Capítulo 40: Destined
After getting off the boat, Sunny guided the group with Cassie's golden rope off the shore.
Entering a tunnel, they relied on Sunny to guide their step.
Their walk through the mist-filled tunnel was slow. With Sunny stopping a few times for unknown reasons.
'Is he collecting the shadows of the first cohort?'
Aldric remembered the fate of the lost souls. Dead with their shadows wandering the misty planes for eternity. He could not help but feel pity for their demise. Doubting that they were still cognisant of themselves. It was most likely similar to Sunny's shadow—completely independent while their masters perished years ago.
This made Aldric think about the nature of shadows in this world. How exactly does a dead person with no body cast a sentient shadow that could function years after their death? It made no sense to him. The soul was a studied and proven entity, but shadows not at all.
'Do they only exist to Sunny? Wouldn't we have millions of shadows wandering the waking world if they were left after death?Was Sunny able to damage the shadow of his enemies directly?'
He was beyond confused. There simply was not enough information to make an accurate hypothesis. It was interesting to think about.
The alien feeling of the mist touching the core of his being slowly reached its peak. Like mud, it trudged through him and completely encased a part of him that he could not name. He could feel that part of his being begin to weaken. While his [Insight] attribute did not signal anything to him, the unknown made him play his card.
In a small whisper, he spoke.
"First-Class Singularity."
He repeated his true name like a mantra. With his complete attention and energy, his true name was spoken.
A feeling of strength surrounded him and the sliver that the mist wanted to encompass so badly. Each repetition of his identity strengthened him enough to repel the mist. It was similar to him wearing a pair of gloves to fight off the cold.
They were now crossing over a bridge to exit the plane. Aldric continued this battle against the mist. It was not that he would die or be in danger, but his intuition told him that he would lose something valuable inside of him. Remembering what happened when Sunny braved the mist of the Hollow Mountains as a saint, he had to reaffirm his existence even when he covered his eyes. Knowing that Nephis and the cohort did not need to do that now, he wondered.
'What is the difference between the mist here and the mist that Sunny entered?'
Knowing this would give him more information to deal with this alien feeling right now. It was like the feeling of his flaw without any of the hallucinations or transformations.
Luckily, his battle came to an end. Sunny had led the cohort outside misty planes. Coming to a full stop,
"Are we through?"
A hoarse voice spoke out.
"I think so."
Cassie responded.
Hearing the reply, Aldric removed his blindfold and wiped the wax sealing of his eyelids. His eyes adjusted to the whiteness that the boundary of mist emanated.
Looking around him, the rest of the group were adjusting to the new location. Sunny and Nephis seemed to have spotted something in the distance and were nearing it.
Aldric focused on his body again. Weirdly enough, the lingering mist situated within his being was still present. Wanting answers, he entered his soul sea.
The familiar view of the sea of clouds met him. He saw the two expansive black holes in the space that symbolised his soul cores.
Something he didn't recognise made an appearance.
In the far reaches above the clouds, beyond his soul cores, and along the lining of the boundary. A large dome of white mist was present. Rotating and shifting like a forming star. Aldric did not know if it was absorbing something or inhibiting it.
With no other insights, he left his soul core and caught up with the rest of the group.
Seeing Nephis grab something from the head of the skeleton that was sitting on the cold ground, he remembered who it was. The First Lord.
Aldric studied the corpse of the man. Covered in rotten rags, he did not live up to what he had imagined. Though that was hardly the skeleton's fault.
Looking at his state and thinking of the state of the man's cohort, Aldric felt sad.
'What was the point of their existence?'
Was their role in all of this to set the backstory for the Forgotten Shore and the Bright Castle? Fate was a scary force, and it seemed Nephis and Sunny were at the nexus of it. As much as Sunny moaned about being [Fated], it was what separated him from ending up like the First Lord.
