Shattered Moonstone

Himari sat in a makeshift medical tent that had been erected hastily just inside the wall to the holy capital on its southern entrance. 

“It's been a week,” She moaned as she slumped against the small wooden desk, the glass vials on it clamoring as she did. She eyed the elven woman beside her who went to work picking the glass vials up, “Do you believe the attacks will stop soon?” 

“I have not the faintest idea,” Eryl replied as she reorganized the desk, the golden collar on her neck flashing as she worked. “but the will of the gods seems very clear that we will prevail.”

Is it really the will of the gods? Himari thought as her eyes landed on the choker. 

Unlikely, the repairs and fortifications to the wall are likely due to mo... X47’s power being funneled into Soter. It is likely that Soter himself cares very little about the outcome of this battle. The trickling blessing across his domain has repaired all “walls” that bare his mark, please note that this will also affect lies told on the world for a time making them more believable.

So Soter is the god of protection and lying? I guess that’s fair given he is an elf masquerading as a human god.

Incorrect, Soter, protector of secrets, is the god ruling over protection and hidden knowledge. Please do note he is very sensitive about his title and is only referred to as “Soter, god of protection” and the system will keep you from informing anyone of Soter’s true race or title.

Himari groaned as she recalled attempting to tell the church of the creation of a demon lord, the attempt ending with her having an impressively bloody nose. It was unclear whether it was a result of the mental strain, or she simply smashed it when she fell face first into the stone floor. What about the plants? Is that also Soters doing? She thought as she stood from the desk, walking to a water pitcher.

“You don’t need to worry yourself with that, Saintess Himari.” Eryl quickly ran to fill the water for her.

No, the system's voice sounded annoyed as Eryl presented Himari with a glass of water. The increased plant growth is a result of Siofra also being subjected to a large quantity of aether as Soter had.

It has been a very… eventful week in the world as a whole, all starting with a massive wave of oppressive force that forced anyone with even a shred of magical detection to their knees. That night the masses were sent into a panic when the outcome of that much magical force was revealed, though minus the rioting, the damage to the red moon seemed to not be causing too much of an issue to the world's ecosystem thankfully. 

That was followed by the walls of every city glowing a deep blue as they appeared to repair themselves, which did not help the state of people’s mental states as they realized the forests around the world had all exploded with life. Himari surmised that every plant on the planet had gone into bloom all at once, the system helpfully informed her that was a direct cause of the goddess of nature suddenly needing to burn off a massive amount of aether. This was also the true reason the walls had all been repaired, the only reason the walls were still being reinforced was simply because Siofra, who could just flood the entire ecosystem with power, Soter needed to funnel it into much smaller channels which would take much longer. Babylon had “calculated” that anything that falls under Soters domain will likely be enhanced for a minimum of two more days.

Goddess Jaci of the blue moon is working hard to correct the orbit of the red moon. She has mitigated a lot of the effects with the help of Vala, they are requesting assistance from the system to halt the rotation that has been set into motion?

“Jaci of the blue moon?” she whispered, Eryls ears perking up showing she had heard the slip of the tongue.

“Jaci of the blue moon is a demi-human goddess,” Eryl informed her while she eyed Himari, “she is a bunny kin if I recall.”

“Oh,” Himari feigned clicking her tongue, “I was just wondering about the moons again, if the red moon was damaged, I was wondering if it would affect the blue one… I remember seeing the name of the… demi-human in a book” she quickly covered her slip up.

Do be careful, Eryl has been ordered to “watch” you. It seems that Isaac does not trust you fully. The system's soothing female voice filled her mind.

“If you are contemplating the gods, I believe Soter is also associated with the blue moon. It is believed that the blue moon protects the world from comets. You will do well to remember the proper gods…” Eryl launched into a religious lecture of what gods were appropriate for a hero to look to.

You're positive that I can’t take that collar off her myself? Also weren’t the moons tidal locked in orbit? Himari thought, nodding along to Eryls speech.

