Over the next few days, I was pretty…out of it, so to speak. The enormity of just what Precursors were truly meant for was hitting me all at once. It may have been months and months since Alveron had cornered Grey and me and all but begged us to slay his Grandfather on his behalf, all the while telling us that I was meant to be a weapon poised at the hearts of the gods...
But…I hadn’t really believed him, I was now realizing. For a long time now, I’d been thinking that the old, dying Elf was simply desperate to find anyone who might be capable of ridding his people of the parasite crouching upon their collective soul. I hadn’t seriously considered that my existence was that of a purpose-built assassin, aimed and placed here on Vereden for the sole purpose of killing false Divinities.
It turns out that I just might be after all, though.
However…I wasn’t fully convinced. Something still struck me as out of place, in the whole paradigm.
Where did Earth fit into all of this? Why had the System, if it had truly been that strange, otherworldly construct which had placed me on Vereden, chosen Earth of all places to draw its assassins from? What use was a planet that, if it even had Aether at all, it was in such minuscule amounts as to be nearly useless? Why were there mentions of my old home abound on this new planet, with references to it as either ‘Old Terra’ or ‘Lost Terra’? Why choose random people from Earth, me especially, to act as its blade against the people who had apparently stolen from it?
Where did this ‘Administrator’, if they even still existed, fit into all of this? And how could they have possibly patterned Precursors off of the now long-dead Netherim?
As much as all these old monsters, literal or otherwise, might have revealed to me about the secret histories of both gods and Vereden itself…
I just didn’t think it was the full story. There was something deeper going on here, something beyond Systems and Status's and Sparks of Divinity.
Something in me refused to accept it at face value.
As a result of all these new revelations and realizations running through my head, I was…a bit distant, over the next few days, while everyone waited for the Kawamaran delegation's return from the island's center. I was so lost in my thoughts that I barely had time for my companions, even though we’d just successfully completed a major campaign. Eventually, they seemed to realize that I must have other things on my mind and left me alone.
Even as withdrawn as I was, I still had enough presence of mind to be thankful for that. Besides, it’s not like they didn’t have their own lives and things to keep themselves busy. Kazuma was busy being drilled and instructed by Shacklock about the running of the Order of Solstice Flame, even though it was likely some years before he would be taking over the paramilitary force. Venix, as usual these days, stuck to the side of the other samurai like he was glued to him, so I barely saw the Antium man these days. Azarus was likewise busy studying under Shurenga and Sena about his duties as an Envoy, while Renauld and Liora were mingling with the Order. Renauld had offered his services to the Healers of the Order, to their gratitude, while Liora was doing…something. I couldn’t tell exactly what, but…it seemed to be something involving chats with the rank and file of the Order itself.
Bella was still busy on the coast and had yet to return. Nor had she sent word.
However, even with all of my preoccupations, I still made time for Aveline. This was a crucial time in building our new…relationship. I was all the little Netherim girl had in the world, and I couldn’t just leave her alone at all hours of the day. I had a responsibility towards her now that I’d decided to take her in. She had watched and heard the promise I had given to the spirit of her Mother to care for her, for the rest of my natural life. Hopefully, Aveline knew that she could depend on me. She was…still shy, in her own way, but I was working on getting her to open up. I think it helped that the Shurengan cubs that she hung around with the most were naturally curious and friendly. They seemed to be doing a pretty good job with her, which made me think I should see about getting her a pet whenever we settled down.
Uh.
Somewhere? Possibly…Blutstein, the Herztalian capital? That’s where the Academy was supposed to be, after all, and I felt it was time to move on. I’d made more than enough money working as a freelance smith in Hinaga to afford a house of some kind.
Aveline and I both needed some long-term stability in our lives.
As soon as we were done here on the island, which was…when the Kawamaran delegation likely said we were, it was straight back to Hinaga with everyone. There, I fully intended to gather my belongings, withdraw the entirety of every last coin I’d made in my work as a smith, say my goodbyes, and hit the road.
The sea road, that is. First stop would be up the river and berthing at T?r Gronn, so I could check in with Fade. Maybe even introduce him to Aveline. She seemed to like animals well enough, and my furry companion-
(The non-Gnollish one, that is.)
