As we walk past the door where I first saw Bast, the cat creature, it leaps onto Mary's shoulder. It is a small, light cat, or rather cat-like beast, so I'm unsurprised that Mary can seemingly effortlessly handle the thing's weight.
"So… a powered newcomer saved my life." Mary grumbles, quietly but not silently. Something about the speech itself seems… off to me somehow, and it takes me a beat to hypothesize that Mary might be speaking another language. As a "Cultist of the Deep" I can understand all speech, and so even if she doesn't speak whatever the standard language of Vaporwave City happens to be I can still understand her. I glance at Mary and decide to speak.
"Your cat is really loyal to you." I remark, lightly. This manages to get the grunge-loving punk rocker to smile slightly. She looks up at me and I sense her studying me for a moment.
"Bast and I have an understanding." She says, and I can feel her deciding how much she is willing to share with me. She looks at the cat, and I watch the two of them exchange meaningful looks.
The two of them do have some strange connection and I consider asking them about it, before I decide to try a different tactic. I glance at the pop-rocker and smile.
"So… Why'd I have to save your life?" I ask, allowing my tone to suggest I'm asking as a joke but I allow my sincere curiosity to fill my gaze. Mary glances at me and hesitates, looking at the cat on her shoulder before deciding to answer.
"My friend is in trouble. She's cursed. It's not a strong curse, but the thing about curses is that curse breakers are very rare. I went to the part of the mall you found me in looking for almond water, a substance that can be found naturally in liminal zones like that part of the mall. The substance can be used to weaken the effects of supernatural conditions, and has been rumored to break weak curses. Bast and I went together, as my friend is a potential convert and Bast grows stronger the more she is worshiped." Mary explains.
"We were exploring a normally entity-free part of the zone but for some reason there were smilers before we went anywhere near a known entity-habitat. Most entities, smilers include as far as anyone publicly knows, can't leave liminal zones so no one should be in any danger from the smilers but… Finding them was an unpleasant surprise. Smilers are deeply sadistic fucks." Mary tells me. She looks at me seriously and frowns.
"I owe you my life. They would have tortured and killed me if not for your intervention." She remarks, and I can tell that she is being serious.
"Honestly I don't fully get what happened but Bast and I are alive and that's only thanks to you." She exclaims, before smiling gently.
I smile back at her, and think about her friend. If it's just a curse… I could probably do something about it. I decide to take this moment to more fully investigate my abilities, and I start off by focusing on the element of earth.
Another six constellation-like shapes form in my mind's eye when I do this. One is of a wizard with a wand who is firing a series of stones at a distant foe, the next is of someone meditating surrounded by stones, the next is of a samurai-like warrior wielding a sword made of stone. The next three images are of a strange figure staring at a glass-vial, another elementalist image, and finally someone speaking to a small dog. These represent, in order, a geomancer, an earthshaker, a bloodletter, an alchemist, an elementalist, and a spirit caller.
My companions and I step onto an escalator and I sense my boosted senses vanish as I begin to ascend towards the mall's second floor. The loss is a touch annoying, but as my senses return to normal I familiarize myself with the powers offered by each origin. This time I have three things where I possess the first three abilities, the earthshaker, the alchemist, and the elementalist, and I have two spirit callers abilities unlike with water's primordial origin.
As a geomancer I have the ability to draw on mana, or magical power, from the earth itself and my manipulations of earth are a lot more fluid than they'd otherwise be. My earthshaker origin is what allows me to have boosted senses on the ground or ground floor of a place, as well as allows me to hear the voice of the earth when I mediate and in theory I can stumble across secret, universal truths that will allow me to become better at the things I do if I listen to the earth enough.
The bloodletter powers are considerably more gruesome than my other abilities. As a bloodletter I can manipulate blood like I can manipulate earth, my attacks cause much more bleeding, and my attacks deal much more damage to healthy, undamaged foes than they would otherwise. It's a bizarre set of abilities but it's also obviously and remarkably effective in battle. A part of me wonders if I should have used it on the smilers, but I didn't know about it which is annoying.
Alchemists have a funny set of powers, and as an alchemist I natively understand that all sorts of natural things ranging from plants to rocks to cats and dogs have supernatural properties that alchemists can draw out and use in potion-making. I can draw out the supernatural and essential potential of something with a thought and use this potential in a range of ways. My final ability is the power to modify the potential I can make use of, turning it into something similar, such as finding something with the potential to heal and strengthening it to give it regenerative potential. As an elementalist I can find this potential in a lot more stuff than a normal alchemist could.
