I spend a few moments digesting the new name of my Sigil. Ebbing Captive. My eyes roam the tome in front of me, tasting in the name of it through the text that can only be understood, not read.. Quite an ominous and restrictive name, huh? But I think I can see what it's alluding to even now. My chains are begging to ebb away from me now that I have gained my Release, not that I know what that even entails, though.
And there is only one way I'll find out: by answering the question given to me by The Cabin and seeing the details of my new Sigil. I rub my hands as I would at a campfire before rereading the question proposed.
Do you prefer to see others' perspectives, delve into your own dreams, or stand tall with a perspective of your own?
The Cabin says this question will matter for my Metamorphosis, but how? Why? Doesn't a Metamorphosis enhance a part of you with Ether? It says that I have this choice because I'm a Philosopher, but that makes me wonder what other people's Metamorphosis is like.
What is the difference between us that gives me this choice? Are there other choices that people get that I don't? Probably. That doesn't matter, though, not to me. What matters is what each of these choices will entail, and after my recent awakening to the true nature of my Sigil, I think I understand the options.
The first, choosing that I prefer to see other perspectives, will likely enhance my eyes, and maybe specifically Chain Eyes. I heard from Otto and Blake that the improvement of your Metamorphosis that imbues an aspect of you with Ether has the biggest impact on the skill that uses that part of you. An example was Johnny. His eyes were the point of his Metamorphosis, allowing his vision to break through the human limit at all times, with no skill needed. Most need to use Ether to see things far away or react quickly, but his eyes alone do it for him.
The second choice, delving into my own dreams, is a bit vaguer. I can deduce that it will improve Daydream, but what part of me specifically will it improve? Sleep? Is that something that can be improved? Sounds a bit too... abstract. Maybe a part of my brain? I don't know. I don't know a lot, and there is little point in asking for others' input as this Sigil is so rare. I've seen dozens of everything else except for Philosopher and Gambler, where it is four and two, respectively. Although I have a hunch that my reason for seeing so many of my own Sigil is my resonance with it and my Absolution. The theory of Sigil Resonant Attraction, or whatever it is called, is probably why I've seen it more than Gambler. That and the second one was delivered by Johnny.
The third, however, hmm… Stand tall with a perspective of my own… If the first was Chain Eyes and the second Daydream, I'd wager a guess that this one is either Strugglers Defiance or Ironheart. However, because the first two are normal Sigil skills, it is likely Ironheart that The Cabin is alluding to. That choice would likely enhance my will even further and my resistance to illusions, mind control, and the variety of terrible things that come with attacks on the will.
Hmm… which is the best? Eyes, dreams, or will? My immediate guess is leaning toward will. One of these days, I'm going to fight Alexos and kill him, and a more powerful Ironheart that can keep both my body intact and illusions away from me will be vital. Enhancing Daydream isn't really needed as it does its job quite well as it is. And now that I know I can split the focus with Ironheart, it will be even more useful.
Chain Eyes, however… Something deep down tells me this is a crossroads. Choosing between how I see the world and how I resist it. On one hand, Chain Eyes feels like the weakest link amongst all my skills, only useful for the quick notice of someone's number of Sigils, but with my recent discovery, everything changes.
Seeing from someone else's eyes is an incredibly useful ability and completely redeems the Sigil skill that I at first thought was far weaker than all else. I can't control them or anything, but the reconnaissance and combat utility is massive. Combined with Ironheart, which can split my focus, I can fight and see from the enemy's perspective or watch over an ally. This revelation is so huge I honestly should change the name of the skill, but that can wait until later.
If I choose Ironheart, I will become tougher and more resilient, but that's about it, right? All my recent fights have been proving that while my toughness is powerful, it is slowly being beaten down without the Bloody Palm to help me. My toughness is no longer as useful as it once was. As Johnny said, I'm slowly killing myself. I think the utility and possibility that Chain Eyes can give is far greater.
