An oath of servitude, that's what they call it in the common tongue. In the ancient language of the vampires it's called the ceremony of [Ébó]. With Ébó being the dark God of oaths, promises, and covenants. It can never be broken, and the fact that I could hear thunder rumbling every second for the past fifteen minutes when there was no storm clouds in the pit, was proof enough.
What just happened, was something really symbolic, and dealing with forces I wanted nothing to do with. The very idea of Gods, scared the shit out of me. I stood there, looking at all of them as they looked at me with expectant gazes, I knew they were asking even if their mouth was not opened. This was why they chose to serve me, in a manner of speaking they just traded on seal for another.
(Yes they did, but this was of their own volition. They chose it.)
I felt my eyes widen as I heard that voice in my head. But I knew I was not talking to Earth, I was talking to Jason. And the fact that I could hear his voice made me understand he was no longer trapped or locked in that cage of darkness. The realization made me break out in a cold sweat as my fear began to manifest itself again.
(Don't scream, don't shout, and say nothing. After all, I'm only in your head, and nobody, not even your bond mates can hear me. And it's going to be like this for a while, until you and I can truly become one and the same. But you have to understand something, that has to be soon, rather than later. You're going to be hearing my voice from now on, that way you can get used to me, you can get to know me, know who you were, so that you can become who you're meant to be.)
To be honest when I though about, my fear was unfounded. I couldn't understand the source of it, and I really didn't like that I was scared of a ghost? Or some sort of soul spirit being that's in essence just me from my old life. I rather take the leap and face what life with and as Jason might look like. There was no turning back from this, it's my responsibility.
I turned to look at the still kneeling vampires, I felt a connection to them. Of course majority of them were just kids, but still there were ten adults among them, and the way they looked at me seemed to burn a hole through my clothes. They had hope, it was something they really needed, and I did not just give them hope, I gave them a chance fight for their future and take their lives back. Some part of me felt that the oath was not necessary, they did not have to shackle themselves to me. I would have helped them anyway.
"You guys should get up." They all got back to their feet and looked at me with fervent gazes.
"I'm going to get rid of your seals, that's a promise from, so don't worry. Of course I need to have a little rest, I'm a little tired from breaking Nisi's."
I explained to them. Everyone gave a smile as they all filed outside the tower. Since the tower was still building, there would be occasional shakes and vibrations that left them all unstable on their feet. I gave a signal to Asha, Xaseah and Asare to stay back. Teluna still needs to hide so he was bound to stay close to me, and Nisi along with him.
"I need only a hours rest before I'm ready to go at it again. Asha I'm getting rid of the seal. You're going to be free."
For some reason I felt really emotional about this. To be honest all of my training with my runes ever since I met Asha had been leading all to this moment. My connection to her was such that the very fact that seal was on her stomach, left me with an ache I couldn't just seem to get rid of. It was burden, a constant reminder of my failure as a man, and husband, or how I couldn't protect the woman I loved and our unborn child. Removing her seal won't just set her free, it would be the first step out of many that I would have to make to redeem myself from my incompetence.
"You don't have to push yourself Savior, we can wait a few more hours unto you're perfectly rested." Asha said as she placed her forehead on mine.
I didn't say anything, what was there to say. I just really wanted to enjoy this moment with her, there was so much love coming from her I felt as if I was going to drown in it. I had to wonder, how someone who's lost as much as she had, who's suffered just as much, would have the heart to love so strongly. And even more so, for the fact that I'm the recipient of that love. I felt overwhelmed, and unworthy. The bond between me and Asha has been alive from the very moment I opened my eyes in solitary, and event though I didn't recognize it then, it was there, leading me back here, straight into her arms.
[TOWER HAS ABSORBED 1344 UNITS OF SOUL ENERGY FROM THE DISPERSION OF SOUL ENERGY. WOULD MASTER LIKE TO ASSIGN MORE TASKS.]
That was a lot of soul energy, I had no idea there was that much in the seal. And that was just the slave seal of Nisi, what would it be like if I remove the seal on Asha, or from the vampires. A veritable treasure trove of soul energy, of course I have to pay the price of fighting about five hundred soul beasts, but so what. This was a good idea in the long run, and I feel that assigning all the tasks to the tower to complete at once should be possible. But first.
"Tower convert 2 creation energy to fire energy."