The short answer is no, you cannot. you would risk damaging not only mother Eryls soul core, but your own soul would be incapable of doing little more than alerting Valor to your attempts to break one of his relics. Also, yes the moons were indeed tidal locked however it would seem that having a quarter of the moon’s mass removed forcefully has set the red moon on a slow rotation, this is making it difficult to correct its orbit and risks sending the moon further off course. Will you allocate power to stop the moon's rotation?

Yes, fine. A strange sensation washed over Himari once she had the thought. A very odd pulling as she felt a massive flow of energy leaving her causing her knees to buckle.

“Saintess Himari!” Eryl called catching the much smaller woman.

“So… sorry. I must have… over done myself.”

“You have been working nonstop since the attacks.” Eryl said, picking the small girl up and walking her to a cot in the corner. “You should rest properly, as the Saint of Valor it would be very concerning if you were to suddenly fall ill.” She said looking down at the girl with near reverence, “working yourself so much though you are so young.”

I hate this. Himari thought as she was tucked in by the elf she once looked up to. She was so brilliant and collected before.

After the initial shock of the changes in the world, Isaac had ordered a full investigation of what the cause could possibly be but that’s when the true problem reared its head.

Once the first scouts were dispatched, merely an hour later only one returned. Nearly 50 men left and only one came back and his report, though initially thought a joke, heralded the first ever siege on the Holy capital. 

Amassing just outside of the city in the now overgrown forest were thousands of goblins, every day, waves of goblins of all shapes and sizes flooded towards the walls, every night they would attempt to borrow into the city. Though Goblins were normally no threat, being able to be dispatched by even an unskilled adult, the numbers at which they were coming was truly staggering. That, compiled with the strange number of “higher” goblins that seemed to be commanding the horde has increased their coordination significantly, they even seem to have created crude weapons that, though generally ineffective, still proved dangerous if you let your guard down. It seemed to Himari that it was as if the entire race of goblinoids had taken offense to the holy city itself, and even now a week later they showed no signs of slowing as they continued to fruitlessly batter the city.

The goblinoids of this world believe that Valor is to blame for the destruction of their god, Orkthal. They are attempting to enact their revenge through destruction of any land that has ties to him. Please note that several churches to Valor have been razed in this pursuit. Given Goblins high birth rate and short growth period it is very likely this will continue for at minimum one month, if they partition their troops properly however this siege could very well last years unless the high priest Isaac devotes a large portion of Alamgir’s forces to the eradication of the goblinoids. 

so it truly has become a suicidal charge of an entire race then? She couldn't help but feel a sinking feeling in her stomach as she contemplated the concept of an entire race willing to die for a god.

it is likely that it will not end in a complete genocide, however it is true that the goblinoid race is willing to go to such lengths for this cause. Remember that we are also stuck in this city, we will be forced to act if a true genocide is going to take place, if need be we can use the system to impose some… deterrents to the goblins to force them to leave the city for a time. Though without the system key we cannot do anything until they trip one of Mother Eryl’s protection protocols. Once the race falls below 30% population we will be given the option to intervene on behalf of the world's balance.

how… How many would need to die for that to happen? she thought as the thoughts of thousands if not millions of corpses filled her mind.

Best not concern yourself with the numbers Himari. As the temporary administrator it is your job to be unbiased and enact decisions to protect the world without affecting its balance. Thankfully mother Eryl was quite good at her job and had programmed her system to handle most situations autonomously, if this were a new system you would need to overlook everything on your own. Reminder, you have one title request from the system that you will need to approve as it is for a summoned hero who is locked by the system from gaining any titles or skills without approval.  

she swallowed hard as she acknowledged the idea of attempting to be an unbiased bystander in what would likely become a very long bloody conflict. She allowed the allocation of the title “goblin bane” to be gained by Bolin as she thought.

