Merchant Of Yliaster

The guide appeared in a field fire with a green flash. And glanced around him with an expressionless face.

The landscape was completely ruined around him, and an inferno still raged on the desert.

The ground was completely molten for a few kilometers in every direction, and the air was hot enough that it was trembling.

In the center of the inferno, a colossal animal stood. It was shining with the same light as the field, still radiating heat, as if the environment around it was not hot enough.

The guide glanced at the creature, recognizing it for what it was. Only a moment ago, the connection was cut between him and Blueberry; now, only a tortured landscape remained behind alongside this smug-looking creature.

The creature glanced at the guide and gave away the past as its glance locked in with the green orbs.

The world rewound in the eyes of The Guide as the detached eyes watched it unfold.

They saw the last struggle of Blueberry and felt her emotions as she embraced death. They disregarded that this was only a memory, and they floated at the same spot, watching the memory as if it were happening before them.

They watched the bird find the creature before them and meet it in combat. They watched her struggle and the creature's fire.

In the end, the last miniature sun exploded, and the world was filled with a flash of white light and unforgiving heat.

The guide returned to the present, the creature before him struggling to stand for a second as its mind was freed from The Guide's grip.

"You found her too interesting not to burn? Interesting thought process, burning everything interesting for your god." The Guide asked, effortlessly reading the creature's thoughts. Maxwell's voice was heard but it had a completely different quality. It felt like millions of different speaking styles were compressed into one. As they spoke, a green light pulsed, and the world slowed down for a second, eventually coming to a stop in a radius of a few kilometers.

"I see, let's make something interesting out of you, too," the guide said, and the movement restarted. This time, though, there was something different about it.

The energy moved, and heat started to condense around the Shergoth's Kin, the creature also not understanding what was happening.

In the next moment, though, it did, as the infusion started. The fire mana in the air, and all heat energy, started to flow into the creature's body under the green tint which now covered the world around them.

It gave a roar, not understanding why it couldn't control the heat, and tried to launch itself towards Maxwell.

Sit.

A command was given, and the world listened. The ground caved, and the air became heavy, and the world pushed the creature down, making it sit on its back legs like a dog.

It struggled visibly, and just as it thought it gained a small leverage, the green glow intensified, this time covering its body.

The muscles around its shining body twitched in vain as it sat helplessly, as energy continued to flow into it.

Slowly, the temperature started to drop, and the creature's glow started to intensify. There was no curiosity in the eyes of the colossus, as it gazed at the Guide with the eyes which belonged to a prey.

Apart from the glow, the creature didn't look like something otherworldly anymore, but an ordinary deer.

Of course, this was just an illusion. The creature's aura got heavier and heavier as energy filled its body, but there was still plenty to go around.

The guide kept watching apathetically as the creature became more and more saturated with energy, but they had no intention of stopping. Soon, the mana started to destabilize, as fire mana and heat energy were never a very benign type to begin with.

Stabilize.

The guide said, commanding the mana, and all was reset in an instant, mana doing what it was commanded. For a few silent minutes, all mana in the surroundings kept getting pulled towards the creature, anything living after the catastrophe from before losing their lives.

The guide, though, was looking at something else. They were glancing up, as if they were waiting for something. Soon, the call was answered.

A presence descended from the air, an orange energy descending from the sun itself, the puny god trying to help the abomination it blessed. It was apparent that Shergoth was real if it actually meddled with mortal matters like this.

The energy collided with the Guide's soul space, but it immediately rebounded as if it met a solid wall. The energy was similar in a way to how Drakhabgar felt, but it felt less. The Guide had no doubt that this god was weaker than what Drakhabgar once had been.

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"What a pointless god," the guide commanded, utterly unimpressed. The energy actually got faster, and they glanced at the orange energy descending from the sun.

"You might as well donate that," the guide waved his crystalline green hand, his body long having lost any resemblance to being of flesh, and the world quaked. There was a flash of green light, and a moment where a presence fought for the control of the energy, but the sun, despite being powerful, was far, far away.

The guide turned his palm up, energy focusing into a ball above it, as they glanced at it. After a moment of consideration, they pushed it towards the colossus, giving the creature something more to digest.

While the mana and energy listened to the Guide's command, the energy itself was too much this time. There was nothing to stabilize, and before the Guide's eyes the creature immediately started to disintegrate in real time, its body burning with a bright white light.

"We find you too interesting to burn," the guide said, and their soul space started to close down, increasing the intensity of the green light covering the world. Slowly, it coalesced around the deer, and its body started to regenerate, fighting against the deconstruction.

