With the conclusion of his battle, fighting his way back was only slightly less dangerous. Elite demon-kin were still everywhere, and both Perumah were exhausted and injured- Perumah especially. Many of the demon-kin apparently held ways to attack the soul shape directly, and Perumah’s was severely injured; he fought back the simmering rage at her condition, because he knew it was best to get her back into the protection of the city to rest.
Although, they clearly weren’t the only tired ones. Clever, despite only using [Blazing Breath], a single time almost immediately passed out after rewinding time on himself. Dei couldn’t blame him either, as he felt the qualitative change in the Skills Clever used, and could tell they were not meant for anything other than a last resort- Clever’s soul could barely withstand its own power.
The only person no worse for wear was Jacob, who insisted he stay behind and serve as a distraction or inconvenience for the demon-kin swarms. He even said that Viper’s blood hadn’t been too much worse than that of a regular demon-kin, so it was also a mild irritant to him. He said he’d regret staying in safety, and wanted to risk it if it meant giving the Gem-Dwellers a better chance.
Born an average human, Dei couldn’t help but be wildly impressed at how Jacob had saved two planets and was still rearing for a third, and only recently had he even become unique in any way at all.
Thadria was unhappy about being separated from Jacob, but he’d warned her before about what he would do, and she had admired his dedication at the time. Now that it was here though, Dei could feel the displeasure and fear emanating off her. Instead of waiting around, she projected her soul into his internal world to visit the eighth king and others of her generation, where they comforted and grounded her. She was learning to control her Madness, but in times of stress like this, it was not easy.
When light peeked through the wall of bodies, his effort to move forwards redoubled, the demon-kin pushing back, causing their line to bulge precariously before, finally, he broke through, and several Gem Dwellers past level four hundred came to help pry the demon-kin off him. In a handful of seconds, Dei was free and shrunk down to make his way back into the city.
One of the dorsal fins on his back had been damaged by the venom, much of the meat torn out by the combination of the demon-kin pulling on it and the venom itself melting him; as a result, his flight sputtered precariously, and he had to land. He was about to teleport back to the city when a spark of white light appeared next to him, and Dei felt the familiar Presence of Justin flow from it.
The miniscule bundle of light approached him, and he made no attempts at hindering it as it entered his body- though he and Ashvorn still picked it apart to ensure there was nothing malicious within simply pretending to be Justin.
Luckily not, all it contained was a message.
Justin’s voice rang out in his head, saying “Dei Grrata. This is a spell which records my thoughts and is in no way conscious. Thank you for slaying the post-500 demon-kin, though I must admit we will require your help as soon as you are capable. Feel free to rest in the house located {Here} before entering the fray once more. Also, thank the sky for whatever luck-based aura you have, it is lowering casualty rates by a non-insignificant-margin.”
Dei’s brow scrunched at the last part, but he’d have to ask Justin later for the exact statistics and effects.
* * *
Dei didn’t want some fancy mansion to live in and, luckily, Justin probably knew that, because the place he arrived at was a kind of generic hovel similar to what his family lived in back at their original village.
Walking around, Dei couldn’t stop people from throwing glances at him and making him uncomfortable, but luckily most were very tame about their observation. The Gem Dwellers tried to wait until he wasn’t facing him to look at him briefly, and none ever approached him. Even when he shifted back into his humanoid Reaper form, most still managed to recognize him.
Either word of his battle traveled fast, or many knew of the villages he’d saved.
It was rather funny to be a local celebrity and not swarmed though, as that’s how he always pictured it. The few times he happened across non-Gem Dwellers though, he understood.
He briefly crossed paths with two women, one a Gem Dweller the other a Prime human. The Prime human instantly lit up and took a step towards him as if to strike up a conversation.
The Gem Dweller must’ve picked up on his blanch, because she dragged the Prime away, much to the Prime’s loud protestations.
‘Ohh,’ he realized, ‘The Gem Dwellers are just better at not bothering me; that doesn’t mean they aren’t curious, they just know that I don’t want people swarming me on the street.’
