powerful for the courts as well."

"And who says this Court will be just in their judgements?" Aperio asked, drawing her wings closer to herself and pulling Caethya gently along with them. "What if they act like me? Cast down a God because they wronged them?" What gives me the right to do that?

"For what it's worth, I have never seen them act in their own interest over the millennia I have known them," Ferio replied. "I'm almost convinced they can't do that."

Aperio carefully removed her wing from Caethya and stepped up the table, a thought bringing the two glowing figures into the small, audibly secluded space she had made.

They looked surprised for a moment before they both bowed. "Welcome back, Creator," the Light one said.

"Your presence at the Courts has been missed," the Dark one added.

Their voices shifted from high to low as they spoke, echoing through the small space almost like her own. Just way weaker. Even her normal speaking voice filled any room with her power; her mana. Whenever she got even a tiny bit angry, it only got worse. At least it doesn't seem to be tied to the mana in my body anymore.

That problem had seemingly solved itself. Even after she had drawn in the pure mana from deeper in her well, her aura and voice had shown little change while the amount of mana in her body had increased greatly.

"Hello," she replied, offering them each a curt nod as she suppressed the urge to wrap her wing around Caethya again. "It has been brought to my attention that you would not be able to enforce the new Directive."

"Yes," the Light one replied, its voice briefly settling on a deep baritone. "The System has already scheduled a date for the hearing of Epemirial and we are most certainly not equipped to handle her, even with your daughter's help."

"She is stronger than you?" Aperio asked, looking at Ferio.

"In a potential fight in which I have to protect a room full of people and she does not? Yes," her daughter replied.

The All-Mother tapped her chin lightly and tried to will into existence a System view that would show her the Directives. It did not quite work as she had hoped, but a small blue window filled with various Directives and their functions did appear in her view. A slight narrowing of her eyes and a small flex of her mental muscles caused the System to only show her the one she had just put into effect.

At first it only seemed to repeat what it had said when she had accidentally willed the Directive into place, but it seemed to expand a little to provide some options. There was one helpfully labelled 'Enforcement', and a part of her mind immediately started diving through the System itself in hopes of finding something that could tell her how the options she was currently interacting with actually worked.

Aperio paid no heed to the atrociously slow movements of the other people in the room as she focused another part of her mind on the 'Enforcement' section of the System view. As a great many sub-options filled the window before her, she couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. Most were greyed out, and she didn't need to focus on them to know that they were broken. A fact that only seemed to highlight how intertwined she actually was with the System. I am the system, really...

"How would she hold up to me?" Aperio asked, barely a moment after Ferio had finished speaking, her investigation into the System having taken a lot less time than she had thought.

"She, uh, wouldn't," Ferio replied with a confused look on her face. "She would not have been able to before, and most certainly would not now."

"Does the Creator think of attending the hearings in person?" the Dark Judge asked, seemingly uncaring that Aperio asked if she even was stronger than the Goddess of Duty and Loss.

"Perhaps," Aperio replied, returning more of her attention back to the System windows in front of her mind's eye. She had hoped — perhaps in vain — that one of the options would allow her to let the System itself deal with it.

The All-Mother scrunched her brows as she found a section of the System that seemed to be working a little harder than it should, drawing noticeably more mana than the surrounding parts. A thought was all she needed to get a closer look at it, inspect it.

Most of the runes present did not mean anything to her, but she did spot a few she did understand. Enforcement, Aperio thought to herself with a small smile as she rotated her mental view of the section.

There was something else at work in the Subsystem; another part of her System that she had been searching for. All the tendrils of mana that worked their way through the Enforcement section connected back to another Subsystem that was unlabelled, as far as she could see, but had to be the part responsible for repairs. Or I just don't know those runes yet.

It was one of the more complex amalgamations of runes she had seen thus far, and definitely the one that drew the most on her well. Not that it is using a lot of mana… Either she had made her System very efficient or — by far the more likely option — she commanded much more mana than she had thought. Aperio had still not taken the time to see just how far her well reached; how pure her mana could become.

