NOVEL NEXT Sacrifice – Chapter 19: Actualisation
The party of two approached her, the robed Elf stopping briefly to chant a spell under his breath. When he continued on his way a faint blue hugged his form. With the thin barrier surrounding him, his steps seemed to have more confidence. For Aperio, it was just a reminder that she had to work on her aura.
What was of interest to her, however, was that the Human seemed completely unconcerned. It likely didn't mean much, as neither Ira nor Laelia had shown much of a reaction to her until she had first spoken, but it was intriguing nonetheless.
As the pair continued their approach, Aperio stepped out of the carriage, closing the door behind her. Her wings seemed to be the center of attention yet again as both of their eyes lingered on them. "What do you want?"
The question drew their attention away from her feathered limbs and caused the Elf to bow slightly. Both Aperio and the robed Human gave the man a look of confusion. Before either of them managed to ask, the bowing Elf righted himself and spoke. "It is an honour to meet an Elder of the Moons."
The fact that he had spoken not in Common but the language of their kind only managed to gain a passing interest from her. The title he had used was much more intriguing. Even Ira had turned away from the rest of the Adventurers, either able to understand what the Elf had said or – more likely – recognising the title.
Elder, to her, meant a leader or teacher, and she was neither of those. Her pale skin and taller than average stature, however, would be enough for anyone who knew at least a little about Elves to draw a particular conclusion. She was a Moon Elf, though looks did not always align with origins. Shaking her head, she replied, "I am not an Elder."
The man looked at her for a moment, confusion in his eyes, before he quickly nodded. "Not here for politics, then. I apologise."
He doesn't believe me, does he? "That does not tell me why you are here."
"Ah yes. We were supposed to investigate what had happened near the ruins, but the old man has already given us the information we need." He laughed as he glanced at Ira before he quietly continued. "Three days of travel for nothing. At least we still get paid."
That she likely wasn't supposed to have heard him was pointedly ignored, as what he had said was quite unsettling. Three days? I spent almost four days figuring out this aura stuff? I can’t even control it yet! Not having to sleep or eat was certainly nice, but it seemed to mess with her perception of time. Aperio had thought that she had just spent the night trying to figure it out. Is it because of the changes that time seems so… irrelevant?
She had been unconcerned with it when she had made her way out of the ruins, dismissing it as an unimportant circumstance of her surroundings. But if she wanted to live with others, disappearing for days on end was probably not the best idea. Maybe there are other people who don't need to sleep? It was yet another thing she would, hopefully, find the answers to in Ebenlowe. For now, there was something else on her mind.
"Why does your friend keep staring at me?" The robed Human had been fixated on her during their talk. Yes, she had wings, but otherwise she looked like a normal Elf. Maybe he has a thing for Elves? Should that be the case, he would be saddened to find out that Aperio held no interest in those matters. At least, not now, and most definitely not with him. She was in no rush to be reminded of the times she had been ordered to share a bed with the men and women that called themselves her masters.
As she was contemplating the periphery of the subject, a thought occurred to her. Given her current physical state, would any partner she hypothetically chose even survive the encounter? She could pick up a stick or a stone without breaking them, or even put on her fragile dress without ripping it, but as soon as she tried to gently nudge a person they'd go and fall to the ground. Maybe it was an unconscious assumption on her part that a living being should be able to withstand more than a stick. Or, more likely, it was pent-up frustration from her life as a slave.
Control was something she sorely needed to work on, both physical and magical. She could not reasonably expect everyone she met to have a barrier handy, nor could she expect people to simply accept that their wards would break when she came by. Not that they could do much to stop it. A small smile tugged at her lips at the thought of a group of guards trying to apprehend her for damaging their wards. Why do I want them to try?
"Pay him no mind, he is just taken by your aura," he said with a small laugh, pulling her out of her thoughts. "His goal in life is to seek out and fight people he deems powerful. Those are his words, not mine."
Aperio turned to look at the Human. A fight? He did not strike her as powerful, but neither had she thought of herself as such. Having a willing participant to fight caused something within to her fall into place and the feeling of excitement she had felt at the mere thought of a fight was back in force. She did not know why, but she wanted to fight. If not this man, then something else. Power flowed through her body, not the calm mana she had investigated during the ride but something more. Something pure. The introspective lazy river of mana could not compare to what flooded her being.
A part of her she never knew should be there was suddenly back, and with it came an undeniable urge to assert herself as stronger.
As better.
It felt so right.
Whatever it was that flowed through her brought with it parts of the knowledge she had tried to remember before. Knowledge that was hers but somehow had not found its way back. The Void, a place unbound by the laws of mortals. Her home. Her Domain. Hers to do with as she pleased.
She had thought herself weak for most her life, unable to fight against her masters or the collar. Her only solace was that she did not go mad, as some of her peers did. Aperio had always remained lucid. For better or for worse. She had tried to remain strong, to somehow fight what was happening to her, but it had never worked. In the end, she had given up. Resigned herself to be an observer trapped in her own body, eagerly awaiting her end. Now she was here, back from the dead; stronger than she would have ever thought possible.
It would seem that the Empire had managed to create a God; just not the one they had desired.