The scene repeated another two times, both with Prime humans, before Dei reached the house.
Walking in, he dropped down onto the couch and let out a long, groaning sigh, a mild combination of Soul Strength and less important memories slipping out of his severely damaged body. After all, he didn’t really need to remember the sensation of the air on hair follicle number 112,967, and there was little he could do to stop the flow until he was healed.
He also quickly went over his Notifications.
[Skill Leveled Up: Growing Rage (412) -> (418)]
[Skill Leveled Up: Solidity (318) -> (327)]
[Skill Leveled Up: Overmind (319) -> (330)]
[Skill Leveled Up: Divine Balance (420) -> (431)]
[Skill Leveled Up: Identify of the Stout Protector (209) -> (210)]
[Skill Leveled Up: Hollow Cry (3) -> (77)]
[Skill Leveled Up: Vigilance (200) -> (241)]
[Skill Leveled Up: In Tune (157) -> (188)]
[Skill Leveled Up: Starved Bastion (160) -> (163)]
[Skill Leveled Up: Hellish Divergence (83) -> (100)]
[Skill: Hellish Divergence (100) has reached an evolution threshold]
[Skill Leveled Up: Entropic Touch (39) -> (52)
‘It’s good to have a System again,’ he thought contentedly, quantifiably seeing all the level ups. ‘And to be back in enough danger that I can make reasonable progress now.’
He looked over the effects of Hellish Divergence, then its evolutions
[Hellish Divergence - Level 100 - Passive
Hell is not created, it is existence. Where there is life…
…
…hands of power.
Laces Presence with Holy Chaos, giving rise to miracles and calamities alike]
[Differing paths of maturation resonate.
Destruction - Increases the harmful effects.
Creation - Increases the positive effects.
Calamitous - Increases all effects, yet becomes significantly harder to contain.
Consolidate or Refine evolutions?]
He frowned thoughtfully. He didn’t know exactly what it was doing, but Justin had been very happy with it, and they needed every leg up they could. Both Shamans that mentioned it talked about how good the ability was, so… he would just have to take a chance on it, no matter how confused he was.
It wasn’t even changing the terrain right now like it usually did, as the stitchers were siphoning off the power to focus it on the battle.
While he could Consolidate to get a fourth effect, he knew Calamitous would be the most helpful for all Gem Dwellers, so he nodded and selected “Refine Calamitous.”
The room briefly started to change as the stitchers failed to contain it fully, but the focusing sensation redoubled once more and the aura was taken far away. Justin’s mention of Hellish Divergence helped alleviate some of the guilt he felt for taking a break, as he was still helping even now.
Ashvorn and Fendrascora worked to excise the demonic corruption and venom hurting him, so he closed his eyes and was about ready to fall asleep, when he felt an odd sensation pressing against the membrane between the Physical and Spiritual Realms. It wasn’t a Leviathan or anything so grand, but actually something… rather weak. Curious, he dove down into the first layer to look around.
Around him, a school of weak spirits nipped at the echoes of mana in the Physical layer, unable to reach it. The moment he came to them though, they converged on him.
There were Remoras of course but, more strangely, there were guppy-like things and some that reminded him of spiders that floated around.
Based on what he knew of the Remoras and Shamans, Dei was positive the other two spirit types would be more symbiotic rather than harmful, as they would’ve been slaughtered otherwise. Still, he Identified them.
[Gentle Fat Floaterpuff - Level 191
A variant of Floaterpuff that is known for its harmlessness, kept alive by its ability to scavenge that which most spirits would consider inedible. This particular variant is known for its large size, and kept as a potential emergency food source in some areas.
Physical: 21
Mental: 16
Spiritual: 19
Magical: 13]
He immediately smiled at the description of the guppy, ‘Funny creature.’ They didn’t really serve a purpose other than waste management, but he didn’t actually know how important that might be. After all, if every spirit were removed from the capital, would there be some kind of spiritual build up that could perhaps spawn harmful spirits?