There is also the matter of fighting Alexos, but I think that Chain Eyes can help there too. I've been using the skill wrong this whole time. I figure with my eyes closed and becoming a "ponderer and observer of reality" as The Cabin put it, I can see through illusions using that world of only chains that was bestowed to me just before.
That's it, right? My choice? I think so. Something about answering questions to this unliving tome just feels wrong, even if it only has helped me understand my Sigil so far.
I take a deep breath before speaking my answer out loud with a firm decision. I want to see the world from different perspectives. If I am to be a Philosopher, I should act like one. Only by seeing others' suffering can I keep my sanity in this mad world. Even if it might make me a bit too empathetic with my enemy. I'll just have to steel my resolve to not give mercy where it is undeserved. Devil knows Alexos won't get it.
"I prefer to see from others' perspectives."
My quiet yet stern voice enters the empty and dim cabin, echoing off of the dark wood around me seemingly endlessly. I look around at the cabin around me as the echo grows quieter and more distorted as seconds pass in tension. Then, just as the echo seems to disappear entirely, the words shift and come back to me with different words from what I said, yet in my own voice and at a similar volume.
"I prefer to watch from your perspective."
The weird words and unsettling distortion of my words make me look around, confused. I search for something, anything at all in The Cabin that might have done that, but nothing exists. The Cabin is empty, barring the table and tome in the center. I look around for a bit longer, but the shifting colors of the words on the tome draw my attention back.
Shaking my head, thinking I must just be imagining things, I look at the tome once more. The words shift to the normal information regarding my Sigil as it is all funneled into my mind.
The ponderer and observer of reality.
The dreamer of what could be.
The struggler against the world that holds all down.
Your fourth Sigil towards Freedom and toward Limitlessness. You are no longer simple. You are now Wondrous. You have taken a step beyond your race. Many yet exist, but you have proven your efforts, will, and ambition.
The Ebbing Captive
The prisoner in a world where none know they are chained. Able to fight against the world of the chained, the dreamless, and the willess. Able to Release yourself from your chains momentarily. Limited only by perception, imagination, and will, you may enhance aspects of yourself. Bones, muscles, skin, ears, eyes, and even the heart, you may Release yourself to grow in capability. But be aware a Captive is still in jail even if they get free of their chains. Bounds will always exist until you become Limitless. Your limit of channeled Ether has burgeoned further than any other in your position, for the Captive's only escape is self-improvement.
You have achieved a Metamorphosis of being. No longer are you a mere speck in the vastness of the Endless. You have grown from being a small insignificant creature to one that has a small modicum of power. A feat impressive for one such as your kind in such little time. Your choice has changed your future, as all choices do, but this one holds a special meaning. Your eyes. The windows to the soul. For all your life, you have used them instead of your imagination to perceive. That is no longer an option. Your imagination and vision will now forever be overlaid. The pondering Philosopher holds all the power within their small unreal worlds. But when a struggle arrives, you may grasp that which is unreal and make it real.
Your eyes… your eyes… your eyes… All eyes are special, but some more so than others. As with all who reach this point, I am overjoyed to congratulate you. But there are always caveats. A simple warning is all I can leave you, or else what remains risks discovery.
Not all things should be pondered, not all things imagined, and most certainly not all things perceived.
One final boon exists for my dear Ebbing Captive. Your Absolution is growing, ever closing the distance toward the singularity of change. Now, all who are near your gasp of defiance shall ebb, for as your chains weaken, theirs shall tighten.
May your journey, while certainly filled with distractions, be glorious, long, and worthy of my aid.
The absolute inundation of information almost makes me buckle over. My sweaty hands clamp down on the wood of the table as I struggle to stay standing amidst the hurricane in my mind. So much was funneled into me from the tome in such a small amount of time, and I'm struggling to recover.
But after a few moments of silence, except for the panting of my lungs, I begin to return to normal and asses what my new Sigil entails.
The Ebbing Captive is quite interesting. I finally gained my first Sigil skill with the main purpose of strengthening my physical body. Sure, I have Strugglers Gasp and Defiance, but they are both from my Absolution and are in a league of their own. Not just that, but this one likely has just as much depth as my other three; I just have to explore it.
