ARTHUR LEYWIN
In the endless void that is the mindscape of the Keystone, I find myself staring out into nothingness over and over. As I try my hardest to focus on Crawn's teachings, I can't quite grasp the magnitude of what I'm doing in here. It's been well over a month that I've held my hands out and attempted to will the aether around me to manifest itself as a permanent object with the properties of my desire.
'Go figure, princess... poofing things into existence like God is hard,' Regis mocks.
I don't need this from you right now, Regis. If you're going to talk to me then give me a little extra brainpower to process what the hell it is I'm trying to do here.
'No can do, princess. This is your fight, not mine. It's fun to watch the mythical "Godkiller" struggle sometimes. It reminds me that you're mortal and fallible. Please continue to be humbled by your ineptitude.'
Fine then.
I forcibly push Regis out of my core and dump his puppy form on the ground with a yelp.
"Hey, you effeminate bastard! I'm just speaking the truth. It isn't like you aren't going to get the hang of it eventually anyway. Keep in mind that only a couple of seconds have passed outside. My taunting should only be a catalyst for you to hurry the hell up," Regis grumbles as he curls up at the base of Crawn's workbench.
"Quite the companion you have, Dynasty. It's a shame you're taking him with you. I'd like to see how he works," Crawn jeers as he pokes Regis on the head with a chisel.
"I am not your science experiment, you old fossil. Neither of us knows how I can use aether. Hell, it's already an anomaly that Arthur has a whole core of it. It's just an extension of his will," Regis groans.
"Indeed. It's quite the anomaly. I've never seen a specimen like him. We've had some who had more influence than others, but never someone who could overpower the will of aether itself. You're a prodigy among prodigies. I'm sure you hear that a lot though, don't you?" Crawn asks.
"Unfortunately, yes. I'm tired of hearing it by now. Maybe take into account that I'm nearly sixty and have had training in more than one universe. Then again, you're only one of ten people that know that, Crawn. I can't bring myself to tell most others for fear of how they'll look at me. At least the people I care about have accepted it. I wish I could have heard the words of affirmation from my father. I know my mother says he accepted me, but I never got to hear it in person," I answer. I killed the fun and boisterous mood, but even if it wasn't intentional, I'm not mad. I need all the focus I can gather.
As Crawn's teachings have been going, I've been instructed to envision the functionality of what I'm trying to create first, then the form. He's demonstrated it countless times in front of me but watching him do it and me do it are two wholly different things.
"So, Crawn... when you're attempting to influence the aether to create something, are you exerting any amount of willpower?" I ask as I take a seat in frustration.
"Absolutely not. Djinn wouldn't dare try and exert their will over aether. We revere it. It's effectively our deity, not those damned asuras out there. A Drasea clan Djinn wields aether with varying calibers of effectiveness. It's more or less dependent on your affinity. I know you typically attempt to dominate the aether around you, but try and be nice. Ask it instead of commanding it, and maybe you'll have better results," he advises.
Be nice... sure.
Reaching out to the connection I formed with the will of aether before I came to this zone, I attempt to speak directly to it and simply ask instead of directly challenging it. If aether truly has a will of its own and yields to no one -except me- then I guess Crawn is right in saying this is a more viable strategy.
Aether, please help me fabricate an item that would allow me to view a person whose name I speak through a sort of hologram. I wish for its form to be that of a small palm-sized purple gem.
To my surprise, my prayers don't go unanswered. Manifesting in my hand is a minute little crystal the size of a grain of rice.
I spring to my feet in elation at the feat I've just accomplished. After months of fruitless attempts, I've finally had the first taste of success, partial or not.
"This isn't exactly what I asked for, but it's better than nothing!" I shout in a victorious tone.
"What is it you're envisioning to create this time?" Crawn asks.
I pull the 'stalker stone' from my dimension rune and toss it to him.
