The Astral soul system-Chapter 206: Sundown
"I’m ready"
"Theia?"
She appeared in front of him, waving confidently
"Don’t worry your pretty little head. I know what I’m doing. You just keep Moirai under control"
He slowly took off his gloves again holding out his hands as the codex fell into it.
He watched intently as it landed, making sure to monitor it’s changes but after a few seconds nothing happened.
"Now for the next part"
[Transformation has begun]
He was no longer in his uniform but his clothes were still rather large and baggy, even for him,so he wasn’t sure what to expect .
The transformation started and he immediately felt the energy in this place drawing to him, sticking around his form like a membrane. In a few seconds he was fully transformed on his knees in front of the pond.
"Now,my turn"
[Notice! System AI is requesting authorization for control of specific functions. Grant?]
[Note: Royal privilege is required]
"Yes"
As soon as he gave his authorization , he saw a green energy start to trail from his chest through his arms and into the orb.
He slowly dropped the orb into the water in the pond and the entire pond immediately lit up.
[Notice! Strange energy is attempting to leave the hosts body]
[Stop it?]
"No"
He slowly felt something drain out of his body, into the pond and the pond itself immediately started glowing with blinding intensity.
[Astra : 166/166]
[Astra: + 300]
[-450]
[+500]
[-600]
[+...]
His energy levels kept fluctuating up and down with no end in sight.
The light lasted for almost an entire minute before slowly dimming down until only a faint green glow could be seen below the surface.
[Congratulations!]
[Host has successfully created an astral race]
[Classification: Guardian]
Zen ignored the notification for now. More questions for Theia to hopefully answer later.
He felt more weight in his arms and slowly pulled them out of the water. In them was how he remembered Sylphie to look
Pale green skin,thin arms and legs hanging ,water dripping from them. A petite frame,a white and green strapless dress that looked like it was made of silk and stuck tightly to her body, showing her figure completely and ending just over her knees.
Pale blonde hair that almost looked white and long pointy ears that once again reminded him of elves in books
Her skin was smooth, glowing like she’d never been hit in her life, with soft facial features that gave her an innocent air.
Zen shifted his grip to hold her more appropriately, looking at her face.
She was quite short, not to the point she looked like a child but one could definitely mistake her for a teenager if they didn’t look close enough
Her eyelids trembled, here ears twitching a bit as her emerald eyes slowly fluttered open.
She looked up, seeing his face and sighed, resting hr head back on his chest .
"I can feel"
"..."
"The wind... it’s nice"
She took in a deep breath and all the flowers and other plants in the cave slowly swayed in the wind.
"Hmmm.... this world isn’t as bad as I thought. I didn’t expect to find a place with so much concentrated energy so soon "
"Unfortunately the rest of the world isn’t like this cave "
Theia said
Sylphie huffed
"It can’t be helped. Put me down. I want to test my feet "
Zen obliged, slowly dropping her. She stumbled for a few seconds,her legs shaking.
"Ugh,I never liked walking anyway. Pick me back up"
Zen blinked and obliged.
"Much better "
She said, relaxing into his arms.
"So what now?"
Zen asked Theia
"Look at her stats."
[Sylphiette Aracely]
[Astral guardian]
[Origin: Hybrid (Elf/Fey)]
[Aspect: Wind, nature]
[HP: N/A]
[Astra: 100/100]
[Strength: 10]
[Agility: 30]
He looked at them and back at Theia, shrugging.
"Okay, so first the guardian thing. Like the system said, it’s a classification. Sort of like how carbon life forms are categorized as well"
"So she’s like me?"
"Yes and no. She doesn’t take up a kin slot so she’s not an Astral,in fact she isn’t really anything. She doesn’t have a body, just a...role...a purpose"
"Which is"
"Protect the codex"
He raised a brow
"Meaning the codex can be endangered while it’s with me?"
Theia nodded.
"And loosing it was just as bad as losing your wings. Remember what I said?"
Zen nodded. He remembered.
Never damage the wings.
Heart? He could grow a new one. Head? He’d probably survive if he was high level enough, but no amount of healing capabilities could give him his wings back if he lost them.
And according to Theia,they were very important.
"None of that matters"
Sylphie said.
"Do i keep the body?"
"Well yeah... Not always though"
"What?"
"I mean staying like this costs energy, both for you and Zen, and you’ll need to return inside the codex to recharge. Sort of like sleeping"
Sylphie looked to be in thought for a few seconds before she suddenly burst into light,her body moving like it was getting sucked into a blackhole. In a split second all that was in Zen’s arms was the codex.
"I see"
Her voice came from it before she suddenly popped back out .
"Already figured it out"
Theia hummed softly
"Okay,you got what you wanted, now your part of the deal"
Sylphie huffed, looking away.
"This isn’t exactly what I wanted... besides,i can’t help you yet"
"What?"
Sylphie shrugged
"When i asked you to bring me back,I expected I’d have my full powers back, but right now all i can feel is a smidgen of this weird energy. I can use it but at least give me some time"
Zen suspected he’d been tricked, but that was what he got for making a deal with a fae
"Fine. How long?"
"Sundown"
Zen blinked. He’d expected months or even longer but it seemed he’d been a bit too hasty.
The wind suddenly picked up and she floated out of his arms onto the grass in front of the pond.