"I would rather find a solution that does not require my presence," Aperio said, her continued exploration of the System having barely taken a moment of real time. She glanced at the glowing figures for a moment before she continued. "Not that I am unflattered by the offer, but I have other things to take care of."

"We understand," the Light one said, its shifting voice devoid of the tiny bit of hope that the Dark one had had. It stepped a little closer to the table, almost leaning on it. "What did you have in mind?"

"I am not quite sure," Aperio admitted, a small smile playing across her lips at the lack of any feelings of disgust. "My absence has not been good for the System." Disregarding any potential sabotage…

"I suggested that she take away the powers of anyone not affiliated with the Court when they are present," Ferio said. "But Mother raised some concerns."

"I did, yes," Aperio said, tilting her head as the System seemed to work a little more slowly under her scrutiny. Almost as if it wanted to make sure she understood what was happening. Or is it because my subconsciousness fixes it and that doesn't work when I focus on it?

How exactly the System and her own mind were connected was still a mystery to Aperio, but it was clear that the former could not work without her while she had no trouble existing without the System.

"As I am sure you can gather from the recent Directive," Aperio said, trying to find something that would allow her to change the Judge’s Dominion, "I am not exactly happy with how the trust I gave has been misused. I do not want to introduce another faction to a war I plan to end."

"Is that why Diskrye did not restart their duty of distributing the New Worlds upon your return?" the Dark Judge asked. "Or are they truly inaccessible to them?"

"I do not know and I do not care," Aperio said, glaring at the Judge. She took an unneeded breath to steady herself and leaned herself slightly against Caethya's hand that had appeared on her back. "What I care about is punishing those who use souls as their playthings."

The All-Mother gestured towards the table, the maps spread upon it obvious planning for the [War in Heaven] Mayeia had told her about. "I also want to stop this war," she continued. "Why I ever let it happen in the first place is beyond me.

"If I have to, I will go and find every single member of the Repens Nabu and kill them myself," Aperio said, fixing her gaze on the two Judges. She took a step towards them, ignoring Ferio's almost panicked look. "Let me be perfectly clear," the All-Mother began. "I do not trust you, or anyone else in this room besides Ferio and Caethya. Especially not with the power to strip someone of their Godhood.

"I do not know what your relation is to the ones that went against my will," she continued, "but I know that they need an adequate punishment, and I do not trust either of you to deliver one."

Aperio let out a sigh as she sat Caethya and herself down on a sofa formed by her mana. Speaking her mind — like she imagined her old self would have — had felt decidedly too good. Even if it was true that the only grounds for punishing someone for messing with a soul was her will, putting it in words made it feel worse.

Despite looking through the System's options faster than she should be able to, Aperio was only drawing blanks as to how to make the Court able to deal with the problem and not have her there at all times. Or have me outright hunt the Repens Nabu.

Even if she truly hated the Gods and Goddesses that played with mortal lives because they felt superior, Aperio did not want to kill them. She still regretted what she had done to Vigil and Inanis, despite knowing that the quick death they received had been far too light a judgment. And I want to see them suffer, too.

The disgust she had usually felt for admitting she was less than perfect had found a new place in her mind, one she could at least somewhat agree with. Everything she knew about her old self led to death and cruelty. All things she now detested, but still derived joy from.

Aperio rubbed the bridge of her nose and sighed in exasperation at both herself and the situation at hand. Just let me live a normal life, please. "Show me your Court. I'll figure something out."

Side Story - Moric 1: Woes of the Dead

Moric rattled his teeth as he watched the Demons turn into smoke, the telltale glimmer of their souls returning to rest twinkling within. He turned and looked at the two Beastkin that had come to his aid, the fires that burned in his empty eye sockets returning to their normal blue.

“Thank you,” he said, his voice enunciated by the rattling of his bones as he took a step towards the newcomers. “I had not expected to meet the [Ancestral Guard] this far from your City. But, where are my manners,” he continued, bowing slightly. “I am Moric, a Lich in service of the Great One.”

“Kemeria,” one of the golden-furred Beastkin said as she pointed to herself, before gesturing at the other. “And this is Neria.”