I think that might be the biggest weakness of the Philosopher. The skills are vague and nearly useless without deep experimentation and thought. Though, it makes sense regarding the name. Being able to release a part of my body from its chains and potentially increase its efficiency tens of times has incredible potential. It specifically says I can use it for organs, so that will be a huge boon for keeping my heart beating. There is surely a limit, however, and I'll have to find the limit.
That's not all, either. Two other things exist besides the common enhancement of my Ether limit, the enhancement of my eyes, and Strugglers Gasp. Where all other Sigils gain strength, speed, endurance, or some vague concept alongside additional skills, I am merely given a higher limit to my Ether and left to my own pondering. The freedom is nice, but a more clear direction could be helpful.
Enough of that, though. The enhancement to my eyes is curious. Having my imagination and vision overlaid is something I can only experience once I leave, but I reckon it will help me quite a lot. I can see it indirectly helping Daydream and Ironheart by giving them clearer instructions as well.
Finally, the additional effect of tightening the restraints on those nearby my gasp of air will be massive. Strengthening myself and weakening others is all I can really ask for, right?
I also pay attention to The Cabin's warning as I find it odd how… humanlike it is sometimes. This place was built by a God in their final moments of sanity. The thought weirds me out and makes me want to leave. Despite the fact I will be leaving the calm of The Cabin, I need to get out like usual. Dakota is badly hurt, and Blake's condition is unknown. I need to help them out.
To do so, I look at the tome and the words left on the page on the right. I also glance at the new look of my Sigil. A trio of eyes exists in shifting motion with chains tightly wrapped around two of them while the third one somehow appears bloodshot. Besides that large Sigil, comprised of three, rests a normal Philosopher, the Sigil forcing the other three to merge. Interesting. These images truly make not a turd of sense in a shitstorm.
I ignore the images and feel the information flow into my mind.
A Captive is able to use their unique perspective and strengths to reach for Freedom in a freedomless world. But for a Captive to grow further, they must Release their mind alongside their body. And to be prepared to do so, they must find an answer to the Captive's Metaphor.
If our own minds limit our perception of reality, then how can we ever know what is truly real?
To begin anew, my Ebbing Captive, place your mind within the Sigil and return to whence you came.
I take a deep breath after committing the next Metaphor to memory, and I place my hand and mind within my Sigil.
******************
Johnny Caldwell
Wracked with pain and weariness, I force myself to stand from the recent tumble I was sent on by this Stikini's minor attack. I and Silas have mostly been fighting off the other demons to allow Birdie to fight without distraction, but this Stikini is too powerful for her. Chief Birdie is the only reason Silas and I are still alive, however, but that doesn't seem to be something that will last much longer as I see Birdie's undead and pale face covered in sweat.
Her fires of Undeath in her eye sockets are dim and show signs of flickering like dying embers. Signs that she is running out of Ether, the substance that sustains those given the Gift by Death. For the living, it is merely how we fight. For them, it's their lives.
I checked my left arm, the main point of impact from when I was sent flying and slammed into the ground from the Stikni's roar. It is bent unnaturally and indeed broken. Something that will likely take a while for me to heal. With a short curse aloud, I put my right hand with Downpour against my chest as I make sure my heart is still beating with a few pulses of Ether.
"Dammit."
We're getting our asses kicked. This demon is far more powerful than Hura, dozens of times in fact, and I'm only a side piece to this whole thing alongside Silas. Just barely are we even helpful to Birdie. Silas has been using his money like nothing else, and he's rapidly running out. Birdie's light, defenses, and healing are helpful, but they can't solve the problem. This Stikini is intelligent, powerful, and way out of our league. Birdie has already used her Power, a dome of closing light that will crush any within, and the Stikini replied with its own Power. A deluge of acidic water came out of the demon-turned-bear and held the dome of light at bay until Birdie had to let go. Demons have more Ether available than humans, after all, especially the undead, who have to use a large portion to keep themselves together at all times. From there, the demon now has a cloak of water that it has condensed to protect it and attack in its stead, probably an application of its Power.
