The Sixth School.

Chapter Seventy Six: Morpheus…

Greg sat in the small diner looking at the figure of his high school math teacher Mr Jones. His gaze couldn’t help but roam around the familiar diner. An old couple was seated at the next table over, Mr Jenkins and his wife, they’d been their neighbors for as long as Greg could remember. Looking at the other side, a group of four girls that Greg could vaguely remember from his high school were seated, giggling about something that Greg couldn’t quite pick up on. His gaze even dropped to the hot mug of black tea in his hands. He could feel the heat of the beverage seep through the ceramic mug and into his hands. Despite being perfectly aware that all this was a mental construct, an illusion concocted by the being seated across from him, he still couldn’t get over just how real it all felt. Greg didn’t know how long he’d been out of it after he’d ceded control over to the being connected to his eyes, but after some time, he’d just found himself seated in this diner at this table.

“I just can’t wrap my head around it,” A feminine voice reached him causing Greg to look across the table once again. The being had already changed forms taking the form of a girl about his age that Greg all too easily recognized. Nicole, a brunette with bright hazel eyes and a smile that seemed to brighten the room. Greg couldn’t help but look away from the form of the girl he had his first-ever crush on. “A whole world with zero magic,” the being continued, looking around at the diner with genuine interest. “Mundane humans, that I can understand as they are there in almost every realm I’ve ever had the chance to visit. But a world devoid of magic… I’d think you were trying to trick me if not for the fact that you're far too weak to attempt such a thing,” the being in the guise of Nicole stated.

“The concept of a world full of magic was just as shocking to me,” Greg replied, looking back at the being to find him having taken the form of some news anchor that was popular in his hometown. Greg however, couldn’t quite remember what their name was. It was fast becoming clear that even in this space, the being wasn’t content to stick to just one form. Greg would just have to ignore his constantly shifting form lest he miss what the being actually wanted to say. “To me, this simple world where horrors don’t appear from the abyss to try and kill you is what I knew is the norm. It’s been a year, and I thought I’d begun to wrap my mind around my new reality. Recent events, however, have soundly disabused me of that notion,” He added with a bitter smile.

A snort of derision sounded from across the table. “If you consider that weakling to be a horror, then yes, you are in for a rough road ahead,” he stated.

“Just because you can easily swing a hammer, doesn’t mean you should fault a toddler for not being able to do the same,” Greg calmly replied. While he hadn’t been in control, the last thing Greg had seen through his eyes before passing out was how easily this being had dealt with the abyssal creature. His words weren’t just hot air, he had the power to back them up.

Greg had to fight the urge to roll his eyes when the next form the being took was that of a toddler swinging around a rather large hammer. “I’m not faulting the child, I’m just letting them know that they’ll have to contend with far bigger hammers in the future,” The being answered him.

A dark look crossed Greg’s expression, with him being marked by fate, the being’s words weren’t just a guess, but a certainty. He was the toddler in this analogy and unless he found a way to become powerful quickly, he would find sledgehammers swinging his way before he could even handle a simple claw-hammer. “Thank you,” Greg said quietly, genuine gratitude clear to be heard in his voice. “I know you have no reason to care whether she lives or dies, but it means a lot to me. I’m grateful that you chose to save my teacher,” he said.

“Think nothing of it. I was just returning a favor,” the being replied dismissively with a wave of the hand that wasn’t holding the hammer.

A brow arched on Greg’s face at the reply. “Returning a favor?” Greg repeated, his confusion evident. This being had been sealed away in the pair of eyes Greg received from the deity-level being that reincarnated him. Even when Greg underwent his ascension, all this being did was glance at his teacher and nothing more. Beyond that, his teacher hadn’t even been able to detect this entity’s presence. Just what favor was he talking about?