“Ah, a Kellborn I presume? The daughter of Moria, perhaps?”

“You know my mother?” Neria asked, taking a couple steps closer. “Have you seen her?”

Moric lowered his head at the question. “No, I have merely been informed of her disappearance. Many of those who serve under the Great One have been asked to be on the lookout for her.”

“Oh,” the Beastkin said, her ears twitching slightly and tail lowering.

“Do not worry,” Moric said, his bones rattling soothingly. “The Great One has promised to find your mother, and he always keeps his word.”

His words did not have the desired effect, as the Beastkin’s ears lowered and her tail dropped even further. Moric wanted to say something further, but he found himself lost for words, the orbs of pale blue fire in his eyes dimming slightly.

“I apologise,” he said, inclining his head gently. “I forget that those not of the Deremkyir usually don’t share our faith in the Great One.”

“It’s fine,” Neria said with a sigh. “I had just hoped that I would finally get some news about my mother.”

“What are you doing here anyway?” Kemeria asked in an obvious attempt to change the topic. “I know there is a mine not too far from here, but your kind rarely leaves the desert.”

The fires in Moric’s eyes burned a little brighter at the question. The Lich was always happy to inform people of his quest. “I am trying to raise a family!” he said. “Awfully hard at home where the corpses are rationed.”

“Corpses are rationed?” the woman asked, her ears twitching. “What?”

“Only so many people die each year,” Moric said with a slight shrug. “And some do not want to be resurrected.

“I am just trying to find a family to raise on my own,” he continued, tapping his fingers against his bony chin as he mumbled his next words. “Finding one that has been buried together and in which every member is willing to live again is harder than you’d think.”

He had found many tombs of noble families, but communions were not always possible. And when they were, it seemed that it was invariable that one or two members of the family did not want to be brought back. Of course, he could resurrect them anyway, but that would go against the laws of the Deremkyr. Disobeying the Great One's laws was a good way to find a permanent end.

“Wouldn’t anyone you use your magic on turn into your slave?” Neria asked, the dark crystals the Demons had left behind floating into her waiting hand. “Isn’t that how necromancy works?”

Moric’s bones rattled in disgust at the question. “A true necromancer would never bring back a soul without their consent! You not only risk the wrath of the Great One, but of the world!

"Forcing the dead to rise does not bring back their souls," he continued. "They would then require a piece of mine to function, and would not be able to evolve." He then gestured to the zombies that had returned to etching various runes into the ground. "I was once like them, one who was willingly brought back, but I worked to understand magic and became a Lich by the grace of the Great One.”

“Is your Great One a God I have not heard of before?” Neria's eyes didn't leave the other undead, still at their task of etching runes into the stone.

“Not yet,” Moric replied with a happy rattle of his bones. “The Great One is a [Demigod of Death]. Through him we can use holy magic to banish demons.” He paused for a moment, tapping a bony finger against his jaw. “If your belief is strong enough, that is. But then, you are not truly of the Deremkyir if your belief is weak.”

A loud caw caused Moric to look up, his fiery eyes easily spotting the Dustwing Falcon circling overhead. The Lich could feel the panic of the monster, its instincts telling it to attack him to protect its master while its training told it that all was well. “Your Falcon is not used to my kind, is it?” Moric asked, shifting his gaze back to the Beastkin in front of him.

“No,” Kemeria replied, her words followed by a sharp whistle that caused the bird to swoop down and land behind its master.

Moric had liked animals during his life of flesh and blood. Ever since he had risen again as an undead, though, the joy of having a pet had been made impossible. Sadly, the Great One can't yet fix that.

He had been unlucky in that regard, having been revived immediately after his death. While he did not know exactly why, the sooner a body was revived, the more of its memories it kept. And if you waited too long, you could only make a normal undead with a piece of your own soul.

The deserts of Solito were unique, as far as Moric knew. Souls passed on slower here — a circumstance that made the rise of the Deremkyir possible. Also brings a lot of Demons.

He sighed as she watched the woman gently brush her hand along the feathered neck of the bird, the noise it brought forth from him just another, quieter, rattle of his bones as he had no lungs.