The new equilibrium lasted for a while, and the intensity of the green light kept increasing as it fought to keep the unreal amount of energy in check inside the creature's body. It was apparent that it was getting stronger, but it looked far from happy about it.

Its body glowed white, the heat extending beyond the visible spectrum, and the creature was whining, as its body was being deconstructed and recreated at the same time by two different energies.

Minutes passed, and the desert cooled. The molten glass turned back into solid, the air gained a breathable quality, its heaviness leaving its place for coolness. The guide considered to drain the energy until the landscape froze, but it didn't seem like that would be needed.

Shergoth's Kin's body was pulsing, white light shining on the world like a beacon, but they eyes of the creature was empty. The guide didn't try to keep the creature awake, as that wouldn't any function, so they let it sleep. Now, though, it was the time to wake up.

With a mental jolt, the light of etherium moved through the creature's body, and its eyes gained back their intelligence. It didn't take long for it to realize that the pain was not over, though, as its body still housed an incredible amount of energy.

The guide looked at it, no pity in his eyes, and proceeded with their plan. A trait got activated, the world slowing down once more, this time due to the sheer heaviness of the authority it exuded. Merchant Of Yliaster activated, and the deer was chosen immediately.

"Take it, and rewind the time for 10 minutes." The guide said not even proposing.

The trade is being evaluated.

The trade is against the laws of the world.

"You prefer that we destroy this world instead? Its laws wouldn't amount to much if that happened," the guider spoke, a tinge of anger in their voice. For the first time, the new identity actually showed a sign of emotion, and the world seemed to resonate with it.

Around them, the world started to lose all mana, and all matter started to turn gray. The air became stale, the light became dark, yet the dark became something less. The phenomenon halted, as a greater presence descended upon the world out of nowhere, yet everywhere, this being one and the same with the one Maxwell felt when he was speaking with the Traveler. The sheen of the world was immediately stripped, as if it was all an illusion, but the guide was unfazed.

Upper Authority Accessed.

Exception Made.

Trade accepted.

Proceeding.

The guide smiled. "We will return being one then," they said, and the green glow left Maxwell's body, suddenly his body regaining its usual look. He had complete recollection of the events, as the guider hadn't been something external, or different, but a part of himself, but he still felt dazed due to the sudden change.

Before his eyes, the Shergoth's Kin disappeared like it never existed, the system taking it away without leaving any trace. It was apparent that it was not in the mood to let Maxwell's trait do the job. Maxwell's mind felt like he was back to being a normal human being, and even then, he felt like he was a normal human being who didn't know that sleeping was only natural and not a waste of time.

The system, though, didn't wait for him to regain his bearings. The world around them started to move backwards under the fascinated eyes of Maxwell. The sands reheated and reached blinding temperatures once more.

The glass once more became molten, and the air heavier. The deer-like colossus was still gone, though, and the environment didn't reach its previous extremities. The system built the past without the deer inside. Maxwell doubted that Shergoth would like that, but the sun could go fuck itself. If Maxwell got strong enough, he would deal with it, too.

The persona who controlled his body for the last minutes was oddly detached from all emotions, but that couldn't be said for Maxwell. Even now, he was looking for Blueberry, checking the landscape for the bird as it was rearranged by the system's uncanny control over time.

The system was not just rewinding time, but it was actually changing it in a way that the kin didn't exist anymore. He couldn't really understand how it did that, but he wouldn't need to for a long time, he felt.

Maxwell watched with anticipation and worry. What if the system decided that Blueberry didn't exist like the deer?

His worries, though, were unfounded, and before his eyes, the ethereal form of the bird slowly reformed. She was not recreated in a way that would suggest she died due to an explosion, as the explosion didn't exist anymore. The bird suddenly popped into existence, and she became more and more real before completely actualizing into the world.

Even with his new senses, Maxwell could decipher nothing from the phenomena, it being so beyond him that it looked like magic in a world with magic. Now, though, that was unimportant. Blueberry flew and landed on his head, looking like nothing happened.

"Chirp?" she asked, rightfully being confused about her apparent aliveness. She still remembered everything until her death, as Maxwell also received a thought asking about the fate of the deer. He pet the bird, and found his hand falling down to his side, completely empty of any force.

"No, you are not dead," he replied, laughing tiredly. He couldn't believe the things that happened in the last minutes, but he would deal with the believing part when he felt like he could actually move. "I think I will be if we stay here, though," he said, and his eyes closed, consciousness finally leaving him.

Just as his body was going to fall to the ground, Blueberry fused with it. Now, it was time for her to save her human.