Chapter Five Hundred And Seventy Three – 573
Felix massaged the back of his neck as he leaned away from the System screen, sitting now on the deck of his ship. His Aspects were aching, strained in ways that made his core space feel more than a little shaky. It wasnt so much that his physical form was exhausted, but the metaphysical piece of him that was Tempered. His Body, Mind, and Spirit felt raw, like hed spent days standing before constant, hurricane force winds. Though the System had prompted him to display Skills that fell under more than one Aspect, it didnt like actually populating that list. Hed had to prod it over and over again, restarting that cacophony he could hear through his Affinity.
Dissonance rattled through him with each shake up, the System bucking slightly against his requests before sending things he could only describe as probes back at him. Lancing thrusts of dissonant noise, stabbing at his Body, his Mind, and his Spirit. Sometimes singularly, sometimes all at once, but it was ceaseless. As if the System was warning Felix away from what he was doing.
Yet no glaring warning messages popped up before him. There were no glitching menus or alerts. As far as Felix could tell, this was a normal function of the Systemand it would happen to anyone that tried to squeeze more information from the System than they were offered.
Regardless, it was finally done. His Skills were sorted.
Show me my Single-Aspected Skills, he commanded.
BODY - Chthonic Ascent (Adept)
Dodge (C), Level 83
Heavy Armor Mastery (C), Level 15
Armored Skin (R), Level 88
Wow, thats not a lot. These were the standard displays, and had been the easiest to coax out of the System. This time, Felix had filtered it so that each Skill listed was only under a single Aspect. Especially compared to the earlier list.
MIND - Fiendforged (Adept)
Alchemy (C), Level 72
Deception (C), Level 45
Negotiation (U), Level 50
Tracking (C), Level 44The initial instance of this chapter being available happened at N0v3l.Bin.
Voracious Eye (E), Level 90
A bit longer, but still way less than I expected. What about the next one?
SPIRIT - Eldercrowned (Adept)
Cloudstep (R), Level 74
Green Shaping (R), level 84
Manaship Pilot (R), Level 37
Rime Shaping (R), Level 85
Shadow Whip (R), Level 68
Stone Shaping (R), Level 95
Sunken Ward (R), Level 70
Auroral Forge (E), Level 77
Ferric Shaping (E), Level 1
Arrow of Perdition (L), Level 52
Cardinal Flame (L), Level 94
Rain of Cataclysm (L), Level 76
Okay, thats more like it. Felix considered the three blue screens open before him as he nudged the helm with his knee. Spirit has a ton more singularly Aspected Skills than anything else. Is that because of their rarity? He was seeing a pattern so far, with lower rarity Skills having less Aspects associated with them. But would that play out with his other lists?
Show me my Dual-Aspected Skills.
BODY/MIND
Blind Fighting (R), Level 78
Relentless Resolution (L), Level 95
MIND/SPIRIT
Exploration (U), Level 72
Manasight (U), Level 79
Meditation (U), Level 79
Invocation (R), Level 77
Bastion of Will (E), Level 99
Deep Mind (E), Level 80
Ephemeral Evocation (E), Level 25
Manifestation of the Coronach (E), Level 80
Multi-Cast (E), Level 83
Theurgist of the Rise (L), Level 92
SPIRIT/BODY
Illusory Double (R), Level 45
Abyssal Skein (R), Level 77
Wild Threnody (E), Level 86
Aria of the Green Wilds (L), Level 88
Skein of Fate (L), Level 68
Unite the Lost (T), Level 51
Fiendforge (Un), Level 68
But which one is the best choice?
Abyssal Skein was powerful, focused on eliminating his presence in the world by suffusing himself withsomething from the Void. It was his only real Void Skill, for whatever that was worth. Wild Threnody concerned itself with the Songs of War, which amounted to channeling his Mana Skills through his weaponswhether it was blade, bone, or fistand had a certain amplifying effect to them. Aria of the Green Wilds was a strange one, opposite to Wild Threnody really in that the Green Wilds were a counterbalance to the Songs of War. In the past, Felix had found it mostly useful as an information gathering tool, allowing him to work with natural reagents in his Alchemical Lab that might have otherwise stymied him. It was definitely strong. He had a strong connection to the Atlantes Anima because of the Skill, and Felix couldnt disregard the fact that he had a damn tree growing in the center of his core space. That was not a coincidence.
Skein of Fate and Unite the Lost wereproblematic. One was a Skill evolution hed earned after defying a goddess, and the other was tied to his Primordial Race and cost him an arm and a leg each time he used it. What would happen if he chose either one?