“Yes. If she hadn’t discovered one of the higher planes' ascension methods, I never would have been able to connect with your body the way I did,” The being casually dropped a bomb. For a while, Greg could only open and close his mouth, words failing him. “Now, don’t get me wrong,” the being continued, unbothered by his reaction. “What she discovered was rather crude and never would have worked without the help she got from the primordial to straighten out the kinks. But be that as it may, she played a pivotal role in my newly gained freedom and so I helped. I’d strongly caution against expecting it a second time,” The being, now in the form of a police officer Greg vaguely remembered, advised. There was no anger, coldness, or malice in the being’s tone as he said this. Much like a chore that he’d crossed off his list, the being was just letting him know that he wouldn’t intervene to save his teacher a second time.

Pressing his lips together into a straight line, Greg nodded resignedly, knowing that he didn’t have any way of forcing the being to do anything if he didn’t want to. “I’m grateful all the same, but I assume you didn’t bring me here just to hear me thank you,” Greg said, allowing the discussion to move on to what the being wanted.

“It’s simple really, I just want to let you know how you can make full use of my eyes,” he said with an amused smile.

Greg couldn’t help the bit of skepticism that he felt at the being’s words. Despite his gratitude to the being for the intervention, he still hadn’t forgotten that this being was reduced to a pair of eyes because he betrayed the deity-level being that reincarnated Greg. That he would want to help Greg, an agent of his killer, was more than a little suspicious. Also, every time the eyes have been activated so far, Greg would lose control and this being would take over. Was he being tricked? Would this being eventually take over completely if Greg ceded control enough times? All these questions fleeted through Greg’s mind in quick succession at the being’s words.

The being seated across from him, exaggeratedly rolled his eyes. “This is exactly why you are here right now,” he said, not bothering to hide the fact that he was privy to Greg’s thoughts. “The seals placed on what little is left of me weren’t placed there by some random nobody. If I were to attempt to break through them, I would be killed immediately. Just shushing you almost killed me!” The being stated sounding genuinely miffed.

Greg was once again left speechless as he remembered the moment. It was the first thing that the being had done after Greg woke up post-ascension. In the form of an old Buddhist-like monk, seated in the lotus position atop the sigil in his teacher’s cave, the being had shushed Greg when he tried to point him out to his teacher and familiar. Greg hadn’t noticed anything off with the being thereafter that would suggest he’d almost just died. But then again, the figure that Greg saw out in the real world, wasn’t the actual being but a projected illusion, so it didn’t mean anything that the illusion had continued as if nothing had happened. “Why would shushing me almost kill you?” He asked.

“Remember how she intended for you to use my eyes. You’d first have to provide mana for the eyes to do anything. This was the simple explanation given to you. In reality, the rule she implemented in the seals that she placed on me is far more stringent. Unless you first initiate something by directing mana to my eyes, then my eyes are practically incapable of doing anything. Circumstances clearly changed when the last remnant I left of myself awakened. The seals, however, adapted and now apply all the same restrictions to me. Forget forcefully taking you over, even talking to you without you initiating the communication could kill me if I’m not careful. Whatever else you might say about her, Mother doesn’t do things in half-measure,” The being said.

From the way he muttered the last part, Greg could tell that it was more a stray thought absentmindedly verbalized than something the being actually meant to say out loud. Still, it left Greg completely stunned. “Wait, you are her son?” he found himself asking, his shock evident.

Some of the carefree air that had been about the figure before him vanished. Greg couldn’t be sure if this was all an act, but he got the impression that the being hadn’t meant to expose that last bit. A smile that had a lot less mirth than the ones that came before pasted itself on the being’s lips. “If she heard you say that, she’d probably kill you for it,” The being stated. For some reason, this was the first thing that the being had wished to sound lighthearted but came out with absolute seriousness. “But, yes, I am… was, her son,” He confirmed.

Greg was brought up short, remembering the way the deity-level being that reincarnated him had spoken of the eyes as if they belonged to some random subordinate that she didn’t pay much attention to. “I took them off someone who forgot their place and thought they could plot against me”. That was literally the entirety of her description of the owner of the eyes. And yet, that “someone” was actually her son! “What did you do?” Greg asked, curious what would drive a mother to essentially kill their child and only keep their eyes as a memento.

