=o=o=o=o=
Here, my lips praise beneath the gaze of twelve,
All that which is complete,
All that stems from the earth,
And all that boils down to the divine,
Here, my lips praise thee, my Gods, and my Guides.
...
I am a hand of thine authority,
An appointed one, who seeks all that the heaves wish,
Bless me, your servant under the moonlight.
=o=o=o=o=
'There it is again,' Athelei finally understood who The Gods were from his attempts at translation.
'The Gods of the east... never named, but set at twelve.' Athelei closed his interface as he drifted to a certain spot near the camp, 'Why is a believer of The Gods here? And what's more, it's a runaway child who shouldn't have left her village before today...'
Athelei sighed at the lack of answers. He also wished he could end his study for the Illyasian language and move on to some eastern languages, but alas he could not. 'One thing at a time, one thing at a time.' He chided himself as he solidified to dig up a certain badge from the earth.
Athelei gave the Mystical Badge a glance before executing Inspect with his intent spelt out in words,
"What makes you dangerous?"
[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]
- [Passive Effect: Consciousness Corruptor]
- [Title: Bane of the Starless]
[ +2 Exp to Analysis Skill: Inspect 3/5 ]
[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]
'What malevolent titles,' Athelei whistled and opened up his Information Network to search for what a 'Starless' is.
The results came up nil.
'As expected from an object from uncharted space,' Athelei nodded and once more began tossing the badge between his palms, 'I'd wager the Starless are some kind of mortal lifeform that deals with the mind. In fact, they might not be too dissimilar to the Nightwalkers...'
A flash of curiosity surfaced within Athelei's foggy eyes as his fog-body surged to strike the badge. This was no longer any curious analysis. He invaded the badge by force and forced his mind into it without mercy.
HUMMMMMMMMMMMM!
A low resonance of space and sound began to unfold as Athelei wrapped the badge with his consciousness. A chilly aura began to emanate from the badge, spreading like ice throughout the grey fog.
'So this is how the corruption manifests itself, I understand your dangers now.' Athelei saw what was happening with crystal clear vision, '...But it is weak. Nothing but a grain in the midst of this infinite universe.'
Athelei then placed the badge on his chest, in front of where his heart would be, and said with his native tongue,
"Return to me in silence,"
And the badge obeyed.
While the forest shook from what mysterious language had been spoken. An indiscernible shroud in space and time formed as a mist that veiled Athelei's speech. No scrying eyes would have an easy time peering into this small portion of the infinite universe.
In the first place, who would've cared about such a minute spot?
But Athelei was careful. The universe itself was hostile to him. Any mistake would deprive him of the ends he so sought out and wished to govern.
Now, the corruption had become a part of him. The badge had become as ethereal as the body of fog it was pinned on.
When Athelei willed it, parts of himself would crystallize and layer themselves like shark scales of ice. 'This could be a weapon,' He thought to himself and used the special fog that made up his wings to form a pair of tails, or perhaps tentacles depending on how one would prefer to understand it.
The special fog seemed comfortable with such a change and made no rejection except for sticking to the region that was Athelei's back. He could not let the tails grow from different parts of his body, but as long as it was on his back, it could extend without a problem.
Hummmmmm.
An eerie hum of power would then follow Athelei's will, as a crystalline sheen would be gifted to his two tails.
Athelei then swung the short tails around, and it felt no different from having wings save for a few things;
"Wings are not as good as these tails in the midst of combat," Athelei spoke to himself and drew the Mystic Pattern of Hunter.
He played around with the extra appendages and figured out their uses. The tails were like extra limbs—Athelei could shoot them out for a jab, swing them down against his foes like a hammer, or whip any aggressor with a flick,
'They're still a bit short... probably because they are born from my wings, but at least I have another tool at my disposal.' Athelei then commanded his tails to become wings once more.
'Now all I need to do is figure out how I must grow my wings.' Athelei thought to himself, 'I think it's about time I try killing something myself...'
.
.
.
When morning came, Thallium Yan arrived before Lisa and called her into her carriage. Athelei knew what this was about and it was something they had talked about last night after dinner.
It was about Lisa's Nebula Gem.
When Athelei asked Thallium Yan about the rarity of orange Users, she told him about the double-edged effects of having an orange User in one's midst. Nobles and any high ranking character would always be careful when an orange User is around them, and a country's military never recruited them.
It was all simply because of many past orange Users leaking information left and right. Orange Users always had very weird loyalties and had proven to be more loyal to those of their own colour. The effect of the Information Network gave orange Users a subtle connection to each other as every piece of information they uploaded would benefit them all.
In fact, many countries were wary of the spread of orange Users. They thought that if there were too many of them, they could create their own collective country and destroy all the existing ones.
At one point in the past, the Information Network was thought to be governed by special and secretive gods who were waiting for the right chance to strike and take over the world. It had warranted a mass purge and witch hunt of any orange User they discovered.
Nowadays though, the eight countries distributed orange Nebula Gems in a controlled manner so they could at least have a window to see into the state that the Information Network was in. Any special operatives would be void of any orange Users and the headquarters of important institutions never let these Users roam free when they visited.
Hearing all these cons, Athelei had nodded and simply thought, 'It makes sense. So many pros cannot be without its counterpart. The Information Network is simply too powerful when used correctly... That, and it seems like the Orange Tier 1 Skills involve trading! A universally accessible shop is simply amazing.'
It was something that was desired yet feared at the same time.
Athelei had recalled the summative description he gave to the orange Users,
=o=o=o=o=
Orange: Users are connected through the Information Network, making growth dependent on group contribution and interaction with others.
=o=o=o=o=
He nodded to himself, thinking about how well he had phrased it. The article had written on the Information Network had, in fact, been voted as a vital article—which meant that it was easily found wherever you were on the Network.
It seemed like many agreed with his summaries.
Returning back to reality, Thallium Yan and Athelei both agreed that with the latter already bearing an orange Nebula Gem, Lisa could choose a different colour so as to supplement Athelei's weaknesses.
Athelei would be in a more supportive position in the partnership while Lisa would be akin to the vanguard. It made sense since she was twice Athelei's age. Athelei may be blessed, but Lisa was stronger than he was by quite a bit.
'I wonder what she decided on,' thought Athelei as he boarded his carriage once again, 'Cyan or Purple? I'm putting my bets on purple... especially with those curious prayers of hers last night... Prior knowledge is vital for purple Users, and with my Information Network around, she would grow well.'
Athelei then greeted his fellow survivors and struck up a conversation with Falti as he accessed the Information Network.
He glanced at the map as he talked and inwardly smiled, 'Finally, a more dangerous portion of the journey. I have a good grip on Hunter's Mystic Pattern so I should be able to fight any of the smaller wild beasts... Right?'
Athelei was still having a few doubts, but time waited for no one.
He was going to slay.