The First Lord was the picture perfect awakened. Strong aspect to have come so far. A strong cohort. A will strong enough to be able to look into the mist and survive. A whole castle of sleepers at his command. Everything was on his side but fate. That was the difference between him and Nephis. Fate chose to place Cassie besides Nephis. Fate chose to bring the three of them together in the crimson labyrinth. Fate told Cassie about the locations of the memories needed to open the crimson spire.
Aldric's thoughts were spiralling as he locked his gaze on the skeleton.
'How much of the First Lord's choices were actually his own? Made with free agency outside the control of fate that wanted him to be a stepping stone for a future generation.
His thoughts continued.
'What is it that separates me from someone like him? Or even someone like Stephen of the Pandavar clan. What stopped me from ending up as an incubator for nightmare spiders?'
Aldric quickly inhaled and focused on his [Tranquil Core] attribute to calm his mind.
The answer was there. It was always there. Since his first nightmare. He gazed at his runes.
[Destined]
He always believed that this attribute was just a descriptor. Something to represent his odd origins. However, he now recognised it as his ace. A shield to protect himself from the machinations of fate. From clutches of the fabled [Fated] attribute. It would allow him to reach his goals with his own merit and to die at his own failure. Unlike the First Lord, he was not stuck between venturing the Hollow Mountains or conquering the Crimson Spire. His future was boundless.
That was the difference between fate and destiny. One was written out in the tapestry without your knowledge, and the other was something that you forged with your life and soul.
With resolute eyes, he whispered to himself.
"I am the architect of my own destiny. I am the exception."
Just a moment later, a click resounded through his soul. Like a gear changing. Followed by a warm feeling, he could now feel something at his core. Something that was not there before and something that he could not see.
A familiar voice whispered.
[You have received an Aspect Legacy.]
**********
Thank you for reading once more.
How was it? I hope my explanation of his destined attribute came across well.
Woah he received an aspect legacy. What is it? what triggered it? any theories?
See you in the next one.
Capítulo 41: Seed
[You have received an Aspect Legacy.]
'What?'
'What the actual hell?'
Aldric's mind was frozen. He could not comprehend what he just heard. Surely it was not from his tangent about his attribute.
His intuition was not so easily fooled, though. He quickly went back into his soul sea.
Seeing the familiar sight, his eyes went up to where he last saw the mist. Except it was not there.
It was something that was completely alien to him. A small tear through space at the boundary of his soul. In that tear was something akin to another dimension. Red webs of pulsating light peaked through like an eldritch heart. He knew that it did not belong.
It was so alien to the dimly lit starry space beside it. Like a skyscraper built in the middle of a village, it was jarring. But the feeling that it emanated was the worst part.
Like an outer god spreading its influence in a realm beyond their reach, it emanated a feeling that he could not even bring himself to describe. It was utterly futile. Like trying to think of a new colour, Aldric simply did not know what he didn't know. What word could he even use to describe it? However, what he could feel was something extrinsic from his humanity. Something detached from the laws that govern life.
Aldric exited his soul sea in panic; he knew where he would find answers.
He envisioned his runes and focused on his aspect.
Aspect:[Made In Abyss]
Aspect Rank: Divine.
Aspect Abilities:[Dark Well]
Aspect Ability Description:[You can manifest the Darkness within.]
Aspect Legacy:[Path Of The Unbound].
Aspect Legacy Description:[Liberate what was shackled. Unveil the tethered. Unbind the chained, First-Class Singularity!]
Unbound:[1/7]
Chain of Nothingness:[Broken]. [Claim Remnant]
Chain of ???:[Bound]
Chain of ???:[Bound]...
The list of unknowns continued four more times for a total of 7 chains. One already broken.
The runes representing the broken status of the first chain were lifeless and shattered. Like a broken mosaic. Bright and bold were the words [Claim Remnant] right beside it.
Aldric was confused at the wording of his aspect legacy. The spell seemed as if it was cheering him on. Like a king ordering the hero to start his adventure.
The choice of words seemed like a literal spell or a poem. Full of hidden meaning that he couldn't quite understand. He knew that there was a lot left unsaid.