This all actually worked in Himari’s favor, she was able to recruit Eryl as her “nurse”, stating she needed an extra pair of hands to assist her with all the injuries flooding in and who better than the false sage as penance for her sins to have to heal the very people she attempted to deceive. Also, it was a lot easier to train Eryl than another priest given she already seemed to have extensive healing knowledge as well as an inability to refuse any order she was given by the heroes now and the intelligence to understand even the most complex demands… She was truly a perfect nurse as far as Himari was concerned. though there was that problem with what the system called “her restricted memory access.” As the system described it, Eryl would now be considered a very well educated elven woman, but in reality most of her memories and personality had been locked when her soul was suppressed. This was a precaution to protect the balance of the world, and given Himari’s new understanding of the system she couldn't say she disagreed with it. 

If anyone were to get access to even the limited knowledge that Himari now had they could very easily become a god or devil, or risk accidentally throwing the whole balance into disarray. If someone were to destroy the faith in the gods they would essentially starve them of their source of power, without followers they wouldn't be able to gain mana, without mana they couldn't form aether, and the immortal gods would no longer be immortal. She learned that the gods were just powerful souls, and as such they fell under the system's “protect souls” task. She found herself wondering just how Eryl balanced everything, only to be reminded of the system's protocol for forbidden knowledge.

It seemed that Isaac had agreed with her request to adopt Eryl as her “nurse” though she had to drastically twist the word to fit more inline with a live-in maid. he however did use it as a way to keep an eye on Himari, he command Eryl to keep a close eye on the newest of the Chosen heroes and report any odd behavior to him. As the collar tied Eryl to Isaac his commands were akin to law in her eyes, though he did command her to listen to any of the chosen as long as the command did not interfere with one from Isaac. Given Himari was originally a reject in his eyes, a mistake he regretted after seeing her healing magic in full action, he clearly believed she may have been “tainted” by the elven woman’s teaching, and as such he was weary of her, keeping close tabs on any of her actions. Thankfully the system, no longer bound by Eryl’s settings, had helpfully rammed a terminal directly into her mind during her integration as the administrator.

It did make several comments that such an act was rash and it apologized for the discomfort, it had believed that Himari’s mind would act much in the same way X47’s did when the same process was used when Babylon, along with the system key, was forced into its soul... The system however, was wrong. Himari now keeps a very steady flow of painkillers in her system to deal with the constant headaches of having the “world system” tied directly to her brain. Both her and the system learned why Eryl insisted on using the terminals instead of directly interfacing in such a way now. 

Her mind wandered back to the elven woman who had just left her room, at least her chastity wasn't in danger. Himari thought as she remembered how the other priest looked at her who now wore old nun robes. There was so much disgust for the elven woman it was likely that even if one had harbored any desire for her the threat of exile would halt any attempt to act on them. Though the other summoned heroes were a different story completely.

Once Robert had awakened, and after a few hours of explaining what had happened followed by several more of him swearing unspeakable violence on that “clawed bitch” for taking his eye. He had made several attempts to corner the elven woman, Himari has been successful in stopping this even going as far as to lie to him that after a thorough investigation it would seem that Eryl has… a medical problem that he would best avoid, as the side effect could be… uncomfortable.

Do remind me to apologize to Eryl once she is free, Himari asked.

It is unlikely that mother Eryl would be bothered by such a thing, even if the “hero” were to copulate with her she will likely not remember her time in servitude once the collar is removed. The system's voice became quiet as it continued; however, I do thank you for protecting her. Mot… X47 would likely be inconsolable if something of that manner were to happen to Eryl.

You keep doing that. What is X47, and don’t patronize me. I know it is the creature that blew up the moon and created the demon lord. If it is that powerful, why don’t we just call it to free Eryl?

No! For the first time the System screamed in her mind, the feeling of the entire world yelling in her head threatened to rob her of her consciousness as pain rocked through her mind. Apologies for my outburst… you must not contact X47, and you definitely cannot inform her of what is going on with mother Eryl now.

Why?