Earth elementalists are focused on variety. My first elementalist power is "Progenesis" the power I used to turn air into water. The second is "Cycling" which explains part of the potency of my healing spells since it allows me to empower elemental effects when I first use a different kind of element, and turning earth into water through progenesis counts for that purpose. The final elementalist ability I possess is named "Loose Interpretation" and it allows me to manipulate many things as though they were fire, water, wind, and earth, like metal as though it were earth, lightning as though it were air, vapor as though it were water, and smoke as though it were fire.
Before I can focus on my spirit caller abilities I see something strange. As Mary, Bast, and I are reaching the top of the escalator I see a strange shadowy being walking on the second floor of the mall. It is a strange shadow-like blob that seems to be intently exploring a clothing store, and for a moment I assume it must be a creature that is a normal non-human resident of the city but this impression changes when I watch a woman in the store walk right through the shadowy being without noticing it. My eyes narrow when I spot it and I wonder if it's a ghost or something.
Mary and I step off of the escalator and march towards the next one. The mall's food court is on the third floor of the building, and as we walk towards the escalator I refocus and study the abilities I possess as a spirit caller. Since there's only two it's not hard.
The first is the ability to use my powers through any other medium for my abilities, such as a wand or through an animal I've made a contract with. The second ability is for me to interact with spirit beings like ghosts and divine beings and interact with the spirit realm so powerfully I can serve as a gateway, as well as make use of beings I put into the spirit realm or pull out of it as conduits for my powers.
These powers are really bizarre, but I can imagine some potent ways to mix them together. I can do things like use bottles or cups to capture air, turn the air into water, and through that have a mostly unlimited supply of water, or even use the water to other ends like to curse people or to make potions. I can also turn air into rocks and use those rocks as solid, powered projectiles for my earth manipulation.
As my companions and I reach the halfway point up the second escalator, I focus on wind and smile when eight mental images form in my mind's eye. The first four are of a figure playing a guitar in front of a crowd, a man mediating atop a mountain, a figure communing with the dead, and a flying girl. A bard, a fengshen, a shaman, and a windwalker.
As a bard, this element's spellcasting origin, I am immune to mental manipulation of any sort, I can "hear" the songs playing in other people allowing me to passively understand them and manipulate them through music (and music and sounds count as wind for elemental manipulation), and I can figure out how to use music and words in place of magical energy, supernatural ingredients, and other supplies.
My powers as a fengshen, a cultivator from that genre of Chinese comics judging from the powers available to me, are simpler than my bardic abilities. I am fantastic at mediation, which will surely synergize well with my ability to listen to the earth, and I can continually improve at anything I try, which is definitely going to help me become a better… elementalist, or whatever the proper term is for something like me.
When I examine my shamanic powers I realize that the shadow-being I just saw must be a ghost. My only shamanic power, for the time being, is my ability to see the dead and interact with them as though they were still alive. My powers as a windwalker relate to movement, space, and visibility. I can move anywhere where there's wind, within a distance that will increase as I gain experience using this power but starts off big enough for me to teleport around a few blocks, I can make myself invisible or undetectable at will, and I am an expert at motion in general in such a way that I can navigate areas easily and dodge all sorts of attacks so long as I'm not caught off guard.
My powers as a windwalker explain how I can fly… In fact, flight is part of the description of "Lateral Movement", the ability that allows me to dodge all sorts of attacks. So my nature as a windwalker is what saved me from hitting the water earlier. That's good to know.
My companions and I reach the top of the escalator and Mary asks me if I've ordered any food since I got here. I tell her that I haven't, and she nods at me. The food court is directly ahead of us, and I smile as I see it. Numerous restaurants fill a space larger than several football fields and countless tables dot the spaces between the restaurants.
"Want me to come with you? I can make sure no one tries to scam you since you're new." Mary asks, and I shake my head. I tell her to go get some food and to get something for Bast, and then I'll go over to her when I get my food. She hesitates but nods at me and I watch the cat and her walk off towards the food court. I spot an Italian restaurant, and begin to walk towards it as I focus on the last four images in my mind's eye.
The first is of someone standing next to a steam-powered mech, the next is of a ghost haunting someone, the third is another elementalist image, and the final one is of someone standing over a crowd of hooded worshipers. They represent, in order, a steamwright, a wraith, an elementalist, and an aetherborn. In every case but aetherborn's I possess three abilities.
