“Close,” Hunter said to Grave as they moved across the endless reflective glass towards the closer of the two bonds he still felt. The thing had become slightly more defined after remembering its name, gaining a neck and general head shape as well as more defined limbs, though it was still broken. Still healing.
Grave occasionally brought out the spirit they’d rescued to ‘soothe’ during the journey, able to do so while moving thanks to how this place worked. It had been doing this more and more as they got closer and Hunter couldn’t shake the feeling it was preparing the spirit for something. If Grave had given him any reason to mistrust it he would have asked, but by now Hunter had realized that directly addressing when Grave was half-remembering something would make the thing forget most of the time. Better to let it do… whatever it was it was doing and watch closely when the moment came.
More and more translucent creatures were populating this space. One briefly flicked into existence as it got close enough but it soon fled before Hunter could get a good look at it. It seemed he was stronger than most things here because he had ‘six’. The kind of thing that had tried to eat the spirit could be on par with him, or stronger, but as he’d proven to the wolves he was above anything tied to a monster on the other side.
At least it broke up the monotony whenever something did try to attack him. Once he rejoined Daniel, he’d make sure nothing like them would bother his friend. To a point. A faint bit of amusement colored Hunter as he thought, Daniel does need to get stronger. Shouldn’t make things too easy for him.
…
Three weeks after he’d arrived in Aurus, he had working pairs of wings and boots for the entire team. It seemed odd how fast the time had passed since he’d almost entirely spent it either working on his enchanting or sitting around in cat form waiting for his body to heal. On the latter note, he could feel his legs again and the wound in his back was healed. All that was left was for the nerves to fully regenerate, and then his healing speed would go back to normal.
The sole exceptions were very brief visits to the Craftsmen facility to farm formulae and a rare few times he’d looked into how Thomas was doing as a break from hitting his head against a wall. He’d had to do that a few times while trying to make Khiat’s wings. He’d even seen Sigron briefly. Someone who didn’t know better had commented it was the worst combined case of infection, amputation, and corrosion they’d seen but that he was on his way to making a full recovery.
As for the others, he hadn’t seen Murdon or Silora since the Regent had gone over the plan for the ruins. For one heart-stopping moment he’d even remembered that Claire had originally gone to this region, but something had happened with her and she wasn’t in town. Thank god.
All in all, despite having friendship as an archetype, he made little strides in meeting anyone new. Padri was the exception, though he was less talkative and only came by on boot business. Whatever he was trying to do would take a while and was intense enough that he had followed through on breaking ties with the Hunter’s Guild.
Willow and Thomas had been far more sociable, and Daniel would bet she knew the name of everyone in their neighborhood. Khare had a few more covert meetings when they thought no one was watching which left Daniel in a bit of an awkward position. Since none of the gestalt Khare met were leveled and he was trying his best to improve their bond, he felt broaching that subject would come off as a betrayal of trust. Khare could have a private life and he’d wait for the opportunity to discuss the covert visitors to naturally come up.
That left Khiat. Well, her and Tlara, but Daniel didn’t think the possessed wyvern was worth mentioning as he thought back to his time here thus far. She’d done… fine, though he wondered if it was truly in the right way. He’d heard she’d gotten a lot of attention, sure, but he was worried it was as an oddity more than anything else. The reputation of Threst was more than just a rumor as evidenced by every glare he got when flying above crowds of unBlessed avianoids. It was more than jealousy in some of their looks, it was like he’d stolen something that was supposed to belong to them.
That didn’t matter. None of that mattered, because today Willow got her class. It was eerily similar to when he’d watched Khiat, though the audience was smaller. Cloak was lurking around and they’d talk if necessary. He was another figure Daniel had seen little of, only dropping in to confirm he hadn’t unlocked more memories before leaving without entertaining any questions. What the god was doing with all his time remained to be seen, but neither he nor Thomas had heard any rumors indicating people were onto Cloak’s presence.
They were on the balcony now, the landing platform that allowed flying individuals to take off without hopping the banister. This could have been done indoors, but Willow had wanted to be with her sister when it happened despite their history. Several others watched from the houses above and below them, people the avianoid had no doubt made friends with. Willow had a very welcoming personality, and if this was going to go the way both he and Cloak wanted it to, she’d have to avoid the friendship archetype.
