“Agh…”
My eyelids felt heavy.
Despite my superhuman constitution, I was now feeling worse than I did back in Pine Harbor, after that night at the bar.
‘What… I’m… wait, the ritual!..”
With mories rushing back to my head, I forced myself to open my eyes.
I was still sitting in the sa chair as before. I tried to stand up, using my arms for support…
‘Wait, they feel a lot better.’
For a mont, I was expecting sharp pain, a consequence of my montary mory lapse, yet, to my surprise, the pain was sowhat dull.
‘It.. is healing quite fast.’
I knew my natural regeneration was higher than that of regular people, yet, even Joshua, who also possessed 2nd realm Endurance, required multiple days to reach this stage of recovery – not..
‘Wait, how much ti has passed?’
Due to the crystal, illuminating this room with soft, yellow light, I didn’t imdiately notice it, but, through the high windows, a very similar soft glow entered the room – those were the rays of dawn.
‘I was here the whole night?’
My rate of recovery was still strange, yet I decided to focus on my surroundings for now.
Scanning the room, I found the High Priest – he was sitting - or rather, laying - on a nearby sofa, to which I previously paid no mind, with his head thrown back, and his arms spread in a quite undignified manner.
Had it not been for my senses, detecting his faint, stable breaths, the sight would be very worrying.
I was about to wake him up, but first…
‘This feels… strange.’
I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but sothing didn’t feel right. Well, no, perhaps that wasn’t even about right or wrong. Sothing just felt… different.
‘This can’t be related to what I saw, right?’
I couldn’t shake the subtle sense of dread, looking back at what I saw inside my ‘soul space’, as I dubbed it, but, for so reason I didn’t think this had anything to do with it. Well, I couldn’t be certain, but I very much hoped it was the case.
‘Well, since it’s early morning…’
It was ti for my usual routine.
【Na】Sebastian (Ǎ̸ͅḷ̷̆ê̴͕̳x̷͎̪̎ ̵̭͗͐S̸̞̒̉m̴̝̙̈͠i̶̟͖͐t̷͔̣͗̌h̷̝͘͝)
【Path】Spellblade (1)
As usual, I began ‘scrolling’ through the panel.
The first surprise awaited early on.
—
【Attributes】:
Strength: 16
Agility: 15
Endurance: 15
Intelligence: 16
Awareness: 19
Charisma: 10
—
‘Heh? 10 Charisma?’
Is this related to so new Trait?
‘Well, it’s not like I’ll need to wait for long to figure it out.’
My Skills hadn’t changed since yesterday, unsurprisingly. If anything, checking them mid-day was the unusual move on my part. Usually, I’d take a glance as I woke up… Just like now.
‘No new Abilities, of course. And… no new Traits?’
I guess it really did increase by itself. I could only wonder how that would work – it’s not like I suddenly read ‘How To Make Friends And Increase Your Charisma’ yesterday.
‘Well, whatever.’
Perhaps it increased over ti or sothing.
—
[He Who Gazed Into The Abyss]
Awareness 8.
Any abilities and effects targeting the soul below a certain threshold are nullified.
Double resistance against any abilities and effects targeting the soul.
Any abilities and effects targeting the soul, which were nullified or resisted, shall activate [Glimrs Of The Abyss] on their source.
—
My eyes were locked on the last Trait on the ‘list’.
It wasn’t just the new mories it evoked that made pause. No… after a few seconds, I realized I really didn’t want to scroll to the last ‘section’.
‘Stop dawdling.’
I..
‘Wait, this wasn’t my thought!’
‘No, it was not. Now, stop wasting ti and continue.’
Haa…
I could only imagine how annoying things would get from here on out. Still, at Sebastian’s words - inaudible as they were - I decided it was ti to face whatever the last section brought , especially if my source of discomfort originated from there.
[Greater Geas] - W̸h̴a̴t̸ ̴a̵r̷e̶ ̵y̷o̴u̴ ̶l̵o̸o̸k̶i̵n̷g̸ ̴a̷t̸?̶
‘Huh?’