“I hope the presence of my kin and me are not too distressing,” he said after a moment of continued silence. “The lesser living are usually very confused at our lack of mindless slaughter.”

“Perhaps,” Kemeria said as she produced a fish to feed to the bird. “But she was merely alerting me of a large group of undead coming our way, not really confused about it.”

“Ah, my reinforcements,” Moric said. “Though we no longer need them, thanks to your intervention.” A sign from one of the zombies caused Moric to raise his bony hand, and add, “Please stand back, the ritual is ready.”

The two Beastkin did as he asked, even the large bird taking a few steps back. His workers followed suit, the zombies quickly leaving the large formations of runes they had etched into the stone.

“Do you not want to wait for your reinforcements?” Neria asked, her nose twitching slightly as a few zombies passed in front of her.

“By the Great One, no,” Moric replied. “The only one who could come here to help on such short notice would be Joshua, and he would only try to take the ritual for himself.” His eyes shifted to the winding path that led up the mountain — the one the reinforcements would undoubtedly take — and mumbled his next words. “He always lords his status as a Greater Lich over everyone.”

He let a bit of his mana flow into the runes his workers had made. The light seemed to be sucked into the formation, the surroundings dimming as the magic took hold.

Finding lost souls was a hard task and if it were possible, Moric would be sweating from the strain. Luckily he could not, and the only visible cue that showed how much effort he put in was the slight dimming of the fire in his eyes, something he was pretty sure the two Beastkin would not be able to interpret properly.

Moric’s hands moved in front of him, his mana flowing from them as he guided it deeper into the ground. The ritual he had set up added ambient mana to his efforts in amounts he could not hope to bring forth alone.

His bones rattled in anticipation as he felt the presence of death and decay drawing his mana in. It called to him in a way that pulled at his very marrow. The souls he had been searching for were here, he could feel it.

Why some souls did not move on was beyond him, but he would do his best to help them. The offer was either a chance to live again, or a helping hand to allow them to pass on and avoid the risk of becoming a Demon consumed by hatred for the living.

Just want to raise a family, Moric thought to himself as he slowly channeled his mana into the halls of death below them. He did not know who these catacombs belonged to or how long the souls had stayed there, but he did know that at least a few of them were a family. That they were bonded by Fate.

He had not tried to raise a new undead in a few months, too busy with his duties to the Great One, but now that he was doing it again, Moric felt at peace.

His mana gently flowed around the bodies of the dead, slowly attaching itself to the fine threads that trapped the souls in the mortal realm. The physical world left his senses as he tried to commune with the first soul, pushing his mana closer.

As soon as his magic touched the faint remnant of the person still bound to the mortal realm, Moric felt his consciousness shift. The sensation was not new to him — everyone who wished to talk to a soul would have to enter the realm of the dead, at least partially.

He would now have to experience the limbo this soul had had to endure for countless years. His body was still left in the mortal realm, outside his control, while his mind was in the realm of the dead, unable to move on and doomed to slowly forget its life.

There was no relief for these souls in the Great River, no forgiveness of their sins and no appreciation of their virtues. Just an endless abyss of nothing in which they would go insane. He had only been there briefly before he had been revived, but even that small moment had been enough for him. A glimpse of the nothing, a small taste of dread, of forgetting who he was while being fully aware of what was happening. Moric would not wish such a Fate on anyone.

The soul he reached out for flared the last remnants of its magic, a reaction he had seen a great many times before. For how long this particular soul had to have spent in limbo, its magic was surprisingly strong, requiring a not insignificant amount of Moric’s own magical might to deflect it.

He tried to convey his message of peace — his offer — but the soul just continued its barrage. Either it was too far gone to understand him, or it wished to remain as it was, perhaps seeing limbo as a fine punishment for itself.

Moric tried again, reaching out with his mind to try and show the lost soul the way out; a new life with its family. There was a brief reprieve in the surprisingly strong onslaught from the lost soul, the idea of family seemingly able to appease it.

Another push of his magic reached out to a different soul, one that shared a bond with the one he was already talking to. [Fixtures of Fate] pulled them together, merging the abyss the souls had dwelt in into one, reuniting them.