He repeated the six that would match her and Spirit Guardian like a mantra, giving the Spoke inside him no doubt of his wishes in case that would change anything. Spirit, Astral, Protection, Life, Light, Avianoid. That last one was Cloak’s suggestion so nothing would be thrown off power-wise. He’d still made Willow a set of flying gear since Grow Wings didn’t allow free flying at level 1, but neither did he want to deprive her of her racial powers or invite what happened to Khiat to strike again. Cloak had also stressed that it was extremely unlikely they could repeat what they’d done to free Khiat during their initial chat on the subject.
“How does this work?” Willow asked Khiat, the only person whose advice she could seek out as she settled into a sitting position. Daniel hadn’t gone through this process, and the other two weren’t in a position to wax poetically.
“It’s like advancing, but you have to find things that connect with you,” the dusker replied after a moment’s pause. “They have to be connected with the attribute you’re advancing, too. Once you have six, you’re done.” There was a bit of pain in her voice for a moment and Daniel knew she was thinking about her former class.
Willow nodded in thanks and began to close her eyes before her head turned sharply. “They’re back?” She tracked something only she could see, thanks to her bond with Tlara. Her sister tried making sense of what was going on but Daniel could tell whatever effect this was only worked one way. “It’s him, and two others.”
“Hunter’s back? And two?”
“One’s the same as before, but brighter. More defined. The other is… it’s hard to describe. Different, but also not like what those wolves had.” She reached out into the air before closing the hand and sighing. “Still nothing. I can touch Tlara’s soul, but that’s it. Maybe my class will change things.”
“That could be why they’re here.” Daniel felt the anticipation in his chest. Cloak had told him Willow couldn’t gain anything from Spirit Guardian at level 1 to revive or even speak to Hunter, but that didn’t account for his Spoke’s influence. “You’re still good with doing this now?”
“I’ve made up my mind.” As Willow spoke, Daniel could see the similarities to her sister that were often overshadowed by how they were different. Willow was empathetic and outgoing, but she was also determined and self-assured. Casia had used this to manipulate her, but now that the truth was revealed Willow was directing that energy into truly making a better future. “If the Collapse is bringing this Astral realm back into the Octyrrum, we’ll need to understand it. It could be the key to everything I’ve been trying to do. You know, it’d occurred to me that if my father had never wanted me to replace him on the Council or as head of the family, it’d been a mistake not to allow me to level. I suppose he thought I’d have hit a wall anyway, or just wanted to make sure I could keep using my protective items. Now I see it was a blessing so that I could pursue my true calling.” Willow stood, reaching again to the air and the lights only she could see, across an ocean both vast and paper thin. “I will seek out those in need. I will build the bridge between our kind.”
Daniel started to get an uneasy feeling. She’s starting to sound like me when I took my oath bond. “Cloak, is this ok?” he whispered. No answer came in time.
“I am not enough to save the Octyrrum alone, but an idea? We only have to look at you to see the fruits of it.” She nodded at Daniel who was doing his best to keep his frantic attempts to reach the god quiet. “The Spiritualists, my mother, they had something that gave them power, but it had a cost. This, I won’t use this for myself. If I have to hurt others, I will. I know there are times you can’t avoid it, but if there is another way, I will find it.”
Daniel was beginning to consider interfering despite the lack of guidance. Is my Spoke doing something, or is she making a new bond? Neither option is bad on its own and bonds can break system rules, but if she ends up with a one-sided bond like me... “Cloak?” he whispered, and he finally picked out the god rushing from further up the neighborhood. He must have been camping out invisibly while keeping his distance.
“I will no longer be blind, to myself, to the world, or to those who need me the most. No matter who or what they are.”
…
On the other side of the divide, Hunter saw Grave nod happily. “Good, this is good. She is perfect. Right time and right place. Right person. I think she will take care of you well.”This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.
“Me?” Hunter asked, confused.
“Oh?” Patches of Grave’s form around where the eyes would be winked out rapidly as if it were blinking at him. “Oh, thank you. I almost forgot.” It brought out the captured spirit in one hand, the other shifting to form a fist over it. A very small amount of nebulous material making up Grave floated down and spread out to coat the spirit, surrounding but not intruding on it. Like Daniel, Hunter grew wary at this but didn’t interfere as Grave reached out with the spirit.
…
Willow gasped and collapsed to one knee, the tag on her vanishing. He hurriedly reapplied it.
