Whenever I use mory Drain on soone, I place my hands on their heads to connect my nerves to theirs. When I did the sa for Jared, I felt a strange sensation that made realize sothing was off.
Quickly, in reflex, I removed my hands from his head. But, before my actions could be completed, my mind got absorbed into this strange mindscape.
In Blank Canvas, my body's reflex action continued, even without my mind, so within so ti my hands would inevitably be removed from Jared's head. Once that happens, my mind would return to my body.
The problem is that with mory Drain, everything seems to happen within a mont in the physical world, however, a lot of information is processed within the mindscape. This ans that a lot of ti passes the mindscape before even a fraction of a mont goes by in the physical plane.
My hands almost parted with Jared's head before my mind got trapped here, still, I spent so long talking with The Artificial god. However, ti is finally up. My hands have beco disconnected from Jared's head, so my mind is returning to my body.
"I would have loved to further this conversation, but it seems my body is calling for ," I said to the Artificial god.
"...."
"What? No last words of farewell?" I asked.
"...."
It's silent, I wonder why... Is it sulking? Oh well, there's no point in thinking about that now.
"WILL I SEE YOU AGAIN?"
As I heard its loud, void-filling voice, I couldn't help but form a smile. Our ti together was short, but no doubt we have both gotten sothing mutual from this encounter...
"Definitely!"
.... A longing for another eting!
Light filled my line of sight and blinded . I closed my eyes as a result of the blank shimr. A strange sensation perated through as I felt myself attaching to sothing, most likely my body. The feeling lasted for a mont, yet seed like such a long ti at the sa ti, the description of such a sensation is not sothing capable of being expressed by words.
I finally opened my eyes in my physical body and found myself in the already crumbling space of Blank Canvas. I smiled, realizing I had escaped the mysterious mindscape my mind was trapped in.
"Regrettably, I didn't get to finish my conversation with it, but it's not a total loss… Definitely worth it" I muttered.
Using what I have learned from that god, I'll need to revise my plans. After our encounter, it has beco painfully obvious that I seriously need to beco even more powerful. A re fake god had such a hold over , how low I have fallen… But not for long.
"Eeek…"
I heard a squeak from in front of . I already know who it's from.
I stared at Jared who was the cause of the frightened sound. His eyes looked at in fright as mucus proceeded from his house and his mouth quivered in fear.
"Looks like you're awake now" I smiled.
"…Y-You…W-Wha…." He stuttered, but couldn't let out an intelligible sentence.
My mory Drain didn't affect him and instead turned against , so this can't be due to its effects. It must just be the trauma he got from our earlier fight. What a weak will this child possesses. He'll be useless to , completely unusable. I can't say the sa about the god sealed within him though.
Needless to say, I can't make my move against him now… For several reasons of course.
"So, Book Keeper Jared, do we pass the exam?" I asked.
Looking at him with a piercing gaze and a sly smile, I raised a brow at him in query. Surely, he still rembers our deal… Does he not?
"W-Wha…?!" He muttered.
Ah, what a moron. Is he brain dead?
I used one of my hands to drag him by his shirt and draw him closer to my face while giving him a threatening glare. My nice guy act can only last so long.
"Hey, I'm talking about the bet we made before the test… We won, didn't we? Or do you want us to have a rematch?!" I asked nacingly.
His body trembled as I ntioned this and his eyes widened.
"Ahhhhh, No. No. No!!!! Please No." He scread instinctively.
"No? No as in we didn't win?" I asked with a tease.
"N-No… I an Yes… No, I an… Ah!!! You win! You win!!! Y-You…" He let out desperately, his eyes roll v back and forth as sweat covered his entire face.
Ah, this boy is funny. Obviously, I know what he ant, but toying with him like this relieves of tension a little. But this could be a problem… His mind is clearly unstable and his psyche has been badly affected. I can't use Hex directly on him due to his status as a 'Vessel'. There's no guarantee it will work, and even if it does, it might co at a risk to . After all that has happened, I can't take that chance. Plus…
A sharp pain suddenly coursed through my body, causing to throb in reaction to it. My hand let go of Jared's cloth as my body went through the foreign sensation.
"T-This is…" I groaned, holding my head with one of my hands.
