Mercury pulled back his hood, sitting down on a nearby rock and pulling out the leatherbound book he had obtained previously.
The wisp-occupied lantern sat beside him, Fang An's soul twirling about anxiously within. Noticing this, Mercury glanced over, smiling mischievously.
"Hey, little wisp. How did you initially discover your ability?"
"I was attacked by a monster in this forest. At first, I just assumed it to be my natural instinct. However, after encountering a few more accidents, I realised this was my innate ability, as the poem mentioned…" He had completely given up on Mercury calling him by his name, accepting his new identity.
'This guy, he's quite foolish, isn't he?' Mercury laughed internally, trying to keep a straight face as he listened. "What about your other abilities?"
"I was working on figuring them out, until you killed me." His voice was bitter, callous.
"Apologies." Mercury winked.
Mercury returned his attention to the leatherbound booklet, leafing through the interior until he reached a coarse, crinkled page that seemed devoid of information.
However, almost instinctively, he knew what lied truly behind it.
"Reveal thyself, Beast."
The book reacted to his words, trembling slightly. On its surface, dots of pure-black liquid popped out of the parchment's pores, twisting and writhing along the page until it resembled strings of words.
[Echo: {Saint's Sonnet: Fate's Soulbound Songstress}: The souls of the anguished, left by death for a Reaper to capture. Songs written in stone, as is the inevitability of your fate. Bequeath your words to others, their beings be enraptured.]
[Key Paradigm: Adaptability.]
[Distortion Law: Must be perceived as a woman by others in order for {Saint's Sonnet: Fate's Soulbound Songstress} to function. A failure in perception will cause the ability to stop working. This may cause severe bodily pain.]
[Requiems: Vitae, Sana, Aegis.]
[Edicts: Stasis, Pax.]
'Okay? Shall you tell me what these words mean?'
Sensing his thoughts, the paper that displayed his abilities began to shrivel up, obscuring his view.
'Ah, don't be like that…' Mercury sighed internally. 'Why does my dispersal of information have to be so rude?'
Mercury closed the book, requiring it no longer, and began to ponder its contents.
'A Requiem is like a song, right? And an Edict is just a word, yet very declarative. Singing and speaking confidently, two key aspects of being a Songstress, besides being a woman…'
He picked up the ornate lantern, noticing that Fang An had grown silent and contemplative, his illusory eyes shut. So, he didn't disturb the little wisp, and began walking deeper into the Titanic forest.
Before long, he came to a secluded grove where large patches of bright-yellow sunflowers sprouted out of the ground, grasping at the beams of sunlight that poured out of the canopy roof high above.
Mercury's eyes widened, sensing the presence of something besides him and Fang An. It was like an instinctual sense that lurked in the back of his mind.
'No way… is this… danger sense!? Is this due to my connection with Fang An, or have I absorbed his ability? I thought it would have shown in the booklet if that was the case…'
There was a cloud of black dust floating a short distance above the grass, bouncing up and down as it moved about the grove.
"Ah! I know that one!" Fang An's voice was an excited whisper. "That woman I met spoke of them. A very common creature that lives amongst the Titan Trees. A Gloam Sprite! It's a passive creature-"
Without hesitation, Mercury set down the ornate lamp and the leatherbound booklet, slipping out of his cloak and dashing towards the Gloam Sprite.
'Gloam Sprite? So Hell really does house monsters… if that's the case, then likely Demons too… what a terrifyingly exciting thought. I want to kill them all…'
He wielded no weapon, but excitedly, his fist lurched towards the creature. However, like he had anticipated, his fist passed right through the cloud of dust.
That was why at the same time, he had readied his other hand out of instinct. Unlike when he had spoken the wrong words, it felt wholly correct. He reached out his hand, and spoke aloud, "Stasis."
A bright yellow aura radiated through the grove, forming illusory golden chains in the general area, which sprung from the ground and extended high into the sky, past the canopy of leaves and the pearlescent sky.
They twisted and contorted around the black dust cloud, locking it in place in the center of the grove. It ceased its bouncing, frozen in time.
'Stasis has a freezing effect, that much was obvious! Stunning an enemy in place… but for how long?' As soon as he realised its effect, he had begun to count the seconds. 'One… two… three…'
After ten seconds had elapsed, the chains shattered into countless golden shards, dissipating along with the wind, and the Gloam Sprite continued its bouncing.
'Ten seconds… it's a very stringent window. I wonder if I can do enough damage to kill something in that time? Well, if this beast isn't going to attack, then I'll figure out what the rest of my abilities do…'
Through multitudes of testing, he had figured out that the two Edicts, the 'words of power' had two key traits. The first, Stasis, allowed him to trap an enemy in place for ten seconds. In order to know its intricacies, he used it on himself, discovering that his thoughts didn't freeze along with his body, rather slowing down significantly.
The second Edict, Pax, had a calming effect. After seeing no significant effect on the Gloam Sprite, he had used it on himself once more, discovering its use.
They were broad abilities, but more importantly, they could be whispered to activate them. This was key in keeping his identity as a man secret.
The 'Requiems' were a bit different. He had tried to speak the words aloud like he did the Edicts, but no obvious effect had occurred, even after he had used them on himself. So, instead, he had whistled them aloud.
He thought that since the 'Requiem' part was related to the musical aspect of a 'Songstress', creating music might be an activation factor for the Requiem. This proved true.