<hr>
Willow (Avianoid, Spirit Master - 1)
<hr>
Cloak had read the same thing via her mana flow judging by his widening eyes. That the god recognized the class was mixed news. He mouthed ‘later’ to Daniel and vanished, leaving the Artificer to wonder if his Spoke had just screwed over someone else. It had to have done something since Willow had instantly gained her class.
Tlara nudged her sister with her nostrils as she continued to breathe heavily. They’d figured out Willow could pass along any damage she took to the monster Tlara was inhabiting after an incident with a bread knife, though only within a certain range. There’d been a question on whether this would work with things like poison or massive injury, but he had a suspicion something else had happened.
“Willow, can you share your attributes with me?” They appeared a moment later in the tag as she obliged him.
<hr>
Attributes:
? Strength: 7
? Dexterity: 8
? Endurance: 4
? Wisdom: 10
? Intelligence: 8
? Charisma: 9
<hr>
“Your endurance got halved,” he explained as Willow’s breath stabilized, though she didn’t immediately stand back up.
“But I didn’t… what did I do wrong? I haven’t started yet.”
“It’s better you figure it out for yourself.” He tried to screen the trepidation from his voice. What’s done was done, and they’d deal with the consequences.
“What do you mean?” A soft glow issued from the hand she’d kept close to her chest the entire time and Daniel just pointed. He had no idea what this was, other than a power. “Gods. My class?” She opened her hand to reveal a small ball of light that drifted in the air on its own. It melded back into her in the next moment. He watched her tag carefully just in case any effects popped up, but nothing happened.
“After what happened with Khiat, I don’t want to identify anything for you.” He put a hand on one of her shoulders as the dusker put the pieces together herself and exclaimed something in the background. “Take some time to figure it out. If you get stuck, ask me and I can identify your power, but don’t do it unless you need me to. “
“You got your class!” Khiat shouted again, alerting the neighborhood and anyone else in half a kilometer. “Why was it so fast?”
Daniel continued to pretend to be at ease. “The Collapse, maybe. The new classes could work slightly differently, but don’t be worried. I’m happy for you, Willow.”
…
“What the fuck happened?” Daniel asked later that night, glaring at Cloak with eyes that cut through the darkness. The god had made him wait long enough that he’d had his nightly visit from Quala, who’d determined her healing magic wouldn’t do anything else for him at this point. He was so close and could walk now, if slowly. Not all the muscles in his legs responded right, so he was sitting when Cloak entered.
The god was shaken. His body looked thinner than it had, the robes stained, but it was the rapid heartbeat he could faintly hear that gave away his condition the most. Cloak was afraid. “You are, uhm, recovering well.”
“Not fast enough,” Daniel bit off, tail lashing. “Spirit Guardian. That was her class. Double advancement to wisdom, advancement penalty to dexterity. If I’d known her endurance would get cut in half I’d have suggested she hold off on advancing other attributes, and that doesn’t get into what happened with her instantly awakening her class!”
“Not instantly.” There was a weariness to the god as well as he sat on Daniel’s bed, heedless of the indiscretion. He looked like he’d just walked into town after being lost in the woods for a month. “She should have gotten Spirit Guardian. Accounting for every possible choice, that was the most likely given our preparations.”
“The Spoke did this,” Daniel surmised, hating the thing inside him he couldn’t claw out.
“No. Spirit Master is… it is a rare class. But it shouldn’t have been eligible for assignment here because of the regional quota. Another time.” Cloak waved away that topic and returned to the point. “It should have been impossible for her to get this class. This can only mean one thing.”
“I don’t care about that,” Daniel said, knowing this conversation would have gone down a different track if he’d been human right now. “What does this mean for Willow?”
“For her?” Cloak laughed weakly. “I suppose it’s a good thing. It might help strengthen her bond given the dynamic involved. She’ll have access to some unique powers. But it’s… it could be very bad for everyone. I’m honestly struggling to grasp the implications.”
“Why?” He stared down the god who fell backward onto his bed.
“Someone said part of his name, but nothing else,” he murmured to himself, Daniel’s keen hearing picking it up. The god was tired enough to let some things slip, the weaker attributes of his host finally getting to him, but that was the only one done unintentionally. “Alright,” he said, scooting backward to rest against the wall while on the mattress. “There’s someone I believed to be dead who must be responsible for this. Only a certain group of individuals can allow people to ignore class requirements. If he’s somehow still alive, or at least active… I still need to think that through.”
Daniel figured out what Cloak was implying quickly, though perhaps not as fast as he would’ve as an Artificer. “You’re talking about another god? Like the monster gods?”