The pain is most concentrated within my head, but the other mbers of my body felt a fair share of it. For the first ti since reviving… I can feel it, the thing every living being tries their best to avoid… Pain!
"Gah, so this is pain?! It's quite undesirable!" I said, trying to pull myself together.
It looks like I have reached my limits as well.
The power which held the crumbling space together, my HEX Authority began to dissipate as the world slowly began to tear apart.
The throbbing pain in slowly began to recede, before it pounded again, then lessened, then increased. This tortuous feeling is unpleasant, but I have to put up with it... The backlash of overexerting myself.
"Ah, have I ever felt anything like this before?" I questioned.
Because I faced far weaker beings, it seems for a mont I forgot how delicate this body is. While it's true that the concepts of this world do not apply to , I am bound by none of them, the sa is also true that I am bound by a different concept. This concept is my body's limit.
I am not omnipotent! After releasing a certain amount of power and pushing this body beyond a certain point I feel the backlash. This is the first ti it has happened, so I suppose it's like a reminder for .
"As I thought, it's still too early for to use my Divine Grade Treasures carelessly..." I muttered.
The cause for the backlash this ti is my prolonged use of my 'Cleaver Of Chaos'. I can use HEX infinitely, as long as I have Aspects and Essence available to . The only reason I am restricted in its use is due to the watchful eye of the gods and Primordials. However, as I displayed in this world, I can use HEX in any way I please in a world not dominated by those prudes.
But, when it cos to my Treasures, it's a different ball ga altogether. There's no problem in wielding Sacred Grade Treasures with my current build. Using Divine Grade or higher though, those are risky. From the looks of it, my body can only manage up to two swings of my Ax, any more and the pain would be even more severe than what I'm experiencing.
"I still have a long way to go. I'm sure even touching a Primordial Grade in my current level would kill ..." My thoughts went.
I pulled myself together and glared at Jared, who seems shocked by my reaction to my internal pain. What a shaful side of myself I have shown him, but it can't be helped. I can't turn off the pain receptors when it cos to overworking myself.
"Heh, what are you looking at?" I asked him.
He froze as I said this and stiffly shook his head, indicating that he wasn't staring.
"Good. It looks like this world is done for already. Cancel your Blank Canvas. I don't want to be in a world when it collapses, especially In my state.
" O-Okay!!!" He exclaid.
He raised one of his trembling hands and released his clenched fist. Quickly snapping his fingers, he closed his eyes tightly, bracing himself for whatever ca next.
What a drama queen, overreacting just for this.
Imdiately he snapped, the Blank Canvas shattered, and within a mont we appeared at the vast, nearly empty room. Except for the old books and parchnts placed on their shelves, nothing else appears to be present here. It looks just as we left it.
"ROOT"
"Release Talia, Shamac, and Ana" I commanded.
Imdiately, purple light shone, making a rift beside . They ca out of the gate caused by ROOT and appeared in the room.
"Ah, what happened?" They said with surprise, looking around them.
Keuk... This pain keeps intensifying... I need to leave now.
"Jared. I trust you'll give the Guild the 'correct' feedback of our fight..." I said to him.
He looked scared and nodded vehently.
Good, now that that has been taken care of... I need to rest.
"Talia, Shamac, Ana... Take to the hotel, now!" I muttered, feeling dizzy as I walked, controlling myself.
"O-Okay, but..." Talia let out.
"NOW!" I ordered.
She quickly pulled herself together after being jolted by my loud and oppressive voice. I don't have ti for her usual hesitation. In fact, I don't have ti at all.
Ana took the initiative and rushed to open the door for . Good girl.
Shamac quickly slid his head under my shoulder and supported my wobbly body. He noticed, eh? As much as it annoys that I have to receive support like this, he made the right call. Good job, Shamac.
My vision has gotten blurry and my eardrums keep pounding due to the loud noise in my head and the unbearable pain perating through my entire body.
As we stepped out, the last thing I heard was Jared's voice. His voice wasn't shaky, and he didn't appear scared when he spoke, though I couldn't see him clearly.
"You there... Lauria, am I correct? Aren't you an Apostle?"
Before I could make sense of those words, I passed out.
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