The cloak turns into a tsunami of water at random times, including right now, as I command Ether into my hands, both the broken and uninjured one with Fanfire, Rapid Fire, Softstep, and Gloves. I use the Quilted skills to momentarily let me push off of the liquid and jump over the wave with only a bit of lost skin on the surface of my hands.
Silas throws a coin in the air and jumps to stand on it as the water flows underneath him, eroding everything underneath, and Birdie just creates a wall of light that is able to block the water. But it quickly siphons back to the center where the Stikini stands. Only now that the water is gone the demon seems to have returned to its true form.
The female demon appears ethereal, almost ghostly, with skin as pale as freshly fallen snow. She stands short and slender, opposite to her form as a bear. Her body is draped in a flowing white robe that has a cloak of water that billows out behind her like a cloud. Her face is covered by a thin mist, and her hood only allows me to see her bright eyes, piercing bulbs of icy blue that seem to glow with demonic intensity.
As she moves, taking a single step toward Bride, Silas, and me, wisps of steam rise from her form, twisting and curling around her like a veil. The cloak formed from her Power seems to swirl and shift of its own accord, as if it has a life of its own. A light yet imposing voice comes from the demon, causing me to look around for the first time since our battle began.
"Looks as though we four are finally alone. The worthy to fight the worthy. How… splendid. I cannot wait to grow even further! May I learn your names, humans? We have danced long enough that I, Saconet, am willing to commit you to memory."
I don't truly comprehend the second part of what she says as I look around. All the Volkar around us are also dead. I only killed the ones nearest, which were some 5th and 6th Sigils. I'm unsure how that came about, but I don't think of it as it aids us. Only three humans, Silas, Birdie, and I. All the others, including the undead, are either taken out or unconscious from injury.
Even the seemingly indomitable Graves is unmoving, though I do sense a higher quality of Ether from him. It seems as though he took a step forward. Good. Should we make it out of this alive, his increased prowess will be crucial. I am also quite impressed by the demon he felled. A 5th Sigil Volkar. Inhuman for a young 3rd Sigil to do so. But I guess with an Absolution and being a Graves, it's not impossible. His mentor could have done the same. Only makes sense. Does make me worry a bit now, though, that he's catching up to me.
I'll have to Prove something soon if I don't want to be caught by a child.
Either the answer to "How does the use of a gun require one to sacrifice empathy for the sake of power?"
Or to "Can the skill of marksmanship be seen as an art form, or is it purely a means to an end?"
But before I can even ruminate on my answers, I hear Silas' voice echo in the dry air of the Underworld.
"I am Silas, the Wisher. Would say I'm glad to meet such a fine lady, but you have quite the bite and won't even show your face."
The demon giggles gracefully in response to Silas and gives him an offer.
"If you're willing to join me, I could let you see what lies underneath?"
I glare at Silas as the man starts messing around just a bit, even at such a risky juncture. I've learned over the past week, though, that humor is his way of dealing with stress.
"Ohoho… And what exactly am I looking under?"
I tighten the grip on Downpour as I start collating my Ether into a bullet. Trueshot is the only thing that can hurt her; the bullet's speed, stopping power, and accuracy are near impossible to dodge as long as I have a target in sight. Something tells me, however, that my eye of gold might be needed, so I start preparing that as well. A demon turning into its true form with a Power active is never a good sign.
Especially when the Angel on your side's Power has been countered.
Saconet takes another step forward as I hear uncovered footsteps against the dry ground of No Man's Land. The demon waves her arms to the sides with a billow of mist, the cloak of water behind her changing shape to a giant bear. The bear made out of see-through acidic water roars into the air, causing heart palpitations in my chest just as Saconet speaks to us once more, almost making it impossible to hear her.
"Why, we have all the time in the world; why don't we enjoy it? I'll show you some real fun by the time we're done, Mr. Silas. Your two friends don't seem very welcoming and only serve to prevent our fun, however, so what do you say I remove them?"