There was a long pause before the system sighed, Mother Eryl once warned you of monsters in the world… X47 is that monster... If she were to learn of mother Eryl’s current predicament it is likely that; if her mental faculties did not fail, she would very likely attempt to rescue mother Eryl. If mother Hecatolite were to do that, at this exact moment, the damage to the world's balance would be immeasurable as she would likely destroy everything in her path to her goal of breaking Eryl free. the loss of souls would be… it would not be worth the risk. Remember, our job is first and foremost, protect souls, keep the balance.  Allowing mother Hecatolite to rampage would accomplish the exact opposite of that.

Wait… isn’t that the girl that Bolin and the others ran into… the one that Isaac is going to try and recruit as a Hero? And why did you call her mother? Isn’t she just a summoned hero?

Yes and also no, X47 was summoned at the same time as the heroes however to count it in the same ranks as them would be a gross misrepresentation of its true capabilities. Isaac will very likely… no, he will fail in recruiting her. At that time, it is highly likely that mo… X47 will encounter Mother Eryl on her own and will rescue her, hopefully Mother Eryl will be able to placate her before she rampages through the world. There is a 93% chance of this outcome. Also…. The voice stopped for a moment before continuing. The moon's rotation has been stopped, congratulations on your first Administrative…

You’re dodging the question. Why do you keep calling both Hecatolite and Eryl mother?

Fine. It paused again, but when it became obvious Himari would not drop the subject it continued. Mother Eryl designed the Babylon system however, X47 is the one who granted it consciousness by integrating the Overseer system into it. In doing so, it unknowingly gave a small portion of its own soul to the system effectively birthing the Overseer Babylon system. That coupled with the massive burst of aether it granted me it is safe to say that Hecatolite is the true mother of this system as she is the one who formed the “pseudo soul” that acts as its core. I however refuse to acknowledge that world eating monstrosity as such a sacred thing as mother. If it was not for the current actions of the goat-king I would have believed mother Eryl to be insane for allowing it into her world.

…. The goat-king?

Damnit… listen to me Himari, Hecatolite Lapidary is the single most dangerous thing in this world. She is not only powerful enough to destroy souls but capable of defying the system with her sheer force of will, if she were to decide to do so nothing would be able to stop her from destroying this world. She is also mentally unstable, unpredictable…

And she is the only one who can break that collar isn’t she?

There was another very long silence this time however Himari could feel a draw on her mana as Babylon searched for anything in the system to refute her… yes. 

Well then, better tell me everything you can about her. I have 6 hours with nothing to do since I don’t need to sleep anymore thanks to you. She thought as she rolled into a comfortable position, or I could just call her and ask her to come pick me and Eryl up.

I regret making you administrator. Babylon sighed, fine I will convince you of why that’s a foolish idea. Himari felt a very strange… click, in her mind as suddenly the massive power coursing through her body suddenly stopped.

Did… did you disconnect me from the system?

The Babylon system, though removed from the universal mother system, still has safety measures in place that will react to this information. I have temporarily disabled the Babylon half of the system as a precaution. Though as the Administrator of the system, even temporary, you should be warned that this is information that will not even be allowed to be shared even with Hecatolite herself. Not even mother Eryl is aware of what I am about to show you. Any attempt to do so will result in… Himari, if you attempt to share this with anyone, I will be forced to remove you from this world with the full weight of the system. Do you understand?

Is… is she that terrifying? Himari, for the first time in her over one hundred collective years of life felt true uncertainty. The system’s, as she came to know it, only purpose was to protect souls. To cultivate them into becoming gods. For it to threaten to “remove” her from the world meant that whatever it was about to share with her was… Yes, I understand. She couldn’t help but be curious.

This, suddenly her mind was flooded with images of a strange world. One that though was covered with a lush green forest had no water, it felt… primal as she viewed the strange memories. Is the memory records of the original Overseer system, the voice in her mind began as the image in her mind began to move towards the world.  And this is what Hecatolite Lapidary truly is.