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
[Miniature Relaxing Ghostmaw of Stitching - Level 327
Ghostmaws are parasitic spirits which latch onto soul injuries and slowly drain the life force of a creature while injecting them with anesthesia to keep them docile. This particular variant has adapted to repair the wounds it feasts on so as not to attract the ire of more powerful beasts. Instead of keeping its target injured, the Ghostmaw of Stitching will accelerate its patient’s recovery; a side effect of this symbiotic relationship is how it has shrunken to accommodate its more sparse diet, granting it the “Miniature” designation.
Physical: 65
Mental: 108
Spiritual: 24
Magical: 123]
The first line made him tense, especially considering they were currently working their way towards his injuries, but the rest explained it. They were sort of like spirit leeches that helped repair wounds.
Upon closer inspection, their spider-like bodies did have a small mouth at the bottom where it would presumably devour the “Blood” exiting a wound.
Watching the three spirit types get to work, Dei saw how the Remora’s searched his body for venom and devoured it, the guppies consumed the loose Soul Strength from the air, and the Ghostmaws ate his bleeding memory while it accelerated his healing; though strange, it was altogether a nice massage.
Perumah grumbled something about favoritism before having an epiphany and releasing some of the soul mana she- even now- gradually siphoned from Dei. a few of the spirits migrated over to her form, assisting in healing her wounds and making her purr happily. He chuckled, and decided that instead of sleeping, he could go and visit his family.
Dei’s consciousness dove into his soul and he came to a stop next to where Ashvorn was still right outside of Fendrascora’s bubble, speaking with his family.
He noticed that Ashvorn’s smokey humanoid figure had shrunken down significantly as Rena, his sister, sat close to the boundary that separated them, rambling about something. “When you’re looking for brightmoss, the light isn’t actually the most obvious part, but the powerful scent because when it’s in season-”
He hated to interrupt, but Asvorn immediately turned its attention to him, and he could sense a flash of questioning, though it didn’t quite voice what it was thinking.
“Hey yall,” he said, greeting his family, and his mom glared at him. His dad appeared to be in some kind of meditative trance, which he slowly woke from as Dei spoke.
“You have a child?”
“Yea.”
“Boy, come in here so I can talk to you,” she said harshly, though he could tell it was meant to be endearing.
Dei laughed, “I can’t, that would require me to separate my identity from my soul, which I can’t do anymore. The best I can do is sit out here with Ashvorn,” he told her, giving Ashvorn a pat and feeling a slight burst of happiness, embarrassment, and irritation from the action.
“You could’ve at least told me! Ashvorn knows hardly anything about the world, so we’re trying to teach them everything we can. Early training is how we get the best Classes and Professions, after all!”
Dei shot Ashvorn a brief look considering it had access to everything he knew, so he wasn’t sure if it was feigning obliviousness to talk with its… aunt, uncle, and grandparents, or if he really did understand so little about Avium. He was sure it hadn’t told them about it being a System though, as his mother apparently thought it would soon have to worry about that kind of thing
“You know I kind of wondered about that,” Dei said curiously, bringing the topic away from Ashvorn’s secrets, “I remember when I was brought out into a wild, dangerous forest. What was up with that? Also, why is dad so… asleep?” he said, as his father slowly blinked his eyes shut once more.
“Charging up his Skill in case he needs it,” she said offhandedly, “But you don’t know either? That actually… explains it. Although I wonder how you haven’t figured this out considering your power! We’ve been watching you fight, how incredible! You and your friends work so well together!”
She continued to dote on him for a time, quickly dropping her pretend anger, before answering a lot of his and Ashvorn’s questions.
As for his dad, he had a Skill named [Slumbering Giant] which made him more powerful the more “Slothful” he was. This was usually charged up over the course of years, but in certain situations, such as sitting out an incredibly important battle, it would reload much faster. It was even this Skill that let him trap Iora, and he wanted to make sure it was at its peak if Dei was ever in trouble.