They were unpredictable choices, and all choices had consequences.
The last, Fiendforge, was a Unique Skill and had been essential in aiding his friends and allies development. His own, as well, though it was mostly only ever used as a sort of stabilizing agent. It would be a safe choice, he imagined, providing an extra layer of solidity to his foundationsbut little power.
Abyssal Skein seems good, but I dont really like the idea of putting more of the Void inside of my core space. Wild Threnody is all about offense. I mean, I can always use more combat power, but that doesnt feel right. Felix stared at the blue window before him, tapping a finger to his lips. Is there something Im missing?
The idea nagged at him that perhaps the right choice was a Skill he didnt have yet. It was a tantalizing thought, but all it did now was return him to an earlier problem: even if he did learn a new Skill, whether stolen from a Memory or an evolution of a current one, how could he ensure it was Tri-Aspected?
Short answer was: he couldnt.
Not yet, anyway.
Karys and the Farwalker had said to seek balance, and he wasnt going to ignore that advice.
The ship gave a sudden, sickening lurch. Men and women cried out, several Claw members stumbling in their battle with the Void beasts. Felix closed the blue window before him and looked just in time to see a mountain looming in their path.
Pit!
I have it! The tenku spun the wheel, pressing his huge body against it as if to shove the entire ship out of the way. The tactic would have been ridiculous if it werent for the huge amount of focus his Companion put into the moveFelix could practically hear his Intent and Willpower strain as the entire ship careened forward.
They banked hard, the midnight wings straining and the rudder-tail slapping hard against the charcoal stone. The ship jolted, twisted out of true as the deck tilted nearly ninety degrees, and people screamed.
Green Shaping!
Pieces of the Sailwhale burst outward, the living wood grown into flexible vines under Felixs control. People had fallen overboard and they were too far away to reach with something like Shadow Whipso he snagged them with the vines.
Pit cranked on the wheel again, his paws and beak moving furiously as his Willpower and Intent thrummed through the vessels frame. The ship leveled out, even as they fishtailed across the dark expanse.
Pit Has Gained A Skill!Manaship Pilot (R), Level 1!
Manaship Pilot is level 2!
Manaship Pilot is level 7!
Claw members rushed to the railing, several of them starting to haul on the vines as their fallen friends climbed back up. Felix turned to Pit. You okay, dude?
Yeah! Pit said, halfway between a trill and a screech. Did you see how I dodged that mountain? I got a new Skill too!
I saw, Felix said, giving him a distracted thumbs up. Try to keep the Claw inside the ship though, please.
Oh. Right.
Why the heck were you headed toward a mountain? Felix asked.
Pit looked guilty. Something hit the hull. Something big. I didnt see it, but I couldnt keep this thing on track.
Something big, Felix mused. The monsters, Void beasts all, were being driven back. Lightning sizzled among them, baking their dark hides and bursting the glowing Mana sacs beneath their numerous jaws. None of the Claw had fallen, least of all Evie, Beef, or Vess who had just joined the fray; but the Void beasts had taken a few bites from them.The ship lurched once again. People fell down, stumbling to their knees or worse, as the entire vessel was brought to a sudden halt.
See? Pit screeched. I told you!
Felix looked over the stern, and just over the flapping wooden fin of the Sailwhale were a series of thick, pustule-laden tentacles clinging hard to the ships hull. They emerged from the clouds near the mountain, and four sets of eyes burned with white light.
Absolutely not, he muttered, before throwing himself directly off the ship.
Felix!
He ignored Pit, letting gravity take him as he descended at speed. From below he could see more. The tentacles were far bigger than he had assumed, mottled like a Tenebril, and many, many more were questing up from beneath the clouds.
The creatures were hungry, he could feel that. It was like an echo of the black hole inside of him. Felix almost felt sorry for the creature, big and scary as it was; Void beasts followed their nature. They were scary and gross, but he doubted they were evil.
Still. Were on a tight schedule.
Felix unveiled his Spirit for the second time that dayonly this time he didnt hold back.
A pressure descended upon the Dark Passage, and as it did the clouds, the mountain, and the darkness itself jolted. Spasmed. By Will alone, Felix arrested his fall just above the clouds, and he glared down into those eyes that were bigger than his entire body.
Let go.
The creature convulsed. Without a sound, it detached its tentacles and retreated. Even the mostly-dead swarm fled the upper decks, flying after their larger counterpart.
Felix watched for a few moments, Perception and Affinity flaredbut none of them returned.
Hmph.
He flew back up to the ship.
