Advent – Chapter 50: A Chance Meeting

The man took another step back as reality stitched itself together behind Aperio and Ferio; her portal idea had worked better than expected. Could I teleport without going into my Void? It was an idea that she would have to investigate at a later date, as for now she had to deal with a rather scared Human and an approaching group of armed adventurers.

With a flick of her wrist, the paper the man had written flew into her hand. The motion was not needed, but it had felt like the right thing to do. It also turned out to be a useless action, as the message simply informed them about the way they would need to take to get to the small village — something her little portal trick had taken care of — and that they would need proper identification to continue further on. Why did he have to tell us that with a piece of paper? Couldn't he just wait until we reach the village?

With a thought, she exchanged the note in her hand with the token she had received from the guild master. Once she had turned it over so that the man could see the rune embossed on the metal card, he visibly relaxed. It lasted only a moment, however, as once Aperio took a step closer his muscles tensed once again and his breathing became irregular. Did he find her threatening?

Perhaps the portal was not the best idea? A quick mental query to her daughter did confirm that the magic she had employed was usually reserved for bigger rituals or permanent installations. Seeing someone conjure such a thing out of thin air with seemingly little effort would certainly scare some people. Not that anyone else got scared when I moved between my Void and this …realm. Aperio knew not if there was a proper name for the plane of existence in which the world resided. Calling it a realm felt right, even if she could not point exactly as to why. Though at the time they also knew what I was.

With a shake of her head, she handed her token over to Ferio. The chances of her daughter handling the situation without it devolving into violence were astronomically higher than if she attempted to do so herself. The feeling of disgust that wanted to make itself known at this action was quickly pressed down again. What's wrong with letting someone else do something they are better at? She knew the answer to that, of course. If she was as perfect as a part of her so adamantly believed, there would be no-one better than her.

Ferio took the metal card from her mother's hand, her expression briefly flickering with what Aperio could only guess was worry before she donned a smile and turned towards the armed group that had stopped a few paces away from them. Much like the Human that had first spotted her, this group seemed not quite ready to actually approach the two Goddesses. Unlike the man, however, they did not step back as Ferio closed the distance between them.

Wordlessly, she presented the tokens they had received from the guild master to the person leading the group. The armoured form took the metal cards from her hand and inspected them closely before signing something to their compatriots that caused them to visibly relax, all except a robed and hooded woman in the back of their 'formation'.

Aperio could only tilt her head at the mana she felt around the woman. It wasn't exactly threatening, at least not to her, but the winged Goddess couldn't shake the feeling that the robed woman did not have the best intentions in mind. She squinted at the distant form, trying to glean any information she could. There were tiny imperfections in her skin, of course, and little bits of dirt that clung to her clothes — the usual things to notice on any individual — but aside from those Aperio could not see anything of note. That is, until she tried to peek behind the odd veil of darkness that filled the figure's hood, where she was met with a slight resistance. While it was likely easy to break, she would leave it intact for now. She did not want to fully trust the fuzzy feeling about the woman's intentions, but neither did she want to simply brush it aside. Not that she could hurt me. Of that, she was sure.

"Do you require any supplies before you continue?" the armoured figure asked, handing the tokens back to Ferio. "Perhaps a room to rest? I can't imagine the journey has become any more pleasant since we did it."

"It was a most numbing journey, yes," Aperio said. "But we will not require any supplies or a place to rest. We should continue onwards as soon as we can."

Her voice caused the man that had initially spotted her to take another step back and the robed woman to tighten the swirling mass of mana that surrounded her. The rest of the group showed no reaction she could discern. Most of them seem… surprised? Did they expect me to be a mute?

"Mother is correct, the sooner we finish this the better."

Being addressed as Ferio's mother got more of a reaction out of the adventurers than her ethereal and oddly echo-y voice. There was a simple answer for their surprise, but Aperio would rather believe the people in front of her would not behave like the one woman they had encountered who was overly glib with her insults. Just thinking about the altercation was enough to make her blood boil again.

Her agitation did not go unnoticed as the armoured figure raised its hands in what Aperio assumed to be a placating gesture. "It is rare for family to form parties, even less so for them to undertake dangerous missions such as this one."

Aperio could only raise an eyebrow at the statement. Dangerously boring, yes. The only thing that would be a danger to her here was perhaps the core itself, as the first one of its kind she had found had tried to take her over. Not that it had much success. She was very certain that her rather violent outburst had killed the thing for good.

Perhaps I should go and check, just to make sure. Maybe Ferio can get some information out of whatever is left of it? It would not take long either; a quick hop into her Void and then back to the place she had initially returned to. Or I could try to teleport without using my Void?

Further musings were cut short as Ferio handed her back her token, which she promptly deposited back into her Void, and sent a small mental nudge to follow. For a moment Aperio questioned how her daughter would know where to go, before she came to the rather obvious realisation that the other Goddess likely had her own aura senses. A tentative mental query gave her the answer she expected but also informed her that her aura was rather overbearing and made the use of Ferio's own a bit more difficult.