"I'm trying to make something akin to that. I found that in Alacrya. It allows me to see a person I specify for a few minutes. It's only ever worked on close family members, so I'm trying to expand upon that and have it simply view anyone whose name I speak," I answer, holding out the tiny speck of gem. "This is what I got."
Crawn waddles over and inspects the tiny gem I just created, but doesn't seem very impressed. "Your speed at which you've been able to bear fruit is impressive, but that thing is inert. It'll never work. I can see traces of your desires, but I think you weren't specific enough. What exactly did you think of?"
I explain the request I made verbatim. Crawn nods his head in general understanding before speaking. "Yep, definitely too broad. You need to be painfully more descriptive. Allow me to demonstrate."
The enormous man closes his eyes for a moment before opening them and handing me an identical stone to the one I first handed him.
'You just got one-upped to the highest degree. He really just hit you with a "fine I'll do it myself,"' Regis taunts.
He's been doing it for 220 million years. Piss off.
"So, what did you ask for?" I ask.
"I asked for an item that would connect my vision through an edict of spatium to a designated location in which the person whose name I spoke is at. I then specified the duration of the link, the exact shape and dimensions, and finally the color of the stone. For those I said ten minutes, an ellipsoid, two by four inches, and amethyst," Crawn explains. "You need considerably more detail to use creation to its fullest extent. It sounds like blasphemy, but imagine aether as a child that you have to explain everything to. It doesn't have a physical and material existence, so you have to guide it in processing the aspects of the material world."
I can only stare intently at the hulking man holding the exact object I've been working so hard to make. My jaw hangs ever so slightly, leaving a small gap in my mouth to express my disbelief.
"So, you're saying that I've been giving aether too much credit?" I ask.
"THAT'S what you got out of that?" Crawn asks, astounded at my conclusion. He quietly mumbles to himself and rubs the bridge of his nose as he squats down in disappointment.
"Obviously not. I'm just being facetious," I reply as I sit back down and cross my legs in a meditative position. "Let me give it another shot. I'll be very descriptive."
"Please do," he grumbles.
Reaching back out to the connection within the recesses of my mind, I try and commune once more.
Aether, please create an item that uses a vivum edict to mask the appearance of a person into that of one of the user's desires. The appearance will flawlessly merge over the user's physicality and be imperceptible to those who aren't aware of the aether art being used. The form of this object should be that of a small pendant with a teardrop shape and a purple gem inset into the silver frame. The dimensions of the pendant should be roughly 8 mm by 15 mm and the chain should be a width of 2 mm and a length of 50 cm with a clasp at the end.
As I finish my instructions, I feel a small object emerging directly from my palms. The unpleasant sensation feels as if a bug had been hibernating in the depths of my hand and has finally crawled its way out. The mere thought of it is enough to make me want to hurl.
"You crazy bastard. You fucking did it!" Regis shouts as his puppy form jumps into my lap.
"I did?" I ask as I peer down at my cupped hands. Sitting in the crevice of my hands is a pendant of the exact description of what I described. The small silver pendant with a purple gem lay in my grasp. "I did."
Crawn hobbles over and leans down to inspect what I've created. "So what is that supposed to do?"
"If all went according to plan, it should use a vivum edict to create an illusory appearance over oneself to the specifications of the user. It's only discernable if the viewer is aware of the aether art being used. I'd say it's more or less foolproof. Give it a shot," I answer as I hold the pendant in my hand for Crawn to test-drive.
"Don't mind if I do," he replies as he giddily prances around and clasps the pendant around his thick neck. It's more like a choker on him than a necklace.
Before I know it, there are two of me in this endless expanse of void. It seems he chose my appearance to mimic.
"Am I pretty?" Crawn asks in a feminine tone.
"More than most," Regis assures with a nod.
"I just accomplished a feat and I'm already being bullied. Fuck you and your advice to be humble, Regis. I'm the shit and you know it," I grumble as I waltz over to Crawn and rip the pendant from his neck.