I head over to the line for the Italian restaurant and wait for the line to move. As I do I study my abilities closely. As a steamwright I can dress in ways that fit different periods and genres to improve my skills related to those periods, I can see abilities and technologies and learn how to replicate those abilities and technologies using gears, cogs, and steam and I am a master at pressure manipulation. That last bit is both curious and powerful since being a master at pressure manipulation means I can power steam-powered devices very easily. When I saw the teleporter and my mind started trying to figure out how to replicate it that was a manifestation of my ability to create steampunk versions of things.
The line begins to move with people in front of me beginning to order at various cash registers. I listen to them as I examine my nature and powers as a wraith: an undead monster akin to a spookier version of a mirror demon.
As a wraith bad luck I endure benefits me when it runs its course, I can turn into an undead monster at will, and I am immune to death from anything other than an enemy's blows. I also have the passive benefits of being an undead monster at all times, such as not needing sleep or food, though I can still choose to sleep or eat if I want to. Truthfully this particular nature blends well with some of my other abilities, such as my ability to teleport and my nature as a mirror demon able to turn myself into glass.
"Hello, I'd like a plate of spaghetti carbonara." I tell a cashier when I reach him. He nods at me and inputs the order, before asking me if I'd like a drink. I ask for a water cup, and he smiles and hands me one even as I hand him my stipend card. He takes the thing and swipes it as I mentally examine my last two natures: that of a wind elementalist and that of an "Aetherborn".
As a "Wind Elementalist" I can manipulate energy in three vital ways. I can transfer any kind of energy from one source to another, allowing me to for example rip arcane energy out of someone and put it into myself. I can convert kinds of energy into other kinds of energy, allowing me to take electricity and transform it into magical or psychic power. My final trick, for the time being, is the power to solidify energy. This one is weird, as it's both the power to do things like rip out energies, and use energies as ingredients in crafting and for other reasons.
I step out of the line and wait for my food as I glance at my "Aetherborn" powers: the ability to manipulate light and a body that is made out of aether itself. Aether is the divine wind, it is the stuff of the gods, who I guess are real. Aetherborn and Spirit Callers are the two weird origins for Wind and Earth respectively. When my order is called out I go and grab the tray it's on from one of the restaurant's chefs, even as I take in the full enormity of my powers.
"As powerful as your abilities are, you have not yet reached the apex of your abilities." The voice of The Guide tells me even as I go and fill up my cup.
"There is not a single origin you are a master of just yet. In some cases you have three abilities, which marks you as a powerful user of that particular skill set, but each origin other than Aetherborn has a total of five abilities, and Aetherborn has four. The fourth and fifth powers in each set are especially powerful, and how long it takes you to unlock the next ability depends on how far along you already are in terms of your powers in the set already. The more you already have, the longer it'll take. Basically, you will be able to gain fire abilities easier than wind ones, because you already have many wind abilities." The Guide reveals, causing me to wonder what sort of other powers I could eventually unlock.
Fundamentally I'm like a more esoteric version of The Avatar from that old cartoon. My powers are more extensive than that bald kid's powers, but given that he was a kid at the start of the cartoon and I never paid it much mind I don't know how powerful he became.
"Your sacrifice empowered you in ways that even I didn't expect. You have four potent boons that affect all of your elemental abilities: the first is that your elemental abilities can only be resisted by beings with specific resistances to elemental abilities. Immortality, generalized invulnerability, those sorts of things are useless against your elemental abilities. The second is that things you elementally manipulate are unbreakable barring direct elemental manipulation. This is mostly relevant to earth, but it's also handy for things like fire and ice." The Guide tells me as I begin to scan the food court for my new companions.
"Ice you make will not melt, and fires you set will not be extinguished, barring your direct intervention, the intervention of another elemental manipulator, or something like fire running out of fuel or the ice being set on fire by a fire manipulator. The third boon is that you learn elemental abilities much faster. The final boon is that your manipulations are an unstoppable force, capable of dramatic shows of force and titanic effects, and you yourself gain a dramatic boost to your ability to manipulate things. Even your more esoteric abilities are affected by this, as you'll quickly discover." The voice reveals, before vanishing from the back of my mind.
I spot my companions and wave at them before making my way over to the two of them. As I approach I smile at the pair, and I think about the food I have while also contemplating my powers.
"Hey there!" I say, brightly to the pair when I sit down at their table. Mary is eating some Asian dish and Bast is on the table, lightly eating some fish. I place my food on the table and pull out my phone to snap a quick picture of the dish. Mary sees this and rolls her eyes at me.
