Chapter 127: Lore Bombs Galore
"You...You have to be reading that wrong."
Dakota was just as concerned as anyone else at the table.
Everyone knew what was inside Eir’Vale’s book would be world-shattering. But they never thought that things would be this bad.
If even the air was infected, along with the food they ate and the water they drank... then how were they supposed to plan for a fight if they were going against an enemy who could rob them of their strength whenever it was convenient?
Jiaoying had a grave expression as she sat at the table with her hands folded in front of her face. Her tone was strangely hard and even.
"Keep reading, love. We need to hear the rest."
Yari honestly wasn’t sure if she even wanted to read anymore after everything she had heard so far. The only thing that kept her going was the knowledge that the book might contain so information about her sister.
"My children, if you want to go forward, you will have to abandon the use of this world’s powers. Only through reaching the pinnacle of Will, will you be able to save your realm and those connected to it." She recited.
Everett made no attempt to hide his disbelief. "So they want us to do what exactly? Break our cores?? The guy is ntal!"
"If the power we’re carrying around right now is sothing that can be taken away from us at any ti, then abandoning it before it cos to that is absolutely sothing we need to consider." Solomon spoke firmly and without any visible sign of panic. Sothing not everyone at the table seed to share.
Other than Jiaoying, of course.
Solomon’s eyes t Yari’s. They were warm and unwavering. "Please, continue."
Yari swallowed before she kept reading, her nervousness seeping through her speech with nearly every word.
In his letters, Eir’Vael broke down the stages of Will, as well as the rules that governed the mystical power.
Will cannot be borrowed or stolen. It must co from within oneself.
Lies weaken it. Self-deception poisons will like oil onto a patch of grass.
Oaths empower it. Sworn vows, strict codes, and firm mindsets turn thought into imnse strength.
In the face of fear, Will does not lose it’s power. Will only falters if the user accepts surrender or acknowledges an inevitable defeat.
But the most important bit was the last.
Contradiction causes one to fracture.
"And fracturing is what exactly..?" Nila tilted her head.
"Ummm..." Yari began flipping through the pages until she found the answer. "Ah, here... Fracture is what happens when soone is divided, dishonest, or wrestles with an internal conflict. It’s what happens if you fail at trying to advance any of the Four Stages of True Will: Clarity, Conviction, Sacrifice, and Embodint."
Suddenly, Yari’s eyes went wide, and she nearly dropped her book. Jiaoying and Solomon were instantly concerned.
"Yari..?"
"Darling, what’s the matter..?"
Yari swallowed. "T-The fractured... It says that they don’t just lose their mories, but their grip on the mortal plane as well... they mutate, and they beco... Greater Beings."
The revelation hit the group like a hamr. But Yari kept going.
Apparently, there was so sort of plane of existence between Kon and the other four realms. Greater beings dwell there, but Eir’Vael had next to no information on what the place was actually like. Redeer didn’t seem to be able to access it either.
Eir’Vael only knew that Greater Beings falling into Kon was sothing that could only happen by total accident. They weren’t ant to be down here.
Upon falling, they seed to lose even more of their mories. They could only act on their soul’s inner impulses, and to make matters worse, their very existence begins to break down as soon as they fall.
They survive by acquiring a connection to a stable source of mana, and as such, they are drawn to mages and impose bargains on them. Once the two enter a symbiotic relationship, their power, natural talent, and energies are rged together and then amplified.
"But what happens when the terms are fulfilled, and they are let go??" Jiaoying questioned.
To her credit, Yari searched for the answer, but she didn’t find anything at all. However, she did co across sothing that made her drop the book.
Her voice ca out as a ghastly whisper. Tears spilled from her eyes and dotted the ancient pages.
"It’s... It’s true." Slowly, she looked up and t Nila with a disbelieving gaze. "It says... your mother is hiding in Belistra with the Queen of Fae."
"W-What?! Why would she be there?!"
"They... are waiting for the four of you. Eir’Vael has asked them to teach you how to use Will."
This was the quietest that the table had been for the past hour.
Nila was a statue. Yari was fairly certain that she had stopped breathing.
That only changed when Solomon abruptly stood up and placed his hand on the table.
"Everyone sober up, get dressed, and grab what you need for a trip. We leave in one hour."
Nila and Dakota bolted from their seats as soon as Solomon pushed his chair back in.
Yari was not far behind them and ran upstairs so quickly that she nearly bumped into the doorfra. And Ryth.
Everett was slow to get up. He rubbed his stomach anxiously as he looked around.
"Solomon, look, I... I don’t think I’m-"
"You don’t have to be ready. Just trust us enough to let us help you take the next steps. You deserve to have your questions answered. Better we be there with you when it happens."
"...No chance you’re going to let
stay here and do the cowardly thing?" He asked with a nervous smile.
Solomon smiled at him and placed his fist against his chest. "You’re fine to remain a coward if you wish, but... Are you really comfortable with knowing Nila was able to beat you at sothing?"
Everett’s expression briefly hardened.
His wings twitched as he rembered the very infuriating and condescending way Nila behaved when she was better at sothing than another person.
He couldn’t let her have this. Her singing would literally be the death of him.
"...Fuck it, I’m in."
Solomon thought he was handling this whole extra siblings thing pretty well so far.
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