He found it sweet, though he couldn’t thank him as the man was perpetually on the verge of sleeping with how much Sloth mana was pumping through him.
Next, he found that his family took him into the forest to earn much better Classes and Professions.
There were two ways to get higher grade System designations, Achievements or experience. Achievements were outlandish to try and earn for a kid, so many parents on Avium would work their kids into the “Family business” to help get them enough experience so that when they unlocked their System, they would immediately start off with either an Uncommon or even Rare Profession. After all, if you have fourteen years of experience on the job at fifteen years of age, that could be considered very impressive in the System’s eyes. If you were born and grew up hunting for the village, it would recognize you as a skilled Hunter and grant you an equally incredible Profession.
It was tradition in the village to take their children out with them, as it raised their chances of survival long-term, even if it did lower it in the nearest future.
When laid out like that, it did make a lot of sense.
He and his mom started talking about life as a Gem-Dweller, which he liked hearing about considering it was one he might never experience, and he noticed Ashvorn listen gleefully to Rena’s chatter.
Ben was climbing all over their father, and even occasionally trying to sit meditatively to join their dad. Based on the absolute lack of reaction from his dad, this probably wasn’t the first time this’d happened.
When his conversation with his mom petered out, they watched their “Kids” talk for a while, neither seeing the attention.
“Do you really see Ashvorn as your kid?” his mom asked quietly through the bubble, not condescendingly but with genuine concern. “It seemed so hesitant to say you were its father the first time.”
“I… will say yes, though I get where its confusion comes from. I didn’t really mean to make it,” his mom let out a quiet bark of laughter and immediately covered it up, which he ignored. “And I’m not really sure where our relationship lies. I’m certainly its creator, but I don’t know if it recognizes a familial bond. True, it likes me, but I don’t think it knows what it means to have a parent or be a child, nor do I for that matter. Be a parent, that is. I suppose it’s confused because it reads a lot of my memories, and I’m confused. I do love them though.”
“Hmm,” his mom said thoughtfully, “I suppose that’s the most important part. Just try your best, and don’t be afraid to ask questions… Sky above, I know I wish I had parents to ask when I had Rena.”
“Yea but… I think Ashvorn’s a lot more independent than a normal kid, and I don’t know if that’s good because it’s harder for me to make a mistake that will permanently harm them, or bad because I don’t have an easy way to connect with them anymore.”
“You’re pretty independent you know, and you’re still my son.”
He smiled at her, “Yea, but I also want you to be my mom, I’m not sure if Ashvorn wants me to be their dad, guide, creator, or something else.”
His mom’s arm briefly twitched, indicating she wanted to ruffle his hair, but she ultimately shrugged and they went back to watching their “Kids” play.
* * *
After a lull in their conversation, Dei could tell Ashvorn said something about him- though he stopped himself from eavesdropping- as she signaled to him, and Rena nodded before standing up and joining Ben in harassing their father.
Ashvorn floated over to Dei and his mom, glancing at her and seemingly unsure of what to say.
His mom took the hint and said “I’ll go start teaching the other kids how to Meditate, as clearly they are interested in Gor’s version of it,” before walking off.
“You ok?” he asked.
[Affirmative, although I wish to ask how to acquire a “Gender.”]
“Huh, not… at all where I thought this was going.” He rubbed his chin. “I’m not sure, but maybe Perumah does? I would’ve said something like ‘Just call yourself what you want’ a while ago, but I’ve seen too many magical or inanimate beings with genders for that to be it, so I’m probably wrong. Perumah studies all shapes of life and even has experience shaping her own personality, so if anyone knows, it's her.”
They went to find the general soul shape of Perumah, encountering her resting within her node attached to his back.
“Yes?” she asked, coming to attention briefly as they approached her.
“Ashvorn wants to know how to get a gender and I have no clue. I figured you’d be the first to know.”
Ashvorn flinched back slightly under Perumah’s gaze, but Perumah said “That makes sense.”