"Leave me be for now"
Zen shrugged and sat down, looking around the cave.
His gaze fell back on the faintly glowing pond and he remembered how it took him somewhere else. His first guess had been a different planet, but it seemed like it was something even more grand,a different world.
"Theia. What exactly is that pond?"
"My guess is it’s a beacon. A damaged one but still somewhat functional "
"Beacon?"
Theia thought for a second before suddenly speaking.
"Have you ever had a dream, about a giant hurricane made of light, with different portals all zapping open and close in it. Sort of like a tunnel with a million smaller tunnels inside."
Zen immediately nodded. Back when he was in Murphy’s place. He’d seen that exact thing.
"Yeah,you remember how dangerous that tunnel looked, like it could rip you apart if you even took a step forward into it? Also with so many different smaller tunnels it’d be almost impossible to find your way"
Zen briefly recalled a foreboding feeling, but if she spoke of fear, he couldn’t relate.
"That’s good enough. Well, that’s what the beacon is for. Every dungeon has one "
"Every dungeon?"
Theia nodded.
"Why?"
Theia sighed and kept quiet.
Zen didn’t bother asking anymore. That was probably all she could say. It made sense. Enough information to spark his curiosity, but not enough to sate it.
He considered calling GK again but although they said he should call soon, he doubt they meant the very same day. Plus constantly calling for information he didn’t have wasn’t always going to turn out his way.
Looks like he’d have to think for this one.
"Well then...that would explain how beasts appear in dungeons. It’s been theorized that while some are created from excess ambient energy, some just spawned into existence unexplainably "
He muttered. Theia immediately brought up a blank screen and immediately wrote the words beacon, with an arrow pointing to dungeon creatures with question marks around both. If as his assistant she couldn’t give him information, she’d help him keep track.
"But then why do beacons only exist in dungeons? Or do dungeons form around where a beacon appears"
Theia followed up with another diagram, writing "Which came first?" At the end
"And if a dungeon’s existence is based on a beacon then..."
He suddenly looked around him
"Why is the beacon still around? "
A question suddenly flickered across his mind that changed everything and he asked
"Theia? Do these beacons serve a purpose? And I don’t mean the main effect,i mean a reason for existence "
"..."
"Fine. Are they naturally occurring?"
Theia thought for a second before muttering.
"Yes and no"
"Can you give me any more information?"
"No"
Theia sighed and put "Naturally occurring" on the board with more question marks
"Can a dungeon and beacon exist without each other?"
"Yes and no "
"What are you criteria for a beacon?"
"A large pool of energy and a strong enough link to another world "
"Like my shadow tracer "
Theia nodded.
"Do i count? As a beacon?"
Theia thought for a second before answering
"Your existence increases the chances of incursions similar to dungeons"
He looked at the pond again.
"Can all creatures use beacons"
"No, especially not that one"
Zen remembered her saying it was damaged.
Zen wanted to ask how dungeon creatures were created but realized that was a far too broad category and if he tried to make it more specific, she wouldn’t be able to answer so he kept thinking before suddenly asking.
"What about people... specifically humans with abilities . Would they act as a sort of... reverse beacon,to here?"
"Humans with abilities constitute one of the main components of a functioning beacon "
"All people?"
"With abilities? Yes"
"Then these abilities come from another world?"
He said like it was less of a question and more of a deduction. Theia couldn’t answer for a few seconds before speaking.
"Not exactly "
Not no?
"Theia. You know the widely believed story of how abilities were created, right? Is it accurate?"
"Yes and no"
That question told Zen more than it seemed. The history of abilities was common knowledge taught from basically kindergarten to people. And it had scientific and historical backing too.
Theia basically confirmed there was a level of discrepancy to it.
"Why is this world so complicated?"
"Because it’s not just your world?"
Zephyr suddenly spoke.
He sighed
"There’s one vital detail you’re missing to solve that last question"
"And can you tell me? You don’t have any limitations"
"I wish i could, but spending so long in that barrier has scrambled my mind. I keep getting faint flashes but I can’t hold of it. Something important to the very existence of this and all other worlds."
So it seemed Zephyr was also useless
"Hmmm"
[Notice!]
[An unknown entity is requesting to spend exp]
"Just do it. It might help me remember something"
Zephyr said.
Zen shrugged and dumped all his current exp into the request, letting Zephyr have it. He didn’t exactly have any attachment to them, especially with the new three times increase in level up requirements. Exp and leveling up was the last thought on his mind.
His exp dropped to zero and although nothing visible changed, Zen suddenly felt a bit dizzy. His eyes flashing between his current reality and strange visions he couldn’t make sense of.
A few seconds passed and it finally faded away.
"So?"
"Hmmm... Nothing of use for now, just meaningless scraps, barely even memories, though i do feel a bit more... complete. Thank you,boy"
Zen had no use for gratitude. He still needed answers. He was about to get back to brainstorming before Zephyr suddenly spoke up.
"I do have a feeling though "
"..."
"Something is wrong with this world. Something very wrong. Maybe it’s my divine sense reawakening. I’m not exactly sure, but I know that it’s linked...to you,boy"
"Me?"
Zen asked, thinking back. Now that he thought about it he was different since birth. The only human unable to get an ability, the only human who killed almost all life that he touched , the only human that had...
His hand gently grazed his face beneath his eye.
"The eye of the destroyer"