"Are you one of those people who likes to post pictures of your food online?" She asks, and I can hear the sarcasm in her tone quite clearly. I laugh at her remarks before replying to them.
"I'm friends with someone who suggested I try pasta for dinner. This picture is for her." I explain, which causes Mary to nod at me. I begin to eat some of the food, doing so cautiously and slowly given the messiness of pasta. As I do I glance at Mary who is slowly eating her own food.
We eat in polite silence, which gives all of us a chance to recover from the harrowing events we endured. Mary takes out her phone and begins to type messages into it between spoonfuls of food. I don't mind the silence, which is why I allow it, and in time I even come to enjoy the opportunity to both be with other people and still have moments to be introspective.
I muse on the events of the day. Today I have ventured to a new world, gained superpowers, and even saved lives. It is an exciting list of accomplishments, and to top it all off I am now eating a delicious plate of pasta… I've certainly had worse days, though I'll be the first to admit that the day began a bit rough.
I've gained access to remarkably synergistic, clearly linked superpowers. Among other things these powers include making me an immortal, undying hybrid of a mirror demon and undead monster, as well as a blood-manipulating, flying magician. To really maximize the power of these abilities I'll need a significant amount of time to train, but at the same time I can already do a lot if given the chance…
I glance at Mary and study her for a moment. She risked her life for her friend, and she gained the loyalty of Bast, a strange creature that grows stronger the more it is worshiped. She ventured into the abandoned sections of the mall searching for a way to save her friend…
I consider revealing that I can do more, and spend several moments deciding whether or not to be a hero. Ultimately only one thought sways me to act: the realization that I arrived here in a whole new world because of an act of kindness. A single, instinctual desire to help someone sent me hurtling towards the ocean off the coast of Vaporwave City. As I finish my food I turn to Mary and begin to speak.
"So… I want to help. Your friend, I mean. I want to help her." I say, simply. This remark causes the eyes of both Bast and Mary to widen in delight.
"I'm not sure what I can do, as my powers are still new even to me, but I want to help." I tell the two. I reach into my pocket and retrieve a single object from them before putting it on the table.
"Give me your contact information and we can figure out a time tomorrow that we can meet up. And her address. That's where we'll get together, and I can see if I can do… something." I exclaim, causing Mary to smile and snatch my phone. I watch her speedily type into it, and then hear her own phone beep and watch it blink to life.
"Alright, got it." She says, as she glances at her phone. I get up and grab all of our trays and plates, only for Mary to get up and hug me. She is warm and smells of a scent I can't identify off the top of my head.
"Thank you. Even just… even just for trying to help, thank you. And uh, thank you for saving my life." She tells me, as I hug her back. Bast echoes her sentiments, and I smile at the two of them. The next few minutes pass in a blur as we begin to leave the mall.
When we reach the mall's exit, we split up and I head back to my apartment. It only takes me a matter of minutes to find myself back in the privacy of the small place I'm living in. I head over to my kitchen and I turn on the sink.
Lukewarm water begins to spill out of the facet and I study it closely. I stick my hand under the faucet and I allow the water to wash over it, as I visualize the stuff changing. The water coming out of the faucet… stops. It is transformed into cool air the very instant that it would otherwise pour onto my hand. I grin and I decide that this is how I will spend my first evening in Vaporwave City: practicing and honing my abilities.
I shut my eyes and will myself into one of my… other forms. When I reopen my eyes my skin is transparent, nearly invisible, and my fingers have been transformed into sickly-looking pencil-thin claws. I no longer feel any signs of physical exhaustion, or anything like hunger or thirst. A part of me wants to look in a mirror… Another part of me very strongly does not want to look in a mirror. Given how my claws look I don't really want to know what my face looks like in this form.
Without feeling any sort of physical needs, or fatigue, I am able to fully hurl myself into my training. I spend the whole night practicing various abilities of mine, most especially progenesis and my "Mana Charge" power, since the ability to convert things like air, water, fire, and earth into mana is an especially potent ability. If I can find some way to make it viable in combat, or even figure out how to use it out of combat to control an environment it could be really handy.
By the time daylight begins to creep into my apartment I have been practicing a few of my abilities for several hours and I feel that I have a much keener grasp on some of my powers. I revert back to my natural, human form, and when I do I am surprised to find that I feel… refreshed, as though my other form was sleeping while my undead form was active. I also don't feel hungry or thirsty. There are a lot of ways this could be exploited.