Was both intelligent and friendly enough to treat her well. I was really looking forward to seeing him, I had to say. Maybe Taran would even agree to letting the young Spirit Wolf accompany us back down to Blutstein for a time? It could be something like…I don’t know, summer vacation for him, after being in school for a few months? Spring was nearly over, after all.
Bah, don’t get your hopes up, Nate.
But if not…maybe I could work something out with my new Skill, derived from what used to be Manifestation of Agony and the Talent I’d stolen from Tatsugan, Vacua Vestiga.
Umbra Gemina Exactoris.
There was a certain…theme going on there. The limited testing I’d done with the new Skill over the last few days had really impressed on me the sheer, mind-boggling possibilities that it opened up for me. It didn’t exactly make me stronger, per se, in direct combat. Not in the way that Vis Maledicta Exactoris did. But it sure as hell made me more versatile outside of it.
I hadn’t even realized something like that was even possible. It was so ridiculous, it was like something out of fiction from back home.
Thank God, though, that my fears had remained unrealized. No further changes to my body had sprouted up after I’d gotten Umbra Gemina Exactoris. Maybe it really had been the portion of the Skill that Rhazal had cursed, as Ixiah had gloated, which transformed me in the way it did.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
As it was, though, General Hisakane returned to Mt. Umetsuji after just three days. He must have been pushing his cohort hard to make the time he across the treacherous ridges and mountain tops of the central Goryuen range.
And when he did, he gave us an ultimatum.
…………………………………………………..
“The tale of your story…” The older man told the gathered leadership of the Order, Shurenga, and well.
Me.
Behind the chair the leader of the Kawamaran delegation sat in, Masayuki gave me a thumbs up and a smile, still dressed in his armor.
“Is plausible,” The General admitted before he frowned at us all the same. “However, I do not have the authority to rule on matters that are so…strange. Therefore, I must insist that everyone who was present for the events that took place at the former mountain of Gorenzan accompany me back to the capital. There, you shall repeat your tale before the River Throne for the Emperor who, in all his wisdom, shall decide upon it.”
I hid a smile of triumph at his words, as that had pretty much been our goal from the beginning. After all, how was Shacklock and his heir presumptive to argue for the right to establish the Order of Solstice Flame as an officially recognized Kawamaran Sect if they were stuck on the island?
This way, they could appeal their case to the highest possible authority in the land, right in the middle of his seat of power.
Even though Kazuma had gained Acting from his performance on the slopes of Mt. Umetsuji, it was still low-level. As such, it was obvious to all that the young samurai was barely able to control his excitement at the furtherment of our plans. “Of course, General Hisakane. The Grand Marshall and I shall be glad to accompany you to Hinaga. Isn’t that right?” He said, turning an intense air to Shacklock.
For his part, the leader of the Order of Solstice’s Flame cracked open one gimlet eye from where he’d been dozing in his throne-like chair and rolled it. “Sure, sure,” He said irritably, waving one hand as if to ward off Kazuma’s words. “I’ll come, don't soil yer britches.”
“Good,” General Hisakane said neutrally, before turning his gaze towards Shurenga. “My Lady, will you accompany us as well?”
Well, well. I was noticing his tone was much more respectful towards the creature that might just be the Messiah equivalent to his culture’s religion, now that he suspected it could even be true.
Imagine that.
“I shall,” Shurenga inclined her furry head regally. “But two others shall accompany me in my official retinue. My eldest daughter Sena, as well as…one other, who shall be directly representing the interests of my Lord Father.”
In other words, Azarus. Looks like Shurenga was angling to introduce the newest Envoy of the Great Spirit of the Sun, at the same time she presented herself.
Welcome back to court life, Azarus. You couldn’t escape it for long, despite your distaste for it.
All I received from the General was a single commanding look that I did my best to pretend I was cowed by. No reason to start conflict here, when I was already intending to venture back to the Capital anyway.
That was where all my stuff was.
Turns out…
Getting back there was a bit of a problem, for an unexpected reason.
………………………………………..
“What the hell do you mean,” I outright growled in the face of the nervous Kawamaran soldier I was looming over. “That she’s gone?”