The look on the being’s face, now in the form of a sheriff Greg had seen from time to time, turned dour. His gaze dropped to the table and for a long while, he didn’t say anything. Greg was starting to think that he wouldn’t answer when he finally began. “She was growing too strong too fast. We, the other gods that shared a pantheon with her, felt threatened. At first, it started with whispers, then secret meetings then the formation of alliances. By the time they came to rope me in, all the other deities were basically in accord that she had to die. ‘For balance’, they claimed. I should have seen through the veneer to the naked greed that lay beneath. They were lusting for her power, each wanting it for themselves. However, how could I, when I too was blinded by the same greed for power? I too was green with envy at the heights that she seemed to be climbing to. Heights I couldn’t even dream of reaching. When they came for me, I was all too happy to join them. ‘It's either I side with them or they kill me alongside my mother’, that’s the lie I told myself to justify my cowardice. But in the end, it didn’t matter, we were all clowns. Lambs dancing before a dragon thinking that just because it hadn’t snapped us up, we could measure up to it,” He said in a tone of self-mockery.

“You see, Mother had always been aware of those conspiring against her. However, she isn’t the type to immediately lash out when someone steps out of line. She will sit back and watch, allow you to play out whatever little scheme you have hatched up, and right when you least expect it, descend on you with the fierceness of a storm. Seventy-one of us came together to attack her that day. I was to be the bait. Using her trust in me, I was to guide her to a place suitable for ambush,” A smile crossed the being’s face at this point. There was, however, no joy in it. Instead, it was the self-mocking smile of a fool that suddenly became aware of their folly.

“She walked with me, smiling and laughing all the way as we headed to what I thought would be her demise. Just as we were about to reach the place, she calmly turned and asked me, ‘Is this where they plan to kill me?’” A mirthless chuckle escaped the being’s lips at the memory. “There was no fear in her eyes, her smile didn’t even falter and her steps didn’t pause. Leaving me behind, frozen like a statue, she walked to the exact place we’d planned to ambush her. The others, not having received any warning from me, immediately attacked… That’s when we learned just what a colossal mistake we had made.”

“Mother had already grown far more powerful than any of us could ever imagine. What we were sensing of her growth was in truth the bit of her power that she could no longer suppress. With her power, she could have easily appointed herself as head of the pantheon, and no one would have been able to say a thing about it. The only reason she didn’t was because she hadn’t been interested in that little bit of power. If we hadn’t attacked her, she probably would have ascended to higher ranks and left us alone to continue our mediocre existence. Unfortunately for us, we let fear and greed guide us. And by the end, a pantheon of seventy-two gods in total was reduced to just one. And of the other seventy-one gods, only a pair of eyes was left,” the being relayed.

There was a long silence before Greg spoke up. “She let you live.” This was the only logical conclusion he could come to after hearing the back story. If his mother was as powerful as he claimed her to be, then there was no way he was hidden in the eyes. Perhaps she hadn’t expected that he’d somehow reawaken because of an accidentally discovered ascension method, but there was no doubt in Greg’s mind that his mother knew, on some level that her son was still alive within the eyes.

A bitter smile crossed the being’s face. “I mean, she did keep me locked away in my eyes for close to seven hundred thousand years before you came along. I’m not sure you can exactly call that living. But then again, I did try to kill her, so I can’t exactly be mad that she didn’t go looking for a body for me,” The being seemed to be trying to work out his feelings on the whole issue in the present time.

Greg, on the other hand, was agape. He knew that beings at this level lived long lives, but to hear seven hundred thousand years mentioned as a jail sentence and not even a full lifespan left him staggered. He just couldn’t wrap his mind around the concept that beings could live for that long. “Wait, but if she was already that powerful that long ago, why does she need my help?” He asked.