I scrolled back up, and down again.
[Greater Geas] - T̴h̵i̷s̸ ̶i̸s̷ ̵s̸t̶u̸p̷i̴d̴.̵ ̵M̶o̶v̵e̶ ̵o̵n̷.̶
‘...’
Trying to keep the sudden surge of irritation under control, my mind’s eye moved to the next, dreaded line.
[Soul Contamination] - Your soul shall be corroded in 1009 days
‘This.. wait, it wasn’t 1010 yesterday…’
‘No. It was 1014.’
“...fuck.”
I could feel the sense of dread slowly rising. Turns out, that incursion into my ‘soul space’ did, in fact, cost 4 days.
The feeling of dread only intensified, but not because of that – 4 days were an acceptable price for the clues I found, even if the concept of ‘losing’ days, itself, was deeply unsettling.
The thing that caused my stomach to churn was the 3rd line – one which wasn’t there before.
[Seed Of The Blaze] - ???
The ‘effect’ was impossible to make out. I knew sothing was there, but trying to perceive it was akin to looking directly at the sun – I had no choice but to avert my gaze.
‘What.. is this?’
The feeling it evoked wasn’t the cold, subtle terror of the other terminal condition.
No, it was more like standing beside an open furnace, feeling the scorching heat on my skin, knowing that a single wrong move would send tumbling down its fiery maw.
‘I don’t know what this is. But perhaps there’s soone here who does.’
I didn’t need Sebastian’s nagging to co to the simple conclusion – after all, between the ti before and after I got my 3rd soul STD, only one man remained beside .
“I know you’re awake.”
I could feel the subtle shifts in his breathing, back when that curse subconsciously escaped my lips.
“Haa… You shouldn’t hasten an old man’s rest. Perhaps, if you live to see your third century, you’ll understand how precious those extra monts are.”
Despite his words, the priest straightened his posture, albeit still sitting on the sofa, before his eyes t mine.
“I’m glad you survived.”
“I’ve survived it until now. I’ll survive until I can remove those things, too.”
I didn’t miss the faintest shadow that flickered through his eyes at my last words.
“Did.. sothing happen after the ritual?”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
“You fell asleep, and so did I – as you can see.”
Well, that much was obvious.
“And after.. or, rather, before I fell asleep?”
The priest’s face retained the sa soft, benevolent smile, and even his eyes did not betray further emotions. Yet, his silence spoke volus.
After all, I knew Sun Priests detested lying directly – however, deception by omission was easier to bear.
“What is the [Seed Of The Blaze]?”
This ti, he couldn’t fully conceal the surprise, expressed via the tiniest twitch of his eyebrows, that even I could barely catch.
After a few seconds, he chuckled with resignation.
“You know, even after yesterday, I still didn’t believe you could ‘instinctively feel’ the conditions affecting your soul. To have my own lack of faith turned against , after all those years… as a Priest, I feel ashad.”
“...”
I didn’t care for his musings. What I did care about was the constant, subtle feeling of danger, idling in my chest, refusing to fully recede.
I still couldn’t be angry at the old man, not after all he has done for , but I wasn’t going to act like nothing happened, either.
To my relief - if that word could be applicable here - the Transcendent Sun Priest (based on his age, ‘high priest’ was just an official title) decided to answer my query.
“The Lady, in her boundless grace, decided to bestow upon you her rcy. The greatest one she could.”
“What.. rcy?”
Even if his words were soft, and his tone was reassuring, their effect was the opposite.
The dread now felt was almost as great as the one I felt in my ‘soul space’, albeit of different nature.
“Do not make such a face. I have neither will nor obligation to deceive you – in your position, this was truly the greatest gift she could bestow.”
“A… gift?..”
A short, nervous laughter escaped my lips.
“A gift.”
“Then why does this gift feel like it would burn alive at any mont?”