After our short little meeting with the General and Masayuki, my companions and I repacked our travel supplies to accompany the leadership of the Kawamaran delegation back to the Goryuen coast. General Hisakane was leaving behind his Captain in order to keep an eye on the Solstice Flame forces that were staying on the island. In the opinion of the General, the entirety of the Order of Solstice Flame wasn’t needed in order to make their case before Emperor Seimei.
Only Shacklock and Kazuma were going to represent the interests of their Order. The Grand Marshall was leaving behind some of his own Captains behind to keep order among the…Order. I didn’t see much of them on the two-day hike back to the white sands of the beach, as they were kept under the watchful eye of the General and his hand-picked men. Instead, my companions and I were sticking more to Shurenga and Sena.
Oddly, though…
Venix was still with Kazuma, even now. I was… starting to get an idea about where that was going. But I’d have to wait and see what the Antium man actually said about it, when he worked up the nerve.
Whenever that may be.
However, none of that had anything to do with what I’d discovered once we all reached the Goryuen coast, and I started to scan the horizon for the sight of familiar sails.
That was the problem.
The Thorny Reef was nowhere to be found among the sails of the Kawamaran navy, even though it was supposed to be here.
Bella…was gone, and her ship had gone with her.
The nervous Kawamaran private gulped under my intense, outright furious stare. I could barely hear the man over the pounding of my blood in my ears as he stuttered out his answer. “A-ah…are you p-perhaps,” He took a quick look down at a piece of parchment that I was only now realizing the man had clutched tightly in his leather-gloved fingers. “N-Nathan Hart? The woman C-Captain left this l-letter behind for-”
I snatched the piece of parchment and unfolded it to find a hastily scribbled note in charcoal letters on the surface of it. An unbelievable well of frustration rose up inside of me as I read the scant few words.
Sorry, Nate.
I didn’t sign up for a kid.
We had fun while it lasted.
Thanks for the trip.
Maybe I’ll see you around, one day.
It wasn’t signed, but it didn’t need to be. I knew who it was from and what it meant.
“I…” I almost stuttered in my indignation. “I got dumped through a letter?!”
Bella had run at the implications of what I intended with Aveline, and she’d taken our ride out of here with her.
What the hell was wrong with that woman?! She hadn't said a word about this to me!
I was barely aware of them as I felt a familiar presence approach me from behind and shoo away the messenger. As he gratefully fled from my anger, I clutched tightly enough at the letter that my fingers punched through it in spots. I was only knocked out of my disbelief when I felt a furry hand rest itself on my shoulder.
Snapping my head around, I beheld the sight of my former comrade in the Nocturne Division standing behind me with an expression of sympathy on her furry face.
And…a bit of guilt.
My eyes widened at Liora, and I outright shook the letter in front of her snout. “Did you know about this?!”
Liora used one hand to gently lower my shaking hand, and I let her. “I…suspected,” Liora answered, frustrated regret in her voice. “Isabella…she spoke to me several times about her…,” The Gnoll woman visibly groped for words momentarily. “Doubts involving the child. I advised her each time that young Aveline is your responsibility, and you were unlikely to try and force a…role upon her, when your new charge had only recently, in her mind, lost her Mother.”
I threw my hands up in frustration. “I wasn’t going to!”
Bella would have been a terrible influence on a young, developing mind like Aveline’s. My intention had always been to keep that part of my life separate from my ‘intentions’ with the young orphan girl.
“You and I both know that,” Liora said soothingly, as I noticed Azarus and Renauld standing off to the side awkwardly. Neither of my friends looked like they knew how to deal with this right now. “I even told Isabella that. However, I believe she…let her anxieties about the situation get the better of her and…”
“She ran,” I finished for her bitterly. “Just like the last time things got tense between us. Taking our ride out of here with her.”
My attention was drawn when I heard Azarus clear his throat uncomfortably. Snapping my eyes over in that direction, I saw my best friend cough into his fist. “Ah…” He started awkwardly. “I don’t think that’ll be much o’ a problem. I can see the sails of the Kaminari Maru out there. Captain Satoru actually came back fer us, like he said he would.”
I…
Whatever, I guess. I…didn’t want to deal with this right now. It was enough to know we had transport off of this damned island. I was just thankful Shurenga was minding Aveline right now, so my charge couldn’t see me like this.
I hadn't been this...frustrated, disappointed, furious, and just...sad all at once, in a long, long time.
Goddamnit Bella.
