My Devourer System: Rise of the Bastard Son

Lucen sat straight up as Aya walked into the carriage. He was suddenly hyper-aware of the fact that he was shirtless.

The wood creaked as she climbed in. These carriage weren't of the best quality, with just two simple benches on the opposite sides of the carriage for seating.

Aya's smooth black hair was tied into a tight bun, the smile on her lips didn't reach her silvery eyes.

Aya plopped down on the empty bench opposite them, a careless look on her face, staring straight at him.

"For one, tempering your body and soul will give you greater control over your emotions and supreme coordination. A tempered soul is also sensitive to danger and can sense small changes in mana."

Aya turned to Kibara, who had stopped casting her water spell, and just started talking. Lucen pulled on his shirt and tried to say something, but Aya continued.

"There's one very important benefit to tempering your soul though. It's the personalization of mana. Any mana channeled into your soul becomes completely under your control, it often comes with a change in color. Even when outside your body, you can fully control any spells you cast."

Lucen had noticed something like that when he watched Koril fight, and more recently when he duelled Duran.

Kibara glanced from Lucen to Aya several times, then the realization dawned on her. She wore a surly frown. "Thank you."

Lucen hadn't even sensed Aya approaching the carriage, and it sounded like she heard a lot of their conversation.

[Mana sense] could be tricked by a Veil, but Lucen had always been able to pierce some of the tougher Veils.

"Aya, what's… wrong? Why'd you leave the carriage?"

Aya stared at him for a moment, her lips twitching into a small smile. "I wanted to speak to you about something."

Her eyes turned to Kibara and back to him quickly. It was something she didn't want to speak of in front of Kibara.

They obviously had a few secrets they wanted to keep from everyone, but wouldn't it be better to walk by the carriage and signal that she wanted to talk?

Lucen stood, turning to say goodbye to Kibara. She nodded lightly, her magneta eyes following him as he jumped out of the carriage.

"Sorry about having to cut things short. We'll talk later."

Lucen left first, walking some distance until he was behind from where people were most concentrated.

There was a buzz of people carving up the dead Red Snappers and storing their meat and eyes.

The eyes seemed to be very important as Set took responsiblity for collecting the dull, crimson orbs. Lucen guessed they were probably used to make some type of magical weapon.

The bulk of the people were working away from the carriages, but some people, mostly servants, walked to and from one of the carriages for stored equipment.

Lucen searched for a decent place to speak while he thought. Aya's silent approach still shook him.

She was right there and his [Mana Sense] found nothing. If that was how easy it was for someone to sneak up on him…

Then what level of spying was the Veiled King capable of? He could see all throughout the land with his Voices and had access to the highest-ranking seers.

Who was to say they couldn't watch Lucen every step of the way and analyze every single action he took for lies and inconsistencies?

The Devourer system might warn him, but it could always just be wrong.

[I'm sensitive to observation. I don't know how Kedral knew what was happening with you and Heimar that day. But I do know that he wasn't observing us…]

Lucen had the urge to look to the sky, afraid he would see large eyes sprayed over the dark blue skies.

What could he and Aya speak about and be sure it wasn't known?

He checked his corners and listened for breathing before he turned to Aya, heat rushing through his head.

Before he could speak, Aya said, "I was using a Heroic-rank Veiling spell. It's meant to hide me from most types of sight. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about it. It's something i don't tell many people about."

That was true. Many people didn't know [Stalker's Edge] was High-rank, he could use that to catch a lot of people off guard. You never reveal all your cards.

There was no reason to be angry. He also had a powerful Veil spell that he should reveal to Aya…

"I think we should be careful what we tell each other."

Aya's face fell a bit, she looked down, murmuring something in assent. Lucen cringed but it was how things were. For their plan to work, Lucen couldn't be seen as friendly towards Aya.

Not even when they weren't being seen.

Aya nodded, raising her head. "Well, I thought this would be a good time to talk about how we'll find a way to free my soul from the oath. With everyone busy."

Aya was under oath to return to the Grey Keep after the quest, whether they succeeded or failed. If they succeeded, she would return to marry Duran. If they failed, she would be executed.

Although if the quest failed, Lucen doubted any of them would be alive.

And even if the quest succeeded, he still doubted that they would be able to return alive.

Lucen leaned against the carriage hiding them, eyes flicking towards towards Duran and his followers.

"Elixirs that affect the soul would be my guess." Lucen said finally. "Oaths to the Pillar of Eternity are like a hand placed over your soul. Your soul needs to either force the hand off or slip from the grip."

Forcing the hand off would be impossible. If Lucen had to guess, the Pillar of Eternity was some kind of Ascension-rank weapon. Maybe even above Ascension-rank.

Swearing an oath in its name meant it was unbreakable. Unless you wanted to die.

"There are legends of miraculous pills or talismans that can break an oath," Aya said. "The most notable one is the Hidden Eye Talisman. As long as you are wearing it the oath is ineffective."

Lucen nodded. "That sounds good. But do we need to do anything illegal to get it?"

"A few," Aya replied. "We'll start looking in Bulwark, but the place I heard they were sold was Duskrise."

Bulwark was a city beyond the Withering Forest, their first stop on the journey. It was an old city that served as a safe place to rest in the wild lands of Horalix.

Duskrise was a more purposeful city, built years ago on the mountains to mine metal. It wasn't a very old city, but it was supported by rich merchants and built in an easily defendable place.

"But there are also materials related to the void that I hear can ward off Kal's influence." Aya frowned as she said this, rather disgusted by it.

Lucen shook his head.

"I don't think we should try that. Void magic is more about stealing control; whatever item they'd give you to escape Kal's control will only end up putting you under theirs."

[If you don't mind my interjection, I'd like to say that Kal doesn't own the Pillar of Eternity.]

Was that even possible? Who else could manage such a powerful tool?

Unless...

Lucen froze. "Wait, how sure are we that the Pillar is under Kal's control?"

"Of course it is." Aya frowned. "It's been a part of Elarian culture for… who knows how long. Swearing on the Pillar of Eternity is a practice that even the Menian Priests advise."

The Menian church was the oldest church in the empire. Their roots even traced back to before the empire, back when Kal came down from the heavens.

[The only evidence I have is the nature of their mana. The colors are pretty much the same, but it's… hard to describe with words. It's just so vastly different, like comparing an old rock and a vibrant star.]

[I've observed how Kal's authority works in your soul—when people like Chester order you—and how the Pillar of Eternity's mana works when you swear oaths. They are two very different types of Divine mana.]

Lucen bowed his head, considering what this could mean.

Were there multiple divine gods? How did this even help with their current situation?

But the thing that stuck in his mind was the possibility that the Pillar of Eternity was some kind of machine built into the fabric of reality.

It could just be working automatically.

"I think we should look into the possibility," Lucen said finally. "I'll try looking for sources."

"How does that even help us? And how are you so sure the Pillar of Eternity is separate from Kal?"

Lucen remained silent, simply giving her a long look. Aya narrowed her eyes, but nodded briefly.

Lucen looked around. "They're getting ready to start moving again. Five more days before we reach the Silver Plateau, seven till we get to the Withering Forest."

The Silver Plateau was where Warren suggested the Squires set up camp and scout the conditions of Withering Forest.

Lucen turned away. "Then the real fun starts."