Under my gaze, the priest's expression remained unchanged, yet his voice grew more solemn, and more resolute.
“Do you rember.. what you have done for Alia, the young priestess?”
“Is this?..”
For a mont, I almost thought this was so kind of convoluted plot, aid to pay back for being unable to save her.
Yet, a mont later, I realized how stupid that thought was.
Besides, according to the Sun Priest, I did do sothing for her in the end.
“Her soul?”
“Yes. You prevented it from falling into the clutches of The One Who Deceived Death, saving her from a fate far more terrifying than the end of one’s path amongst the living.”
“Then… this ‘seed’...”
“Shall your soul grow close to being fully consud, The Lady shall insure it won't fall into the clutches of Chaos.”
“...”
This ant…
‘She doesn't believe it can be cured. Or, perhaps, she doesn't want to pay the price required to do so.’
“Did you just put a divine bomb into my soul?”
“...do not equate Her gift to such crude contraptions.”
“This isn't the point!..”
I couldn't help but let so panic slip through my words.
‘What the hell?!’
Not only did this not bring closer to a cure, but it actually shortened my already-limited lifespan!
‘When my soul is “close” to being consud? What the fuck even is “close”?!’
Was it a day? A month? A year?!..
“Sebastian.”
I took a deep breath, turning my gaze back to the Transcendent Priest.
“I know your thoughts are uneasy at this mont.”
I almost let a nervous laugh escape my lips. ‘Uneasy’ was a very mild way to put it.
“But you should not discount the Lady’s rcy.”
His expression, his voice – everything remained as it was…
“Under normal circumstances, if I were to co upon soone in your position – unfair as it may be, what do you think my duty would demand?”
And yet, at this mont, I suddenly felt not much different than when I stood in front of the MIS chief yesterday.
“...I understand.”
Yeah, I was pissed. Despite my gains, my stay in the temple ended up being bittersweet.
Yet, it could also be much worse.
“I think it’s ti for to take my leave.”
“It would be for the best.”
Although none of us said it directly, we both knew this wasn’t about leaving the room.
“Still… Next week, I will visit the Sun Temple one more ti.”
For a mont, the high priest’s eyes paused in consideration.
“Very well. After what you did for her, you deserve that much.”
This was more than enough for . In truth, despite the bitter aftertaste, I couldn’t deny the Temple did provide with much-needed protection and cheap (free) lodgings, at least.
“Thank you, Your Eminence."
“May She guide your path, child. Wherever it might take you.”
It was ti to leave my temporary safe haven for good.
***
‘Where are you going now?’
The desolate streets looked only marginally better than yesterday. So ‘street cleaning division’, perhaps even reinforced by the city watch, seed to have completed the initial cleaning sweep while I was out.
Still, the traces of ash, or charred plant matter, could be found here and there, often in the street corners, or swept into an alley. Beside them, and the occasional scorch marks - so left by fire, others by acid - my senses could easily discern the traces of dry blood, hiding in the nooks and crannies, as if subtly peeking out to greet the soft morning rays.
The sirens and screams were replaced with an oppressive shroud of near-silence, pierced only by occasional hushed whispers and chatter from the rare citizens who walked those streets, or the thuds of heavy leather (and occasionally, tal) boots, belonging to the guard patrols, which obviously beca far more frequent than before.
I was even stopped twice by now, and I hadn’t even reached Ordolion’s Plaza - the one housing the MIS HQ - yet.
‘Were you always this talkative?’
‘Just because you refused to listen, doesn’t an I never spoke.’
‘...’
Alright, that was a fair point. After all, there were countless tis I strived to filter out ‘intrusive thoughts’, even if not all such attempts were successful.
‘Shouldn’t you know, though? I thought you could read my mind.’
‘...’
This ti, it was Sebastian’s turn to go silent.
‘Ah… I should’ve known. It’s just my direct thoughts, and probably mories, right?’
‘...’
‘Probably strong emotions, too.’
