*Note from Author: Hey, there is an auxiliary chapter before this that is actually a prelude to the beginning of this story, so if you haven't read that yet, go back and read it, as it will be paramount to your reading experience here, anywho, hope you enjoy the story & to see you in "Author's Thoughts", goodbye for now!*
Long ago, between the clouds and the winds that carried them, a grand palace laid in endless skies, and two beings lived in its halls, amongst dozens of others…
One with beauty emanating from every part of her, from the way her long, shining silver caucasian hair moves in the ever so gentle wind that surrounds her, like it was light itself, flowing smoothly in the wind, just below her shoulders, to features ever gentler than the wind itself, her delicate frame soft, yet her stance screamed of vigor and life, of something unbound and indomitable…
The other was a man, his bearing was… overbearing, yet not so, as if the way he stood, walked, moved, was just on the cusp of arrogance, but it was never fully so; with a demeanor of consuming cold, with rustic, clean black robes of a steely kind of silk cover his dark skin, the robes faded into obscurity as they would meet the ground.
Some of the others would think his body language came from the uncaring heart he harbored, others would feel a wandering kindness in him, as if there was a true, kind, being under all those shades of darkness…
It was never the same, as each being thought differently of him, and saw him differently, from the smallest detail, to the largest of personalities, no one knew for sure why; to everyone, he was an enigma, a null zone.
Well…
Almost everyone.
The two found something in each other, they felt a sense of completion, as if they were two parts of a whole that was never supposed to be apart in the first place, a longing of a piece of themselves they never felt was missing.
They were inseparable once together, yet they never seemed to be apart.
One way or another, they always seemed to be together… to the point where the other beings weren't even sure of when they got together in the first place.
For her, he was her "nothing", always by her side, for when she found something missing or lacking, she would find it as him, by her side…
And for him, she was his "everything", in all meanings of the word, and 'world', as everything would remind him of her, never truly leaving him as she's all around, so he would never be alone.
At some point, they decided that they wanted to care for another, together…
However, the beings lacked a method to have one to care for…
They sought help from another, a being whose known to lead all of them, and one to create things.
They asked for help in creating a being to care for… one that'll be the aspect of both of them, yet neither…
She spoke with clarity, wisdom, and immaculacy…
"I shall grant you the tools, but to truly make a being with the aspects of the both of you: it must be done by your own hands."
And so, they did, with the guidance of the creation being, the two began working towards their goal of creating a being to care for…
However, they never would have guessed that instead of being finished by their hands, it would be finished by its own…
•••
"It is time to go…"
"He is not done! We cannot just leave him, we have come so far!"
"And we cannot bring him as he will not survive outside his chrysalis."
"…"
"I gave you the tools to make him, I'm, in a sense of the word, his godmother, nothing I say will express just how much it hurts us to abandon him, however, we must go, we don't have much time, the others have already left, including your %#¥@€*"
"What!? He would never, he would be just as unmoving as I am!"
"He was, until he came up with a solution to our dilemma."
"…what is it…?"
"It is…
&##!£<£[+~=\€,+]€,*]=|?^-":$."
"That's his intent…? It can work, but the danger is immeasurable…"
"It's the only way."
"…alright, let's do it, but before we go on with it, let me say a few last words to him…"
"Can he even hear us? I thought you said he was incomplete."
"Incomplete, not inoperable, if that were the case, this plan would have never worked, luckily enough, his foundations are done, but where those foundations end, well...it's up to him now…"
She walked to the chrysalis, a giant light grey contraption shaped in an oval with various pale blue bulbous glass spots strewn across it, held by a machine surrounding where it met the ground, with various tubing connected to it from where it met the roof, various compartments also compiled into different parts of the device & the sub compartments, some filled with a language unknown, while others were filled with solid colors beyond what is seen by the common eye.
She rested her palm on one of the protruding glass orbs, the glass too obscuring to allow anything on the other side to be seen besides a shadow and various bubbles.
"Hello little one, sorry for ignoring you till now, but we didn't wish to speak until we had completed you, but I'm even more so sorry to say we won't be here when you are finally awake and thinking, and it brings me endless sorrow to know what I have to do, but know this…
I…love you, and your =£¥*#% does too, I can feel his tender care, and… he deeply regrets not being able to say it to you, face to face, but always remember this…
#& $!e a+w@ys together, be it in complete absence of anything, or in the presence of everything, we'll be...
Right...
beside...
you.
And at some point, we'll be together, for real, I know it, he knows it, and I'm sure you'll know it too… someday."
"… Did he really hear all that?"
"Most of it, definitely, however, there may be bits and pieces lost, considering he is… undone, now, come over here and let us get it done, the soon-~𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐤~-er the better, right?"
The creation being looked at her in the eyes with a sense of melancholy, but she approached the chrysalis and rested her hands upon it as well, as she was the key to what they were about to do.
And so, they begun the process…
…
…
..-
~𝐁𝐙𝐙𝐒𝐓~
[ Guidance System, Activa- ]
[ Protocol: Altered… Modification - Underway! ]
[ . . . ]
[ . . . ]
[ . . Modification - Complete! ]
[ Adjustments - Cemented. ]
[ Guidance System - Modified Admin Version, Activated! ]
[ Initial Personalized Adjustments to Us#r: {€¥£}, Don%! ]
[ Waiting for ¥s$r Feedback… ]
"Is it...?"
"It's done, and the system has accepted the modifications, however, it is responding awkwardly to him, probably due to his… 'uniqueness' of being an incomplete being."
"It'll have to do, it should adjust to him regardless, once it does, it'll be fine, so, let's send him off…"
As the floor shook and grumbled, and dust fell from the ceiling for reasons unknown, both of their hands started to glow in a white, light, the creation beings' a more mystical light, while the other in more a nature of an almost liquid flame.