A wave of mana washed over Moric’s mind, stronger than anything the soul had shown before. Luckily this one was not meant to push him away but filled with the warmth of love. It wrapped itself around the soul his skill had brought over, gently pulling it closer to the first one he had contacted.

Carefully, he reached out again, his offer of peace and a promise of a new life unchanged. Neither of the two souls responded to him, their magic darting back and forth between them instead.

He focused on his skill again, sacrificing more mana to the System to bring the third soul into this abyss; to reunite it.

Fix its Fate.

It was his mission. Given to him by the Great One. Find the broken family, fix their Fate. Offer them the chance at a new life — a chance to live the life that had been taken from them.

He did not know why the Great One had tasked him with it — what made him worthy of the skill he had received — but he would not question the Great One, who had lived through what these souls had to endure; pulled himself into the Great River and was rewarded for it. Tasked by the world itself to guide those that have been lost.

Moric would do all he could to aid the Great One in his quest. Sacrificing the last bit of his mana, he activated [Fixtures of Fate] one more time, pulling the last of the bonded souls into the abyss they now all shared.

The mana that flowed between the four souls shuddered and shifted subtly, expanding around them for a moment before it drew back. Almost as if breathing. Moric could feel his own magic resonate with the rhythm, drawing him in — inviting him to join.

To take their offer of life.

And he took it.

Table of Contents

- Table Of Contents -

Sacrifice - Chapter 1: The Truest Form of Freedom

Sacrifice - Chapter 2: Adrift in the Void
Sacrifice - Chapter 3: A Memorable Return
Sacrifice - Chapter 4: All the Wrong Choices
Sacrifice - Chapter 5: Scattered Pieces

Interlude - Guides 1: A Village on the Edge of Peril

Lore - Legends 1: The Gods and the Dark Age
Sacrifice - Chapter 6: Intrepid Adventures
Sacrifice - Chapter 7: Winging It
Sacrifice - Chapter 8: Friend or Foe?
Sacrifice - Chapter 9: Encounter

Sacrifice - Chapter 10: Destination and Discovery

Sacrifice - Chapter 11: A Matter of [Status]
Sacrifice - Chapter 12: Reflection
Sacrifice - Chapter 13: Insight

Sacrifice - Chapter 14: Questionable Decisions

Sacrifice - Chapter 15: Disillusions and Decisions

Sacrifice - Chapter 16: Sticks and Stones
Sacrifice - Chapter 17: A Treacherous Road
Sacrifice - Chapter 18: Underway
Sacrifice - Chapter 19: Actualisation
Sacrifice - Chapter 20: Aura
Sacrifice - Chapter 21: Roadside Revelations
Sacrifice - Chapter 22: Rimose
Sacrifice - Chapter 23: Fruitful Conversation
Sacrifice - Chapter 24: Prelude to Conflict

Sacrifice - Chapter 25: Fight for What Is Right

Sacrifice - Chapter 26: Blessed Truth
Sacrifice - Chapter 27: Onwards, to Ebenlowe
Sacrifice - Chapter 28: Into The City

Sacrifice - Chapter 29: Meeting of Consequence

Sacrifice - Chapter 30: Epiphany
Interlude - Maria 1: A Dream Come True
Advent - Chapter 31: Foretold
Advent - Chapter 32: A Little Bit of Faith
Advent - Chapter 33: Of Lies and Prophecies
Advent - Chapter 34: Dreadful Affliction
Advent - Chapter 35: Miracle Worker
Advent - Chapter 36: Pieces of Truth
Advent - Chapter 37: Proper Introductions
Advent - Chapter 38: Framework
Advent - Chapter 39: Mistakes
Advent - Chapter 40: Fragile Reality
Advent - Chapter 41: Burning Anger
Advent - Chapter 42: Harsh Lessons
Advent - Chapter 43: Divine Punishment
Advent - Chapter 44: Atelophobia
Advent - Chapter 45: House Call
Advent - Chapter 46: The Dungeon's Entrance
Advent - Chapter 47: Beginning the Delve
Advent - Chapter 48: New Layer, New Discovery
Advent - Chapter 49: Delving Deep
Advent - Chapter 50: A Chance Meeting
Advent - Chapter 51: The Second Soul