[2 CREATION ENERGY CONVERTED INTO 400% FIRE ENERGY]
The amount converted shocked me. And it showed on my face as Asha looked up at me with worry. I shook my head to tell her it was okay before I drew her close to me and closed my eyes, listening to the explanation from the tower.
Apparently biological energy is something a whole lot more precious than ordinary elemental energy. In essence, the living flesh is made out of s combination of the four main elements, broken down into hundreds of other chemical elements that come together to make flesh. Those dub elements fall under four categories of air sub elements, fire sub elements, water and earth. The sub elements are either compounds or chemical compositions that share characteristics with either one of the four main elements. But all this falls under the jurisdiction of an alchemist and most mages. It seems like a handful to be honest.
I moved back from Asha, and gave cheery grin to a pouting Xaseah. To be honest we've not really had a serious talk about this sudden arrangement we now find ourselves in. I'm bonded to two women, and while I've been half expecting a thunder storm, everything has been somewhat quiet, and that made me more unsettled than having the both of them screaming and fighting each other.
However no one out of the three of us wanted to be the first thing to initiate that dreaded discussion. So we just rolled with the punches and let the wave take us wherever it wants to. That might not be healthy, but for now that's going to be status quo.
"I need to set somethings in order, so I'll probably be ignoring you guys for a while." I said to them, looking specifically at Xaseah.
"Why are you telling us? We're used to you staring at air and looking like an idiot." Teluna said with a straight voice.
"Teluna! We have to have a discussion about tact and decorum young man." Asare promised as he pulled Teluna behind him, saving the boy from my out stretched hands.
"What discussion, we all know it's true." He retorted with the same bland tone and voice.
The ladies were trying and failing to control their laughter, while I tried everything possible to stop myself from murdering a kid that could kill me with a simple slap from his dainty palms. I turned away from them and proceeded to as Teluna put, stare at air like an idiot.
"Show list of current tasks."
• ALTER FIRST FLOOR OF TOWER(CREATE APARTMENTS): 5.02% COMPLETED
• CREATE METAL MAIN DOOR AND WINDOWS: 5.02% COMPLETED
• CREATE TOWER MONSTERS: 12.66% COMPLETED
"Show list of available tasks."
AVAILABLE TASKS:
• ALTER FIRST FLOOR OF TOWER(CREATE FLOOR BOARDING, WALL PAINT, LIGHT FIXTURES): 0.00% COMPLETED [COST 70 SE, AND 500% WE, 1 CE]
• CONSTRUCT INDOOR POND: 0.00% COMPLETED [COST 20 SE, 110% WE, 10% EE]
• EXPAND BASEMENT 1ST FLOOR: 0.00% COMPLETED [COST 200% EE, 30 SE]
• IMPROVE BASEMENT FARM GRADE: 0.00% COMPLETED [COST 300% EE, 2 CE]
• CREATE FURNITURE: 0.00% COMPLETED [COST 25 SE, 400% WE, 2 CE]
• CONSTRUCT SECOND FLOOR OF TOWER: 0.00% COMPLETED[ COST 25 SE, 400% EE]
• CONSTRUCT TOWER PLUMBING SYSTEM FOR FIRST FLOOR AND BASEMENT {ALTER FIRST FLOOR FIRST}: 0.00% COMPLETED[ COST 400% ME, 200% WE, 100% EE, 50% FE]
"Is possible for you to construct the tower system while also altering the first floor to build the apartments."
[IT IS POSSIBLE, BUT COMPLETION TIME FOR ALL TASKS WILL INCREASE EXPONENTIALLY AS TOWER LEVEL IS STILL TOO LOW. AT HIGHER LEVEL TOWER WOULD BE CAPABLE OF COMPLETING ALL TASKS FASTER AND MORE EFFICIENTLY.]
"Okay then, increase Tower level by one, and show me tower Stats."
[TOWER HAS LEVELED UP...…..CONGRATULATIONS.]
• ORIGIN EARTH TOWER
• NAME:????
• MASTER: KAEL COR/??????