Regis turns up his snout in disapproval.
"Hey! I was using that!" Crawn shouts as I stow the pendant in my dimension rune.
"And I created it. More importantly, I'm not experiencing the usual sensation where I feel like I'm being branded at the discovery of insight into a godrune. What's up with that?" I ask.
"It's nothing to worry about. You'll be bestowed with the mark on your palms whenever you create an item that uses each edict. You only need to create two more items, one that uses aevum, and the other spatium," he clarifies.
A devious smirk emerges on my face as I acknowledge that I've finally overcome this hurdle in record time.
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XENA DRASEA
One, two, three, fou-
In an unfathomably short amount of time, the young man I've come to know as Arthur exits the keystone with three objects in his hands. His wolf companion leaps from his form and takes a seat at his master's side.
"Y-you're done? It was only four seconds!" I shout as the wheat-haired man stows the items in his dimension rune.
"I have a bit of an unfair advantage. Beyond being the Dynasty, I've established a connection with the will of aether and can speak to it directly. Even further beyond that, I have an aether core and can manipulate aether according to my will, not the other way around," Arthur replies.
I can't help but scoff at the boy's words. His audacity to claim such preposterous abilities are absurd. At least they would be if he wasn't still staring at me deadpan.
"You're serious?" I ask, turning to Cecilia for confirmation. She merely nods in affirmation. I retreat a couple of steps in astonishment and fear at the capabilities of the man before me. He's no mere boy.
"It's hard to believe, but he didn't tell a single lie. You didn't think he was powerful whenever we came back after killing four of those Sentinels?" Cecilia asks.
"I guess it never properly crossed my mind. I guess I chalked it up to age wearing at them," I rationalize.
"I don't think age would set in yet. As I just found out, it's only been 220 years. Those constructs probably had 97% of their aether concentration still in them. Crawn and I went over the specifics of aether deterioration while we were in there," Arthur explains.
So these two killed four of the six massive stone Sentinels that slaughtered the entirety of my clan? What the hell are they feeding these kids?
"W-wait... You said you're the Dynasty?" I ask. The reality just set in at the weight of his words. The prophetic Dynasty, one of the three conquerors slated to wreak havoc across the whole world and effectively reset it to its natural course? That Dynasty?
"Is it that hard to believe after everything you've heard and seen?" he asks deadpan. That damn impassiveness. I can't stand his aloof tone.
"I guess I should stop being so surprised. Knowing you, the next thing you'll tell me is that Cecilia's one of the three conquerors too," I groan as I take a seat to catch my breath.
"I am," Cecilia quickly retorts. My head snaps to her as our gazes lock with each other. I can't see even the slighters hint of fallacy in her expression.
"I can't believe this shit..." I mumble to myself as I practically curl into a fetal position out of sheer disbelief. "This is surely just aether playing tricks on me."
"It's definitely not aether playing tricks. Aether doesn't play tricks, especially not with me around," Arthur clarifies and extends a hand to help me to my feet. I reluctantly accept and stand eye to eye with two of the three legendary conquerors.
"So what now?" Cecilia asks.
"Well, I think I've got a solution to your dual soul issue," Arthur answers with a smirk.
"Her what issue?" I ask in genuine concern, disbelief, and curiosity.
"Agrona Vritra summoned both of our souls to this world, but he brought hers roughly 18 years after mine and the other conqueror. Instead of putting her consciousness into a child, he put her into the body of my betrothed," Arthur explains, his gaze clearly turning into one of rage and resentment.
"I-I'm sorry you've had to go through that..." I murmur, wishing I hadn't asked.
"No need. However, now I have the same question to ask you. What will you do now?" he asks.
I had never thought about it before. Everyone I ever knew and loved is dead. I should have perished alongside them ages ago, but I was the only one protected by my creations. My family and friends perished at the hands of our own machinations. I don't want to go outside of the Relictombs to stare at what could have been. I don't want to have to live the rest of this life in solitude. I'd rather it all end now so that my soul can rejoin the flow of aether where all my loved ones are.