The being across from him, now a little girl in a pink tutu and a plastic tiara on her head, seemed to consider the question for a while before answering. “There are three possible reasons I can think of. One, she is injured and in a weakened state and needs you to act as her agent to help in the recovery process. If not that, then her power has hit a plateau and whatever she plans to have you do will be the key to breaking through that barrier. Finally, if it isn’t either of the two former options, then she has eyes watching her, restricting what she can do openly. You, my friend, are the secret agent that she is nurturing to act on her behalf on matters that she can’t be seen to have her hand in,” the being presented him with the possible options.

“She managed to kill another seventy-one gods with your level of power, and that was almost a million years ago, what could possibly injure her?” Greg questioned the first option, which was also the one he was most skeptical of.

An amused smile crossed the being’s lips. “One thing you should keep in mind, no matter how powerful you get is that there is always, always, someone more powerful than you are!” the being replied. From his tone of voice and demeanor, going so far as to repeat the word ‘always’ twice, Greg could tell that this was as much a fact to the being before him as the sky being blue. “Power is like a ladder that stretches from the ground all the way to infinity. It may have a bottom, but no matter how far you climb, you will never reach its limit,” He declared.

Greg would have raised objections to the other two reasons given, not because he knew something that the being across from him didn’t, but just to try and see if they could narrow down the possibilities. The answer given by the being, however, effectively stopped him short. If there was always more power to be obtained, then yes, he might be a tool to help his reincarnator grow stronger. Similarly, if there were always those more powerful than you, then yes, he could also be someone his reincarnator needed to act without being found out by those more powerful than she was. 

“Let’s say for a second that I believe you. If what you are saying about how you were sealed is true, then didn’t you go against the seals two more times other than when you shushed me?” Greg asked bringing the discussion back to where it began. “First, during my ascension, you acted without my say-so, and almost killed my teacher, while you were at it, I might add. And secondly, just now, I asked for your help but didn’t send mana your way until after you had agreed to help me. If just shushing me almost killed you, how did you manage to speak a whole sentence without my mana?” He challenged.

Taking on the portly shape of his mayor from Greg’s past life, the being answered. “Seals are like a computer code. They are meant to achieve a specific task within certain parameters. Like a guard dog trained to attack anyone wearing a black ski mask. What happened during your ascension is that a man in a pink ski mask appeared. Now, if the target of a seal changes in ways that the seals weren’t meant to accommodate, then, depending on the skills of the one who set up the seal, they will either break or adapt. The seals placed on my eyes were placed there by my mother herself. So, as you might well guess, they are not easy to break. However, even if a seal adjusts instead of breaking, there will be a small window of time before it reconfigures itself to apply to the new target. During your ascension, I simply made use of that window to integrate myself into your mana circulation system,” The being answered him.

“As for the second instance, it’s simple really, sometimes you have to suffer a bit to get to a greater goal. Believe me when I say that the seals punished me severely for that one statement, but with the mana I’ve accrued since I awakened, I was able to at the very least preserve my life,” He stated with a shrug.

“And what was your greater goal? “ Greg asked, both curious and suspicious.

“Isn’t it obvious? To bring you here and have this discussion with you,” the being replied. “I could act all mysterious and give vague hints and clues as to what I want, but I’m going to take a page from my mother and be direct with you Greg. I have one, and only one goal. Freedom. I want to create a new body for myself and use it to disappear. I tried to kill my mother and in return, she kept me prisoner for almost seven hundred thousand years. In my books, that clears any debt I might have with her. I won’t lie and say that I’m happy with what she did, but there is no great hatred between her and myself. The moment I have my new body, I plan on finding a remote corner of the infinite realms to live out the rest of my life in peace and pleasure,” He declared.

“Unfortunately for me, that means I have to depend on you. I may be able to connect to your mind and even exert some power whenever you allow me control, but still, all I am currently is a pair of eyes. I will need your help to collect the things I need to create a new body. Now, it doesn’t take a genius to realize that you are nowhere near powerful enough to collect the things a deity would need for their body, let alone create that body. This means I’ll have to watch over you and help you along until you are strong enough to help me create that new body. This will be my payment to you for the new body you will be helping me create,” the being laid out.