Without any more thoughts, he claimed his reward.
[You have claimed an Aspect Legacy Remnant.]
[You have received a Memory.]
The runes immediately changed from a brightly worded [Claim Remnant] to a lifeless grey.
Skimming through the list of his memories, he looked for the new addition and focused on it.
Memory:[Seed of Chaos.]
Memory Rank: [Unknown]
Memory Tier:[Unknown]
Memory Type:[Unknown]
Memory Description:[???]
Aldric walked to the edge of the group and returned to his soul sea to be safe. He summoned the memory while standing on a bed of black clouds.
In a shimmer of light, a blood-red orb the size of a metal bearing formed into existence. Aldric focused on the memory with rapt attention. On closer inspection, a myriad of infinitesimally small veins covered its surface. Aldric knew he could not count the numbers in a single lifespan.
Small whispers filled his mind as his gaze could not leave the orb. Drawn to it like a moth to flame, his peripheral vision began to blur.
'I wonder how it would taste. Otherworldly, I would imagine.'
A rune popped up in his sight.
[You have acquired a Seed of Chaos Do you wish to consume it?]
Without any thought or regard, Aldric was about to command the spell to fulfil his desires until a white pain entered his gut. Like a sword of flaming fury pierced through his internal organs and scorched his blood. It was the worst pain he had ever felt from his attribute.
The pain lasted the briefest of moments to warn its host of what it was doing.
'Attribute? [Insight]!'
Gaining his awareness and judgement, Aldric knew [Insight] was telling him to stop whatever he was doing.
He could deduce that he was not ready to consume whatever this seed was. Without a doubt he would die. After all, a warning like that could only spell immediate death.
Returning the memory back to his soul core, Aldric noticed that it floated past it and towards the tear. From the distance, he could make out a small dot hovering in the centre.
'So the [Seed of Chaos] chose to rest there and not near my soul core. Fascinating.'
More and more of what Aldric thought was law was being broken today.
'I guess that's what it means when you are a living singularity.'
As he returned his full attention back to his body, he heard a shout.
"Oi, you Panda!" Stop spacing out!"
He heard Effie shout.
Looking at the cohort, he noticed everyone's eyes on him.
He seemed to have missed a lot by their reactions. Probably, they are paying respects to the First Lord.
"My bad, just looking at my runes."
He glanced at Kai, who was standing close to Sunny.
He heard a whisper.
"What the hell is a panda?"
Seeing Sunny ask that was funny to Aldric. How could one know so much but so little at the same time?
Everyone stopped talking when a golden shimmer coalesced around Nephis' head.
A radiant headband with a red ruby adorned her forehead.
"This is the Dawn Shard. It possesses a singular power. To enhance all memories of those around it."
Quickly, Sunny exploded in response.
"Wait, you don't mean 'all' memories, right? Wouldn't that just help Gunlaug with his already powerful memory?"
Nephis calmly retorted.
"That was if his armour was a memory. It is an echo."
Providing no other explanation.
Sunny was unsatisfied with the answer and so asked.
"How do you even know this?"
Nephis responded hesitantly.
"Our informant told us."
This back and forth continued until Kai interrupted their conversation.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but doesn't this mean that our job is finished? We have the shard."
It was here that Nephis laid down the rest of her cards.
She explained the true purpose of the journey. To collect the rest of the shard memories.
"Somewhere up ahead will be another statue. With a powerful creature guarding it. You can join me in this fight or wait for me to return."
She took a short breath.
"There is only one rule."
**********
Thank you for reading once more.
How did you like it? What did you think about the aspect legacy? any theories?
ryuk9PE Chapter 40 Comment Response: With the attribute description written the way it is. It is not that he is outside of fate but rather one step ahead.Imagine walking through cement that is quickly drying up one step behind you. You can chose where to go but once you have stepped forward there is no going back.
Do ask any questions, I will respond in this section rather than a comment response.
Anywho, take care. Till the next one.
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