"I... I'd rather do nothing. In fact, I'd go to where my family and friends are now," I reply, my voice failing to convey the conviction that I wished it to.
"You're giving up?" Cecilia asks in utter shock. She pulls me toward her and grabs my shoulders as she leans down to stare into my downcast gaze. "You just want to die and leave?"
She's right. I'm giving up. I served my final purpose. I had the privilege and honor of bestowing my clan's aether art onto the Dynasty itself. I couldn't ask for a better final mission before I can be reunited with those who have been waiting for me for so long.
"Stop, Cecilia. You have no room to say that," Arthur scolds, pulling her arms from my shoulders.
"I beg to differ, Arthur. I have every right to say it because it comes from a place of experience. I regret throwing myself on your sword because you're probably right, we could have fought for it. We could have fought, but I didn't have enough faith in you or Nico. I didn't think we would actually be able to overcome Trayden and live in peace. I didn't think you'd become a king that was capable of toppling a whole nation with your willpower and skill. It's because I was exactly where she was," she reasons as her expression matches the same intensity Arthur always has.
I don't know what kind of lives these two lived before they got here, but it doesn't matter because I don't get a second chance as they did. I just want to see my loved ones again. It's a purposeless life from here on out. There's no need to guard this vault with my life anymore. I have no reason to continue on. It's not even depression that's led me to this path and desire. I'm simply a woman out of time.
"I'd rather you two didn't argue about my wishes. I know you're thinking that I've truly given up, and you're not exactly wrong. I've given up on continuing on, not because I don't want to, but because I can't. There's nothing left for me in this life. My whole clan is gone. My purpose is nonexistent. I'm not ambitious enough to try and rebuild my clan from the ground up and breed with those on the outside of the Relictombs. I'd prefer to pass on and merge with the flow of aether," I explain, much more resolutely this time.
Their expressions both darken at my reasoning. It seems they wish to keep me here despite my own desires.
"Then if you want me to be of use, I have a proposition. In exchange for allowing my soul to pass on, Cecilia can have my body. I'm a High-Silver core mage with an affinity for aether. I'm a Djinn with well over two hundred years left to possibly live. Give her my body. Euthanize me so that she can live in a body that couldn't possibly impede her," I propose. If their first level of darkening expressions wasn't enough, the morbidity of my poignant proposition sets in to create a second level.
"I can't possibly do that, Xena. You're not some object that can just be used like that. I don't want to inhabit another body of someone unwilling," Cecilia complains.
"I'm not unwilling. I'm offering you my body. Let me die so that you can live. Please. Let me see my family again in the afterlife. If you can use my body to turn this whole world upside down and avenge the Djinn, then you've achieved what I could have never hoped to do. Please. This is my final request," I plead.
Cecilia seems content with insisting I remain alive but Arthur extends a hand out to silence her. "Are you absolutely sure, Xena? I understand your wishes, but I want you to confirm your resolve. Are you sure you're okay with that?"
"I am. If my body can serve a purpose beyond my death, then what better way could I possibly die?" I affirm.
"Arthur! You're not seriously considering this are you? You're insane. Why would you go through with that? You're going to let her resign herself to death because of her lack of reasons to live?" Cecilia shouts and screams as she thrashes at Arthur. He absorbs the manaless attacks as tears stream down her face.
As he turns to me, his eyes stare into mine with solemn understanding. "I understand. I'll grant your wish."
A/N: It's been along time coming and I would like to apologize, for the hiatus, but I've been trying to get into college, and it's been an absolute clusterfuck and hassle. I'm thankful for your patience. I'll be amending the updates to Sunday and Wednesday, but it's still twice a week. If we keep at this pace, the story should be coming to a close around mid to late January. I'm glad you've all stuck with me this long. Let's finish this together!
Naz out!