Chapter Three Hundred And Fifteen – 315
The door flashed, and Pit found himself falling free, Convergence failed.
Felix!
He tumbled through the air, seeing nothing but blurring blue streaks all around him. Pit extended his wings, their tips spreading farther than ever, but he scraped and smashed into the sides of some invisible structure, too dark to see.
Felix!
Through their bond, Pit sensed him far below. And getting farther. He tried again, snapping out his wings more carefully, cupping the invisible wind as it buffeted against his feathers. He spun once, twice more, then success!
Flight is level 58!
Steadied, Pit still spiraled down what seemed an endless shaft into nothing. The blue streaks, however, settled into windows that were furiously blinking for his attention.
Your Companion Has Chosen His Path!
Now You Must Do The Same.
Choose.
Path of the Companion - Gain +7 STR, END, VIT, WIL, AGL per level, Skill level gain increased in concordance with Companion's core composition/attunement. Etheric Concordance +10 Levels.
Path of the Berserker - Gain +20 STR, +15 END, VIT per level. Skill gain in offensive abilities increased.
Path of the Void - Gain +10 WIL, ALA, AGL per level. Protection from the Void increases to 50%. All Stats are doubled while within the Void.
Path of the Faithful - Gain +10 To All Primary Stats Per Level. One Time Boost Of +30 To All Harmonic Stats.
Path of the Guardian Beast - Gain +10 STR, AGL, DEX, +5 END, PER, AFI, RES, REI Per Level - All Harmonic Stats are doubled upon acceptance of this Path. Skill level gain increased in concordance with Companion's core composition/attunement.
Pit tried to surge past the notification box, but it arrested him.
Choose.
Felix was falling farther ahead. Pit could care less about the stat bonuses. He understood them, but he needed to catch Felix, he was falling while Pit was hemmed in by the burning lights and rarefied vibrations this Path. He slammed his claw upon the choice he'd seen spoke a thousand times, one which he still did not understand.
And he dove.
Adamant Discord is level 70!
...
Adamant Discord is level 74!
Cardinal Flame is level 64!
...
Cardinal Flame is level 71!
The world became a series of flashing, spinning lights, a vortex of color and sound that hurled Felix along like a rocket. Thingsfeelingssparked and bloomed in his chest, his core. Harmonies and Dissonance yowled at one another in unholy noise, and the things that made up Felix resounded with their confrontation.
Path of the Cardinal Fiend Chosen...
Unique Path Forged!
Unique Path Detected...
Core Compatibility 100%
Stat Compatibility 100%
Energy Required For Conversion...
Stand By.
Agony speared through him, but Felix bore it silently as he fell. Pain and him were old friends, and he knew how to handle it all. Yet even his Song of Absolution and insane Willpower weren't enough; a moan of distress squeezed from his lungs as his core space was wrung dry. What little Essence remained was pulled from him, funneled into his new Path, before it began taking his Mana and Stamina and Health. It was slow at first, nothing his regeneration couldn't maintain, but it sped up. The Path he had forged was powerfultoo powerful, it seemed.
It was going to kill him.
Path Conversion in Progress...
Felix clenched his Will, cutting off his screams before they began, and flared his Skills in rapid order.
Bastion of Will!
Cardinal Flame!
Adamant Discord!
Those three would help him, he hoped. Mana swirled and burst all around him, splashing against him and through him in constant waves invisible to the normal eye. To all others, it would be a featureless black in all directions. To him it was a riot of powerand possibility.
Ravenous Tithe!
From Pit's barding, Felix retrieved the Omen cards. "I only need a few seconds. I" The moment they were out of Pit's saddle bag, however, they flew from Felix's surprised grip. "Hey!"
The Omens slammed into the swirl of chaotic Mana above them, horizontally as if they struck a wall. Each one was face up and perfectly separated from its neighbor, as if...As if it's a tarot reading.
Yet Felix had received six Omens so far, and nine glimmered before him.
The Fool
The Tower
The Wheel
The Hermit
Strength
Death
The Moon
The Sun
The World
They were arranged in three rows and three columns. The last row were his recent acquisitions, and his Voracious Eye nabbed them.
Name: Omen of the Moon
Benefit: +2 INT, +1 PER, +1 DEX per level gained.
Name: Omen of the Sun
Benefit: +2 STR, +1 PER, +1 VIT per level gained.
Name: Omen of the World
Benefit: +2 END, +1 STR, +1 VIT per level gained.
If this is a tarot reading, what does it mean?
In answer, the chaos shuddered. An ascending note gathered in the distance, moving toward them in a steady, harmonic whine that set Felix's teeth on edge. It thundered through them all.
First, The Mind, Who You Are
Fourth, The Body, What You Face
Seventh, The Spirit, The Strength Within
First, The Past, What Has Been
Second, The Now, That Which Rises
Third, The Future, How Things May End
The voice was no less loud than before, and equally cryptic. Felix had no experience with tarot readings, despite his Aunt Cecelia that loved crystals and astronomy. He said the same thing now as he'd heard his mother once say to her sister.
"What does any of that mean?"
Remember, Felix Nevarre.
Go Forth.
And Remember.
Then the note was gone, as if it had never been.
Felix grumbled to himself while Karys made "ooing" sounds at another instance of the System directly addressing him. Maybe it was rare and amazing and notable, but it wasn't helpful. And people were going to die unless he did this right.
With a gesture, all nine Omens slid together, clanking into a single deck that hit Felix's outstretched palm.
The door manifested before him with a desperate flex of his Will. What little he could spare. He understood this place now, sorta. The door flickered with trapped light, fading in and out as if it were the memory of a door. Beyond, he could see a dark, murky green.
Terror hammered in his chest and a spike of adrenaline quivered along his limbs. "We ready? Do we all understand our roles?"
Pit's Spirit shook, just as Felix's own, but he stood tall beside him. Ready.
Do you truly mean to do this?
"What's the other option? Become Urge food?" Felix growled. "Not me. Not ever. If I'm going, I'm going down swinging."
A warrior's heart. You do the Nym proud, Felix. Karys buzzed with apprehension and slow burning excitement. Let us, then. Into the heart of the storm. May we live to tell the tale.
As one, they walked into the murk.