“No. The god responsible for the Astral domain. I’m glad we can discuss at least that far, but this did come up in another way during that week.” Cloak’s gaze fell upon the workbench and the project Daniel had been killing himself trying to complete, but he didn’t comment on it. “This could be a good sign. If he is still in the Astral, that would give us someone else to help regain control of the Octyrrum at least.”
“That’s who Willow’s seeing with Hunter, isn’t it?” Daniel stood and cursed his weak body for every slow step he had to take towards Cloak. “If he’s in danger-“
“I would have no way of knowing or any means to intervene if I did,” Cloak replied sharply, some of his earlier strength returning. “I know you are concerned for your friend’s soul. If any semblance of the god I knew remains he would protect your friend. Of all of us, he cared the most for spirits and… regretted why they are what they are. Something that strays too close to the Astral to speak on. However, in the spirit of trust,” he said, stressing those words, “I’ll tell you he fell in the Crest.”
“I need to get Hunter back now.”
“There’s nothing you can do,” Cloak responded tiredly as Daniel started to amble towards the stairs.
“I’ll tell Willow to get him out of the Astral like she did that ball!”
“She’s a Spirit Master, not a soul master.” Cloak stood and grabbed Daniel to stop him, not shying away when he growled. “The fact that G-,” he almost said a name and then stopped himself. “That the Astral god could award the Spirit Master class means there is part of them still in there. Think of it this way, your friend has a powerful ally who, depending on their status, can control the Astral as finely as I do illusions.”
“So gods can die?” Daniel asked, Cloak not missing the hint of murder in his voice.
“We try not to. Without a god to control the domain they are associated with, we have to restrict it from the Octyrrum entirely or else we can’t control it. That’s why Astral classes and powers were locked and all information on them burned out of society.”
“The Origin Beasts can die?” This time, the question sounded like a compromise.
“They can, though when the Collapse came we had to isolate ourselves and force them into hibernation. It was far too risky to engage them. Individually, they are all stronger than we are together.”
“They killed the Astral god?”
“Yes. He died toward the beginning of it and it should have never happened. He was… he was the best of us.” There was something there in the words, aside from old grief. Daniel didn’t think Cloak was lying, as far as he could tell. Not directly. It was as if there was something important he was omitting, like everything on the Astral. Something that touched on a topic they’d destroy regions over in the old days. His mind flicked to how the Octyrrum had been named, and the fact that as far as society knew there had only been seven Realms both before and after the first Collapse.
A suspicion began to form in his mind, though he decided to change the topic. “Where have you been?”
“Listening. Gathering information. Trying to scrape by without getting caught. I know you’re going hunting soon and I’ve been keeping an eye on how the local teams are faring. “ He leveled a hand upwards and a projection of a fire ludegrund flicked into being. “You already know new monster variants are appearing. Something else is going on too. I think the monster system is infiltrating the Octyrrum faster than I anticipated. It could be the nearby god and a local effect, or Spiritualists committing more sabotage. I’d have no way of knowing.”
“You said we had decades.”
“Until their gods take the entire world! This is relatively minor. When the Octyrrum functioned properly it restricted monster spawns to only certain types that maximized advancement potential gain while minimizing losses in every level category. While the Collapse has altered this, this system infiltration will do something else in ways I can’t fully predict. What I can say is it sounds like there are odd monsters being sighted, those that show unnatural skill or power even within an aberrant variant.”
“Sounds like hunts are going to be challenging again,” Daniel said, concern for his teammates mixed with some excitement. He was already looking forward to flying onto something and tearing into it with his claws. “Almost feels like you’re telling me monsters will start gaining classes.”
“It may be something similar, but it will be under a different system. The mechanisms behind it will be alien to ours. The point is to be careful. You almost already died rushing into an unexpected fight and in hindsight that monster might have been enhanced.” He gestured with a hand to the workbench where the long weapon sat waiting for the last part needed to complete it. “Hopefully, whatever that thing is will even the odds.”
Daniel grunted in agreement. He was slightly more disdainful of ranged weapons in this form since they didn’t work as well with his powers. He could be convinced to throw blast marbles and maybe fire a crossbow but forget a bow. His claws would cut the bowstring anyway. No, this was the superior melee form he’d switch into after his Artificer class got a few ranged hits in. However, this weapon he was working on might just balance his two halves, so long as he could finish it.
Who knew magic guns were this hard to make?