Greg was quiet for a long while as he considered the being’s words. The more cautious and paranoid side of him was skeptical of everything the being had said. After all, he had no way of figuring out whether any of it was true. The being might very well have fabricated everything whole cloth just to get Greg to trust him. Perhaps when Greg least expected it, he’d be betrayed and lose his life a second time. He simply had no way of knowing. On the other hand, to have such a powerful ally in his corner would be invaluable. To speak nothing of the power he had just demonstrated, the amount of valuable knowledge both on magic and the world, or worlds at large would be a resource Greg could get nowhere else.

It was a dilemma that left Greg stumped for a long while. In the end, however, it wasn’t his ardent desire for the knowledge this being could share with him or his paranoia over possible duplicitousness that helped him decide. Instead, it was his helplessness. Whether Greg liked it or not, he was stuck with the being. Short of gouging out his own eyes, Greg couldn’t think of a way to be rid of him. And it’s not like the being would just sit back and allow himself to be abandoned. Greg didn’t know how deeply the being had integrated himself with his mana pathways. Greg wasn’t willing to test just how much damage he would suffer if he tried to get rid of the being. Worse yet, even if he didn’t outright try to be rid of his eyes, living with an enemy around you that you couldn’t hope to be rid of would be a constant nightmare. With no way of telling if this being was genuine or not, Greg could only extend an olive branch of trust, hoping that he wouldn’t be burnt.

“Okay,” Greg said, at first softly, before repeating it in a firmer tone. “Okay, I’ll trust you. Help me survive the machinations of fate and become stronger and I promise to help you recover a body once I’m strong enough,” He said, clearly outlining what it was he was agreeing to.

“Hmm, mother might be onto something. Simple straightforward agreements are far less of a headache than vague and mysterious revelations,” The being muttered, sounding more like he was addressing himself as opposed to Greg. “Now, listen carefully, there are only three abilities that you can use at this juncture. The first is appraisal. This is the simplest of the three all you have to do is direct mana to my eyes while looking at the item you wish to assess the value of. There are six different colors that items will have when appraised and each will tell you how valuable that item is. From the least value to the most, the colors are grey, green, blue, purple, red, and gold. The only other colors you should pay attention to are black and white. If you appraise something or someone and they appear completely black to your sight, then avoid them by any means you can. Said item or person will bring you great misfortune. Oh, and cursed items will give off a black fog in your appraisal sight. The reverse is true for the white color. Such items represent a chance for great fortune. If you can obtain the item or keep the person in your orbit, then there is a high chance of you gaining something good because of it. Blessed items also give off a white fog in your appraisal sight,” The being gave an overview of the first ability.

“Wait, everything on my teacher was grey when you looked at her, even her storage rings,” He said, Greg could easily remember this as the image was indelibly burned into his mind. “Not to call into question your abilities, but how is that possible?” he asked.

“The eyes will show value based on who is looking through them. The reason your teacher, and everything she owns, appeared grey to the eyes was because I was the one looking through them. While to you, and I suppose even to her, the items she has are of value, to me and other beings like me, they hold very little worth,” The being succinctly explained.

“They are your eyes, who else would look through them?” Greg found himself asking.

An amused smile crossed the face of the being before him. “There more beings and abilities out there Greg, that to just ponder them will take you longer than I was imprisoned. You ought to keep that in mind lest you grow arrogant and find yourself blindsided by the unexpected, “ The being cautioned him. “Oh, and pay attention to the shades of the colors you see when using appraisal. Two items might give off the same color but different shades. The brighter shade is always the more valuable of the two.”

Taking on the form of Mrs Malone, his high school principal, the being continued when Greg remained silent. “The second ability, I’ll dub perfect recall. Normally, this ability should have been default whenever you used the eyes, but I’ve chosen to separate it for your sake. As you can remember from your ascension, using my eyes to look at your teacher followed by your familiar left you with a rather nasty headache. That’s because, in addition to your mana, this second ability makes use of your mental energy. At present, with your limited mental capacity, you can only take one-second snapshots of a scene if you don’t want to be crippled by a debilitating migraine,” The being advised.