Of course, it was just a matter of testing certain things. He had also tested singing the words. This achieved good results. However, his singing voice wasn't the best.
So, the next thing he had tested was assigning words to certain musical notes. This worked fantastically. Instead of singing the words, he was able to whistle a single note and activate the Requiem instead. It saved time, and more importantly, it saved having to voice it aloud, revealing his true identity as a man.
'Vita' had a minor broad-spectrum healing effect on the target, while 'Aegis' granted a minor damage barrier. However, there was the matter of the final Requiem, 'Sana'.
'I can't seem to figure out 'Sana'… no matter what I do, it doesn't seem to affect me or the Gloam Sprite. Also, if it's the case that I can use danger sense due to my connection with Fang An, why did it activate when I was facing a passive creature?'
Suddenly, he felt his boots grow heavy. The fallen petals of the sunflowers underneath him gradually began to turn a dark black colour. Minuscule tendrils began to crawl up his legs, making their way across his skin towards his neck at a quick pace.
He simply watched as they did so, intrigued. Looking back over at the Gloam Sprite, he saw that it had taken a tangible form.
He immediately felt his vitality and stamina fade, his muscles weary and his skin in agony. Mercury persevered, standing tall as he stared at the Gloam Sprite, malice in his gaze. His smile was inhuman.
He did not fear the poison of the Gloam Sprite that sapped at his strength, slowly causing his vision to darken from the corners. Rather, he felt wholly entertained. The entire reason he stood in that spot in that moment was because he had taken an initial gamble with his life at stake.
So, he whistled the note he had assigned to the ability he had yet to understand, Sana.
Bright sapphire lights surrounded him, runic emblems surrounding him in a circular shape as they rose high into the air, suspended. The aqueous lights bathed the entirety of his form, the writhing black tendrils of the Gloam Sprite's poison dissipating into thin air.
'Everything happens for a reason. That is why it is always the best bet to bet your own life.' Mercury grinned, staring at the Gloam Sprite that had taken a tangible form. 'I had my suspicions surrounding the ability. Seeing as how I had a healing Requiem, as well as a shielding Requiem, the only thing missing from the trifecta was a curing Requiem!'
The Gloam Sprite's tangible form danced about, a collection of the dust coalescing into a warped, spiraling figure. There was one key thing that Mercury noticed. Thick, black blood dripped from a crack in its lower body.
He grinned wildly, lurching forward. 'If it bleeds, it can be killed!'
He struck the creature once more, causing it to break apart into thousands of tiny, sharpened pieces. The Gloam Sprite began to bounce yet still, a thousand dancing fragments upon the flowering floor of the grove.
Still, it writhed. And then, it ceased. It had died, its pitch-black blood seeping into the earth.
Mercury didn't celebrate the battle. Killing a passive beast he had intentionally angered was not a means for celebration. It had only been a trial run, after all. He immediately entered a state of thought, trying to collect all that he had learned during the fight.
'Why am I able to assume things instinctively? Is this what they call an animalistic instinct? It may not just be my stomach that has grown stronger, but my base intuition… this is the key to survival, I'm sure...'
From the hilltop above, the wisp bounced about in the lantern, having spectated the ordeal.
'This crazy bastard...' As Fang An watched the man tower over the fallen beast from inside the ornate lantern, he finally understood the kind of man that Mercury was.
Despite his lack of fighting prowess and his unassuming form, he was supplemented in combat by his sheer bloodlust. It seemed that at all costs, his foe must die. But he was also cruel, cunning- a man who was always working on a plot for the guaranteed success of his next objective.
Mercury wiped the pitch-black blood of the gloam sprite off of his face, grinning.
'I see. So this is the extent of my abilities. Why didn't Fang An think of doing something like this? Maybe he would have learned more than 'Danger Sense'.'
'Speaking of Danger Sense… why was I able to use it? Is this really due to my connection with Fang An? Or is this an extension of the 'Soul Capture' ability? It is the case that a captured piece is a pawn to be used… how strange.'
Mercury began walking back up the hillside to retrieve the ornate lantern and his clothes.
'As a songstress, all of these abilities point towards support. Is it the case that it was intended for me to interact with others? Seeing as how my Distortion Law is particularly pointed towards making group effort harder, it would make sense… a very petty addition… luckily, I have no intention of working with others.'
As Mercury picked up the book, it consciously flipped open to a certain page, ink writhing on its surface as it spelled out pale words.
[Do you wish to capture a soul?]
Mercury's eyes widened, his gaze flicking over to the fallen corpse of the Gloam Sprite.
'I can do it again!? But what will happen to Fang An if I do? Can the lantern occupy more than one soul at a time?'
He looked back over towards the wisp. Looking up at him, Fang An saw the maddening gaze of the ruthless man who had killed him, and the inhumane, monstrous grin that crept towards the edge of his cheeks.
"Hey, little wisp, do you want to try something fun out?"
This sent a shiver echoing through Fang An's incorporeal form.
'I have no reason to keep Fang An's soul around. He's a bit noisy, and I've already exhausted him of information. The only use he may have at this point is a guide, but he's prone to lead me to dangerous areas to get back at me manipulating him twice. If capturing this soul in the lantern replaces him, it won't be a big loss.'
"Alright, let's play another game."