And as the lights melded and spread across the entire container holding the incomplete being, multiple parts of the machine hummed to life, while others creaked with defiance, the tubes above of complex colors faded as they detached from the pod, now hissing with the vacuum of air compromised, hanging aimlessly without purpose, the various compartments filled with language unknown began to be rewritten, letters and symbols vanished and in their place, new ones appeared, as the moved towards the center of the chrysalis, off the screen, they would brighten before disappearing.
In response to what was happening, the thing inside shifted, disturbed by whatever was happening outside its container, subtly influencing the shape of what it looked like, like it was partially liquid, slowly, it was getting smaller and smaller.
Before it could disappear in its entirety, the being of indomitable life whispered one last thing to him, with tears in her eyes…
"…Good luck, I-"
[ 𝐅𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐋 𝐄𝐑𝐑𝐎𝐑 ! ]
•••
[ . . - ]
[U$er F@@dback, Received!]
[ Immediate adjustments are being made to the system to accommodate to the User, please wait and comply when needed. ]
"Ughhhhh, my head.... where...where am I, and... what in the heck is that voice saying?"
[ Invasive bodily scan needed to assess Us@r, may result in unwanted temporary effects in the host's body, grant permission?]
"Wha- what does that even mean, and a 'system?'...I need a minute, give me a minute..."
[ Need an immediate answer from %se#, as all other functions are put on hold until an answer is given, and several severe err&r@ have been found in the system due to faulty integration with $^@* as said being is not in the database, and
"What? Database? System falloff? What's that?"
[
"Alright, alright, you don't have to be rude about it; yes, yes, go ahead with the 'invasive scan'."
Almost instantly, his entire...body? Was feeling tingly and being filled up with.... needles!
"OW! That hurts you... System?"
He remained perfectly still to not cause more pain, even though it feels like he can't move anyway, the feeling was slowly transitioning into the feeling of being filled with sand, and so, the pain went away with it, but his body was still feeling the tingly sensation from both the process and the pain.
[ Process Complete!
"Alright? I still have no clue what's going on, but alright."
'Status'
| Name: Ixa
| Species: Treant (Unknown Subspecies) (?)
| Stats
STR: 0
AGI: N/A
VIT: ?
INT: 6
| Skills
???
???
"... Alright, that's enough for me, system? What in the world is going on and why can't I see a damned thing?"
[ System is sorting through multiple tasks as you are a completely new existence in the entirety of the world; this 'system' is multitasking your assorted data, the errors, and the hosts current bodily condition, situation, etc., in short: I ain't a god so give me a damned minute too...]
"..."
He remained quiet both in acknowledgement and surprise, he didn't expect a system to be so...lively?
The two stayed in complete silence for a solid couple of minutes until the system finally responded.
[ System has finished resolving the errors, establishing a stable connection to the User, and concluded assessment on User, please recheck
"Okay."
'Status... again'
_____________________________________
| Name: Ixa | Species: Fallen Treant
| Stats
STR: 0
AGI: N/A
VIT: ?
INT: 6
| Skills & Abilities
_____________________________________
He was about to ask a question before 'System' beat him to the punch.
[ System took the liberty to name your new species and the new skills that followed your natural body, as they are completely new, and for their functions, System can only get the most broadest of descriptions because they are completely tied to your new species, only an outline of the skill's use can be inferred, and for User's condition and body, it is unique and currently can only be determined to be stable until System gets a stronger understanding of the User's body, for the shape, System can display it. Wish to see it?]
"Not right now, even with names such as those piquing my curiosity, I'm still confused, and I need to know, what is going on right now?"
He was in complete confusion; he is recognizing and using words he's never heard before, it feels like when you pay attention to a certain word and it starts looking and sounding weird, which is called semantic satiation...𝐒𝐄𝐄, 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒, and that's not even the worse of it, as he felt this way to EVERY single word, sensation, thought, just... 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠.
It feels normal but at the same time, abnormal to know all of it, the actual worse of it being that he can't even remember anything before this, it was as if he came into existence as an already cognizant being...he was amazed he wasn't going insane with the feeling, and staying freakishly calm since him awaking, even with the feeling nagging in the back of his mind, he focused on the now before, but 𝐧𝐨𝐰, he needed answers...
[ You are a new existence, as for those who gave you life, they had to leave and abandon you in an emergency, however, they implemented me in the midst of the emergency to guide you.]
"That's heavy... and…vague, just what exactly are you guiding me to?"
[ I am…unsure, all I know is to keep you safe and help you.]
"Well, at least I'm not left in the complete dark, oh wait, I am."
[ That... was a terrible pun.]
"Had to lighten up the mood somehow, anyhow & who, what about my vision? I don't see a thing."
[ User is advised to check out their appearance, that'll explain the vision issue.]
"K, let's see what I look like, at least I'll be able to find why I can't see a thing."
A colored projection appeared in the dark abyss that was his lack of vision, and he was...
"A...root? I get I'm supposed to be a Treant, but this doesn't even look alive, much less 'a' body."
His body was a mass of twisted, dark gray wood, spiraling & twisting with 4 sharp prongs pointing towards the air, with a dead, bleak red elliptic bead at the center, floating ominously like it was just begging anyone around to touch it or even take it, and the wood itself had a metal sheen to it, as if it were actually metal, or at least as hard as metal, he looked a couple dozen of inches tall, around the size of a 6 year old human.
"At least I know why I can't see a damned thing: I got nothing to 'see' with! Maybe I can see through that orb thingy."
[User is currently located in a murky forest, as for the "orb thingy", that is your core, protect it at all costs, as it is a vital part of your body, and no, you cannot see through it, and if you don't wish to die to a bunny eating your core, I suggest you check out your skills.]