She wanted to let the world know who she was; impose her will on all of creation.
In the corner of her eye she saw silver-blue arcs streaking through the air around her. She heard a faint snapping and someone yelling, but she did not care. Her attention was focused on the robed Human in front of her. She took a heavy step towards him, leaving cracked stone behind. Another step and she was directly in front of him. She could hear his ragged breathing, struggling against what she now knew to be her aura. Tilting her head to the side she asked. "You want to fight me?" A challenge had been issued and she would take it.
The Human in front of her meant nothing. Just an adventurer that had come here to challenge her. His life was as good as any for a test of her strength.
A trickle of blood running from his nose ripped Aperio out of her trance. Before she was able to ask the man any more questions, he toppled over. She caught him before he hit the ground, and felt surprise at how light he was. Like a feather. It was difficult to gauge how much strength she should use, but she took extra care to cause no more harm. After laying the man on the ground as carefully as she could, Aperio took a deep breath to steady her thoughts.
Is that why the Void feels like I belong there? Because it is my… Domain? She wanted to question her thoughts, argue that she was not what they claimed to be, but she knew it was right. Not like the feeling of wrong she got when she wanted to ask a question or the vague sense that it was fine to catch a sword with her hand. No, this knowledge was absolute. Shaking her head she turned to look at her surroundings; if the Human in front of her had been injured others might have been as well.
The carriage seemed fine, but the same could not be said about Ira and the other adventurers. The armour-clad Beastkin had sword and shield in hand, ready for battle, but he also seemed to be ready to collapse at any moment. Ira and the Elf leaned against the carriage itself, seemingly spent. The adventurer in leathers appeared to be largely unaffected and tending to a Thaddeus that was so pale Aperio could swear he had no more blood left in his body.
All of this because I got excited? ...Because a Goddess got excited? She had been brushing aside the title ever since she had returned from the Void, as she didn't really feel like a Goddess. However, given her recent experiences she found she had to reconsider the thought.
She had not previously known how to fly, but now she knew how to. And it worked. This knowledge that had appeared from thin air also had that same tinge of knowing. Of truth.
Thinking of herself as a Goddess felt right, but only almost. It was as though there was something still missing. Maybe because I don't know what my Domain is supposed to be?
She knew the Void to be hers, but Goddess of the Void was not right. Yes, it was hers to rule, but she felt more like the Queen of the Void with the tiny orbs of lights as her subjects. Maybe it is only the lights?The image of the little lights brought another memory to the forefront of her mind. Souls! She had entertained the notion that they were souls before, but now the word alone felt like the truth. Why I am so sure about that now? Thinking about it further, Goddess of Souls also felt off, as did Death, and most other things she could think of pertaining to the afterlife.
Looking within herself, she could still feel whatever had been set free coursing through her, waiting for her to command it. It felt like a purer form of mana, more potent. Right. Like something she should have used all along. A closer look revealed that it was merging with the rest of her mana, both in her body and in what she had come to call the Well. While she was curious to know if this new mana changed the way her body was being enhanced, she first wanted to try her hand at healing. And maybe stop the rest from trying to attack her.
As she took off the hood of the Human, she noticed the blood coming from both his nose and ears. Why it came from there she did not know, but it wouldn’t keep her from trying to heal the damage. If it went wrong, he only had himself to blame. Mortal against a Goddess. She almost snorted at the thought. Even if she had not truly known what she was before, she had known it to be an unfair fight. But he had managed to reveal things to her. Maybe I should thank him? The thought crossed her mind, but she quickly discarded it. He likely had not known what she was and had simply looked for a fight as the Elf had said.
Now, how do I heal?
Very carefully placing her hand on his chest, Aperio tried to imagine the Human as she had seen him before. Conscious, no blood running from his nose and ears. She waited, but the warmth of magic did not come. Opening her eyes showed that the man was still just as injured as before. Do I need to know what exactly is wrong with him? ...How would I even do that?
On a hunch she tried to push her mana into the man. It always felt eager to obey her every whim, so why not try to use it to figure out what was wrong? Aperio felt surprisingly little resistance when she eased her mana in the Human. What came next, however, was not what she had expected. She could feel – see – the man's mana rushing through his body, trying to mend his wounds only to fizzle out when it reached them; sucked into an abyss that screamed death to her. Did I do that? ...With my voice?
It only took a couple of seconds before he had more of her mana in him than his own, and his body seemed to try and fight against the invasion of foreign mana at first. As soon as Aperio directed it to aid the man's own efforts to heal, it stopped resisting. She watched in fascination as, with the help of her mana, the broken parts stitched themselves together, stronger than before; just like it had with her. That's not light magic, is it.
It did not take long before she couldn't feel any more wrong with the man, not that it meant much. Aperio knew precious little on how Humans worked, she had simply let the man's mana lead the way. It seemed to know what he needed.
She quickly pulled her hand away as she felt his chest try and fail to rise below her hand. The man flew into a coughing fit as he attempted to sit up. Once he had his breathing under control he muttered a quiet "What?" and looked at Aperio with an expression she could not place.
Aperio simply cocked her head to the side. "I think I won."