Dei raised his eyebrow, “What do you mean?”
“Allow me to start from the beginning,” she adopted a lecturing tone, “Genders function in a similar system to affinities, where one can be gained by sharing the particular characteristics or personality traits attributed to that gender, though whether to take one on or not is dependent on if it’s required. For most flesh-based life forms, a gender is required for the benefits it provides: information. Affinities grant the ability to manipulate mana, but genders give you a guideline for existing. This is why Sapients almost always have genders, despite not technically requiring it to reproduce, depending on the context, as genderless entities are which are considered to be Sapient are more than capable of producing offspring.
“Genders give a social guideline, providing a way to act. They give instinct, which is very important early on in life. If a soul is born with absolutely no instinct, it will die fairly quickly as it has nothing to “Latch on to” for its identity. By aligning itself to a gender, such as “Male,” a soul knows it must: Become more independent, be desirable to females, find a way to protect said females depending on cultural context, and reproduce. The inverse is also true, where a “Female” aligned creature will be born with the natural desire for things such as: a stable position in the society, a strong-slash-attractive mate, and a way to nurture healthy offspring.
“There are many other things provided, but in general, genders assist in social interactions, as it allows one to see their ‘Place’ in the system. It is not always required, especially for beings such as you Ashvorn, but it is very convenient. I say that Ashvorn desiring a gender makes sense, as they are still very young- they may even be considered in the zygotic stage, even if only metaphorically. Ashvorn has little understanding of how to differentiate itself from you, as it is split from you and only has access to your memories to guide it, I do not doubt it suffers from a potential identity crisis.”
He looked back at Ashvorn, alarmed and questioning, “Is that true?”
[Negative, until it was mentioned. Now, confusion encroaches]
Dei sighted, “Perumah I think you just gave it an identity crisis.”
“It would have happened eventually,” Perumah shrugged, “I’m accelerating the process and ensuring it’s in a controlled environment. If I may make a suggestion, Ashvorn, if you do choose to take on a gender, choose female, as that will create significant divergence from Dei’s personality.”
[Can information on the criteria and benefits provided of each gender?] Ashvorn asked, and Dei couldn’t say this was the most riveting conversation to him, so he was happy to fade into the background a bit.
What he was curious about was how genders functioned- like affinities. Perumah mentioned that only Male and Female gave instinct, so did that mean there were only two gender “Ascenders,”
‘Literally how the hell does that even work?
‘Wait! The Primordial was a woman, so does that mean the other two Primordials had genders, and they were either male or female, and their existence was what carved out a kind of pseudo-affinity in reality?
‘Wouldn’t that mean there are three genders though? Because there were three Primordials? Or did two have the same gender? OR or, was a gender LOST for some reason?’
Unknowing of the confusion Perumah instilled in Dei too, they continued the conversation as Dei quietly contemplated in baffled ruminations.
A few things. First, I don’t really get into politics or anything so discussion on gender is exclusively for lore/functional reasons. I have a ton of behind-the-scenes reasoning for every rule of the universe, and in no way am I projecting my own beliefs into my story.
The aspects of gender discussion near the end, and my reasoning for making it a law in-universe, arise from the tendency of nature to function in a binary manner with its reproductive cells such as eggs and sperm.
I do not feel one way or the other politically, I’m just a little neurotic about world building and like making detailed reasons for things. I wanted to clarify this as IK gender is a sensitive topic, and I'm like... an entertainer. Idk anything about politics or what the right answer is, I just enjoy puttin words on a page, so don't take my story for any grand wisdom.
SECOND, and more importantly, I wanted to give a quick heads up that my latest Patreon tier has reached the end of Book 2, and after next week I will be taking a two week break. Just wanted to give a heads up that from January 26th to February 6th, there won’t be any chapters.
Originally, I intended to take a break immediately after the end of book 2, but uhhh I forgot to give a heads up, and I’d feel bad to just instantly set things to a screeching halt, so y'all get three more chapters.