“Did you just call me stupid?” Greg couldn’t help but ask, not sure how to feel about the being’s words.

“Fret not, the condition isn’t terminal. There’s hope for you yet,” The being answered without missing a beat. “Now, the more you grow in power, the more mental energy you will naturally have. There are, however, other ways of growing this resource, from rare natural treasures to certain exercises in the school of mind as it is called in this realm. In other words, the more mental energy you possess, the longer you will be able to use this ability with fewer detrimental effects to you,” The being explained. “Which of the two stated abilities you activate depends on your intent at the time of activation. If you wish to appraise a certain item or individual, then focus on gauging their value while sending mana to my eyes. On the other hand, if it is perfect recall you are after, then focus on trying to remember everything you are seeing at the time.” The being laid out before going quiet for a while.

Greg couldn’t help but sit up straighter at the serious look that came over the being before him. “The final ability, as you already know, is ceding control and allowing me to take over for a while. I should warn you right now that, this is not a get-out-of-jail-free card, Greg. If anything, this should be a last resort only when all else has failed and death is imminent if you don’t do something drastic, do you understand?” the being stated with uncharacteristic seriousness.

Greg was surprised, not having expected the being to so adamantly be against taking control of his body. “Why?” he asked, not hiding his confusion.

“Two reasons,” the being replied. “The first is that every time I take you over, there is a certain chance of attracting attention from beings that, trust me, you don’t want to look your way. You’re still weak and rather inconsequential right now, so the risk of that isn’t that high. The more powerful you grow, however, the more this risk factor grows as well. Until you are ready, let’s try and avoid such an outcome, shall we?” the being urged. “Secondly, and even more immediate a consequence, is the fact that, whenever I take over, you become a tier-zero mage,” the being revealed.

Greg’s eyes went wide, his mind already understanding the implications of this. “Your uncle became a tier-zero mage to a Herald of the abyssal realm and only lived for a month after. Compared to me, a Herald of the abyssal realm is a joke. While that means that I am far more powerful, it also means that for every minute that I am in control of your body, a year of your lifespan is consumed. Depending on how much power I’m forced to use, the number might grow exponentially. If you are not careful, giving control over to me one too many times might just be what kills you!” He cautioned with eerie calm despite declaring that he might just be the cause of Greg’s death.

“How… how many years did it take to deal with the abyssal creature?” Greg couldn’t help but ask.

“Around ten,” Came the blunt reply. “Rising to the first tier added another two hundred or so years to your life, meaning that on top of your natural life span, you would have lived to anywhere between two fifty and three hundred years, maybe more if you are lucky. Ten years, might seem like a small number in that context, but trust me, Greg, it adds up very quickly. Not to mention that most of that time needs to be spent pursuing ascension from one tier to the next. If you burn it all up by using this final ability, you’ll be cutting your own story short,” the being explained.

 There was a long silence at the table as the being allowed Greg to quietly digest what he’d just heard. In the end, Greg couldn’t help but sigh in resignation. Of course, being able to call on a deity’s help wasn’t going to be free of cost, he found himself thinking. Looking up at the being, he addressed the final thing that was on his mind. “I assume that, just like your mother, knowing your name will draw attention I don’t want,” He stated. The being quietly nodded in confirmation. “So what should I call you?” he asked.

The being shrugged, clearly not too concerned with this. “Pick whatever name is best to your liking, “ he passed the issue back to Greg.

“Morpheus,” Greg replied with the first name that came to mind.

Suddenly, Greg found himself looking at a bald black man with mirror-like sunglasses, both his hands were held out and on one hand there was a blue pill and a red pill on the other. “The matrix? Really? Isn’t that a bit overused as a trope?” the being posed sounding amused.

“Actually, the name’s because of the fact you are constantly morphing from one form to the next,” Greg found himself explaining.

There was a short awkward pause before the being muttered to himself. “I’m no longer certain it’s not terminal…

***