• LEVEL: 3 (0/1100)
• AWAKENING: 29/100
• CURRENT TASKS: 3
• CREATION ENERGY: 15/ 100
• SOUL ENERGY: 1120/3000
• BIOLOGICAL ENERGY: 0%
• EARTH ELEMENT ENERGY: 7100%
• WATER ELEMENT ENERGY: 1057%
• WIND ELEMENT ENERGY: 0%
• FIRE ELEMENT ENERGY: 400%
• METAL ELEMENT ENERGY: 805%
• WOOD ELEMENT ENERGY: 777%
• DARK ELEMENT ENERGY: 0%
• LIGHT ELEMENT ENERGY: 0%
• TOWER SKILLS:[CREATE EARTH LEVEL 2/CREATE WATER LEVEL 1/CREATE WOOD LEVEL 1/ CREATE METAL LEVEL 1] [ENERGY CONVERSION LEVEL 1/ENERGY GATHERING LEVEL 2/CREATE MONSTERS LEVEL 3] [EVOLVE LIFE FORM LEVEL 1]
"Convert 1 creation energy to wood energy, then commence task number 1,2,5 and 6"
[ 1 CREATION ENERGY CONVERTED TO 200% WOOD ENERGY, COMMENCING TASKS. NO OF TASKS: 7 ESTIMATED TIME OF COMPLETION IS 6:33:12]
That's a lot of task to be completed, but now that I had the resources I felt that I had to make sure everything was comfortable for everybody. However, something that really bothered me was the fact that there was no option for defense or attack on the tower. All that ice been shown so far was how to make the tower conducive for living. The monsters were a different matter entirely, but what I really wanted was a way for this tower to defend itself.
[OPTIONS FOR DEFENSE CREATION TASKS WILL BE AVAILABLE WHEN TOWER GETS TO LEVEL 5, ASSAULT CREATION TASKS WILL BE AVAILABLE AT LEVEL 8]
Well I guess that explains that. Now however I had to prepare myself for whatever hell that is within Asha's seal. I think, though I'm not sure, that the more complicated the seal, the more powerful the soul beasts within. Though I'm not sure if the strength of the soul beasts is dependent on the strength of the weaver who weaved the runes and created the seal, though I get stronger with every beast I kill, it would be a different matter all together if I appear in a place fighting monsters a million times stronger than me. But before that, I need to check my stats page, there's bound to be some gains after my time spent killing soul beasts.
VIEW MASTERS STAT PAGE
• NAME: KAEL COR / J?SO?
• AGE: 19
• RACE: VAMPIRE
• RANK: REVENANT: LEVEL: 0/0 (SEALED)
• CLASS:WEAVER/SWORDSMAN(SEALED)/FARMER
• REALM: WEAVER(6th CIRCLE)/MIND(2ND CIRCLE)/SWORDSMAN(SEALED)/FARMER(1ST CIRCLE)
• STRENGTH: TIER 1 (SEALED)
• AGILITY: TIER 1 (SEALED)
• PHYSIQUE: TIER 2 (SEALED)
• MIND: TIER 3
• SOUL: TIER 3
• ETHER: TIER 1 (SEALED)
• SKILLS: PASSIVE
• [ETHER MANIPULATION: LEVEL 1] BASIC (SEALED)
• [SOUL ENERGY MANIPULATION: LEVEL 4] ADVANCED
• [MENTAL ENERGY MANIPULATION: LEVEL 5] BASIC
• [SWORD MASTERY: LEVEL 10] BASIC
• [SHIELD ARTS: LEVEL 4] BASIC
• [FARMING: LEVEL 2] BASIC
• SKILLS: ACTIVE
• [WEAVE: LEVEL 1] ADVANCED
• [NINE GATES OF THE ETHER'S SWORD: LEVEL 1] BASIC (SEALED/?????)
• [MINING: LEVEL 3] BASIC
• [READ: LEVEL 6] BASIC
• [SOUL CONVERSION: LEVEL 5] BASIC
• [SOUL INFUSION: LEVEL 3] BASIC
• [SOUL WALKER: LEVEL 1] BASIC
Soul walker and that shield arts are the new skills I now had. Soul walker probably had to do with the fact that my soul literally left my body and went into a seal. And using a shield had been a spur of the moment decision, and now I seem to have developed a rapidly growing skill for it. Most of my other skills had increased in level, and there was nothing strange except for that level bar. I think it showed the progression I made before I evolved to a higher vampire rank, but just like a lot of other things, it was also sealed. But none the less I was ready for another life and death experience, however I knew that without a doubt what I'm going to face in Asha's seal, would be completely unlike anything I've ever seen. And to be honest, I dreaded it.