The information caused Aperio to shift her attention back to the robed woman. Perhaps she is like Thaddeus? Excluding the woman from her aura only required a thought and caused her to shift her stance ever so slightly. The bit of hostility Aperio felt from her, however, still remained. How does that even work? She wanted to inspect the woman to perhaps find out a bit more but, after her rather liberal initial use of the skill, she was hesitant to invade the privacy of others like that again. Not that they have much anyway. Her aura would always give her more information than she would want about the people in front of her, after all.

Suppressing a sigh, Aperio turned to the only option left that would not further her dive into hypocrisy. "Is there anything you want to say, miss?" she asked, turning to face the robed woman.

There was no reply to her question, something that irked Aperio more than it probably should. She could sense the other adventurers tense up as she took a step towards the individual. "Stop glaring and speak. You have a mouth, do you not?"

The woman still did not reply, instead tightening the swirling mass of mana that still danced around in what Aperio assumed was an attempt to hide herself. Can someone hide from me? If they used something that the System enabled them to do, wouldn't she be able to sense them anyway? As the woman was seemingly unable to speak to her, it was with a mental sigh that Aperio identified the woman anyway.

Caethya Martinek | [Touched by the All-Mother] | Level: 389

Oh.

Though Aperio had not expected to so quickly find the other soul she had touched, it did thoroughly explain why she could feel the woman's hostility. So it does ruin their lives? It was the only reason she could think of for the woman's less than pleasant reception. It was an understandable reaction of course, but not something she could change. Or know how to, at least. Somehow she doubted that there was nothing she could do, even if it didn't involve turning back time.

That fact the robed woman was the highest level mortal she had seen thus far was relegated to the back of Aperio's mind as she tried to find a way to deal with the situation at hand. Conversation was not an option, as the woman was apparently unwilling to talk to her. For a brief moment Aperio wanted to take the direct route, sending a mental query as she did with her daughter, but what Ferio had said about the likely outcome coupled with her disastrous experience with the monsters thus far caused her to dismiss the idea. For now.

What else can I try? Well, the people I blessed seemed to not mind my mana at all... It was worth a shot, as nothing else seemed to be working. What she could certainly do was stop her aura's exclusion of the woman. As she was already Touched by her own hand, her mana would do nothing, aside from perhaps enhancing whatever she had already received from the blessing. Soothing the woman through her aura, as she had once done with Laelia, came to mind next, and it was an idea that gave her pause.

The act of using her mana to convey feelings was very similar to the way she shared her thoughts with her daughter. In fact, the only difference she could find was the intent behind it. One was supposed to calm while the other was meant to transport information. Why is it, then, that I can soothe the emotions of others, but the monsters simply die when I attempt to speak with them?

With a shake of her head, Aperio reached out with her mind and tried to grab hold of the magic she had imparted on the soul of the woman in front of her. She had no idea if it would even work; unlike the blessings, there was no vague feeling in the back of her mind to guide her actions. It was merely a hunch she had, one that felt vastly different than the ethereal feelings that had steered her thus far.

Is this, then, something that has never happened to me before? It was the only explanation she could come up with. All her vague feelings and nudges she experienced when she encountered things she had not known in her life as a slave were the distant echoes of her existence before that time. Letting her know that she had once known how to do things, but not how to do them, or why. But if I am as old as… the universe, how can it be that I never touched a soul?

It only took a moment for her to find what she was looking for and as soon as her magic took hold, the woman visibly tensed up and the mana she had drawn so tightly around her exploded outwards. A brief touch of Aperio's own magic caused the wild mana to cease its unruly outburst and return to a calm, more natural state. How she knew that the state it was in now was normal was something she chalked up to having apparently made everything, something she seemingly had to accept sooner rather than later.

There was a small resistance, a barrier of sorts, that prevented Aperio from pushing deeper and truly grasping what laid beyond. Though she knew it would only take a thought on her part to push past the blockage, she also knew that it would not be pleasant or healthy for the woman that carried it.

At a loss for other options, the winged Goddess tried to ever so gently convey her thoughts to the by now frightened woman. Knowing how another person felt to such a degree was something Aperio would probably never get used to, but she had begun to learn to live with it nonetheless. These particular feelings were especially distressing for her to note. She had touched this woman's soul, however innocently she had meant it at the time, and whatever weird experiences had stemmed from that action were all entirely her fault. At least my connection is useful in this instance. As soon as she felt anything amiss with Caethya, she would be able to stop.

Confusion permeated the bond she shared with Caethya, which Aperio took as an indication that her attempt was working. Then, a moment later, there was what Aperio could only describe as frightened understanding as she saw Caethya fall to her knees. Fearing what might come next, Aperio twisted reality apart and brought Caethya, Ferio, and herself to her Void before the woman had the chance to say anything.

If the woman truly knew, truly understood who Aperio was? It was infinitely preferable to explain teleportation and spontaneous abduction rather than openly proclaim her status as the literal creator of everything they knew.

GamingWolf

Now you are thinking with portals.

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