That would make sense if I assud he had the sa access to my mind as I did Sebastian’s.
Most of the ti, when ‘reliving’ his mories, I wouldn’t usually feel his emotions, nor would I ‘hear’ his old thoughts. The only exceptions to that were monts where those emotions were heightened to the extre, like my first full-fledged flashback.
‘How observant.’
The ‘voice’ was filled with annoyance rather than any form of praise.
‘It doesn’t change anything. Whether I can read your thoughts or not, you will complete your mission.’
It would seem he was still cranky about last night.
‘Yeah, yeah. Ain’t that years into the future, though? I an, even if I did get strong enough to survive a trip to Luskar… By the ti I did, I probably wouldn’t have much ti left?
‘...’
‘Stop focusing on that right now. If I can’t get rid of this.. those Soul Conditions in ti, neither of us is going to get what they want.’
‘...’
For another minute, we walked in silence. I could distinctly feel the weight of my backpack, pressing down my shoulders, yet, thankfully, my arms have healed to the extent that it wouldn’t worsen my injuries. At least, I hoped it wouldn’t.
Finally, after passing yet another charred patch of cobblestone, I sighed.
‘Look, I’m sorry. I got… carried away yesterday.’
‘...’
‘I an, just because other people had it rough, doesn’t make the things you went through any better.’
‘...’
Another few minutes of silent walking followed.
‘I don’t need you to be sorry. I need you to do your job.’
‘Fine, fine.’
Despite what he said, I could feel the tone was a tiny bit different. Less cranky, at the very least.
‘Anyway, I still have to get Storm, rember?’
Blatantly, I caught myself using his shorthand na again. At this rate, ‘Cloud’ was gonna beco his family na or sothing.
‘Of course. You know this wasn’t what I ant.’
I couldn’t help but exhale so air in a tired sigh.
‘I know…’
‘Is it really that important for you to stay here? It’s not like visiting that funeral would bring he-’
‘Careful. Don’t push it.’
‘...’
My mood had started to sour once again, as we continued down the street. Still, I decided to summarize my thoughts.
‘It’s not like that’s the only thing I can gain in this city. Anne’s training is important – especially now, that I probably won’t be able to train my swordsmanship.’
‘It’s dangerous. The more often you visit her estate- no, the longer you stay in the city, the more attention you will attract. If you garner the wrong kind of attention, the Crimson Shadows won’t even be the biggest threat.’
‘I know.’
It wasn’t like I forgot about the resentful nobles, minor as they were. If anything, those types of people were most likely to act out of pettiness, even if such actions would be reckless or self-destructive.
‘Still, I didn’t co this far by avoiding risks.’
Whatever ploy they were planning, I would rather face it than give up my current advantages in the city, even if the funeral wasn’t an issue.
‘You need to find a place to stay.’
‘Yes. And it must still be in Northern.’
Even if the heightened state of security lasted a few more days, I had serious doubts it’d be enough to detract the Shadows, especially that crazy Claw Druid, or any similar maniacs.
‘And it must be close enough to so major hub, like the Ministry HQ or the purification facility.’
If there was anything the Shadows feared, aside from overwhelming numbers or heavy fortifications, that would be close proximity to one - or more - of the city’s powerhouses. Soone strong enough to take them out alone, and likely with the ans to catch them if they tried to escape.
Unfortunately, perhaps in part due to those very buildings being located there, there wasn’t an inn anywhere near the central part of Northern. I’ve already consulted the map.
‘Still, there is one more place.’
In fact, it was a place I’ve visited more often than any other in this city.
‘The Adventurer’s Guild offers no lodging.’
‘No. But, presumably, there’s a tavern not too far that does.’
Well, three kiloters away from the Guild was plenty of distance, but, according to the map, the only inns I’ve found were either close to the outer gates, or at the very corners of the district. This was still the better option.
‘Besides, I heard they wanted to see . It’s high ti I paid them a visit.’
Ornor ca looking for two days ago. It was ti to find out why.
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