Advent - Chapter 52: The Village in the Dungeon

Advent - Chapter 53: Continuing the Journey
Advent - Chapter 54: The Core
Advent - Chapter 55: Principle of Creation
Crusade - Chapter 56: Decisions Overseen
Crusade - Chapter 57: Law of The First
Crusade - Chapter 58: Over the Moon
Crusade - Chapter 59: A Most Peculiar Journey
Crusade - Chapter 60: One Small Step
Crusade - Chapter 61: Judgement Day
Crusade - Chapter 62: Unhinged
Crusade - Chapter 63: Down the Rabbit Hole
Crusade - Chapter 64: Forced Ascension
Crusade - Chapter 65: Souls and Solutions
Crusade - Chapter 66: Family Talk
Crusade - Chapter 67: Piercing Truth
Crusade - Chapter 68: The Formless
Crusade - Chapter 69: Regret
Crusade - Chapter 70: Forging Bonds
Crusade - Chapter 71: Off On A Visit

Crusade - Chapter 72: An Overdue Visit (and Art)

Crusade - Chapter 73: Broken Magic
Crusade - Chapter 74: Cruel Reminder
Crusade - Chapter 75: A Test of Patience
Crusade - Chapter 76: An Anomaly
Crusade - Chapter 77: Fragility
Crusade - Chapter 78: Unpleasant Choices
Crusade - Chapter 79: An Overdue Talk
Crusade - Chapter 80: Seeds of Hope
Crusade - Chapter 81: A Step into the Open
Crusade - Chapter 82: A Decision Made
Crusade - Chapter 83: Best Served Cold
Crusade - Chapter 84: Turning Point
Crusade - Chapter 85: Heart of Creation

Crusade - Chapter 86: Home Is Where the Heart Is

Crusade - Chapter 87: A Moment of Clarity
Crusade - Chapter 88: Life Returns
Crusade - Chapter 89: Upsetting the Balance
Crusade - Chapter 90: A View Inside
Crusade - Chapter 91: Unforeseen Progress
Crusade - Chapter 92: Past Dues
Crusade - Chapter 93: Audience
Crusade - Chapter 94: Memory’s Clutch
Crusade - Chapter 95: Opening Up
Crusade - Chapter 96: Unseen Ties
Crusade - Chapter 97: Overture
Crusade - Chapter 98: An Agreeable Agreement
Crusade - Chapter 99: Speaking Truth
Revelations - Chapter 100: Growing Trust
Revelations - Chapter 101: Mortal Foundations
Revelations - Chapter 102: First Impressions
Revelations - Chapter 103: Social Climate

Revelations - Chapter 104: Holding All the Cards

Revelations - Chapter 105: Evocation
Revelations - Chapter 106: Memento Mori
Revelations - Chapter 107: Out of Bounds
Revelations - Chapter 108: Embrace
Revelations - Chapter 109: A Class Act
Revelations - Chapter 110: Puzzling Progress

Revelations - Chapter 111: Focused Distraction

Revelations - Chapter 112: Matters of the Heart

Revelations - Chapter 113: To Foderys

Revelations - Chapter 114: Cake and Conversation

Revelations - Chapter 115: Beyond Her Ken
Revelations - Chapter 116: The Black Pearl
Revelations - Chapter 117: Finders, Keepers

Revelations - Chapter 118: Reading into Things

Revelations - Chapter 119: Reunion
Revelations - Chapter 120: Shades of Memory
Revelations - Chapter 121: Moria's Memory
Revelations - Chapter 122: A New Directive

Side Story - Neria 1: Ancestral Call (And a New Cover!)

Side Story – Neria 2: Induction
Side Story - Neria 3: Newfound Strength
Side Story - Neria 4: The Fight At Hand
Revelations - Chapter 123: Sua Sponte
Revelations - Chapter 124: Pro Hac Vice
Side Story - Moric 1: Woes of the Dead