Crusade – Chapter 76: An Anomaly

Aperio appeared in the air above the anomaly she had sensed, her wings spreading behind her and keeping her aloft with lazy beats. She wanted to be alone for a moment. Her breakdown and Ferio's continued overzealousness were things that put a burden on her mind she did not quite know how to deal with.

She did inform Caethya, Laelia, and her daughter what she was doing and why she did not join them, but Aperio did not tell them exactly where she went. Not like I can hide from any of them, though. She was certain that they could spot her like a beacon of light in the dark of night; the amount of mana that constantly flowed to and from her easily dwarfed anything else she was aware of. Hopefully they respect my wish.

With those thoughts, Aperio directed her gaze at the thing below her. Space twisted in on itself, the ambient mana that she could feel all around her flowing into the anomaly. It did not look like the portals she made; more akin to what she found in Vigil's moon-side temple. But not wrong, like the thing he made.

She tilted her head slightly, the motion accompanied a touch of her magic that caused a branch to break off of one of the nearby trees. She flung it into the anomaly.

Aperio watched with interest as the stick entered the distortion. There was another shift in her aura, multiple overlapping layers of mana encasing the piece of wood that slowed it down before it reached the centre and vanished. The All-Mother tilted her head as she let her senses follow the trail of mana that raced away from the anomaly, only to find something else heading towards her side of the apparent passageway. 

Is that a Human? A strong mage, then? She couldn't really think of anything else. Ferio had said that teleportation was reserved for bigger installations or extraordinarily strong individuals. Aperio was also interested as to where the portal led. It wasn't on Verenier, she knew that much. Mortals can travel between worlds?

The idea struck her as wrong, as something that shouldn't happen. Perhaps they can because the System is broken? The answer seemed likely as she could feel the amount of mana weakening the further she followed the stick she had thrown. He can't be a mage… There is barely any mana where he comes from. Can he even survive here?

With her there she had little doubt anything would happen to him, but that didn’t mean all that much. She wouldn't continuously watch over him, after all. And who made this portal? As the passage lacked the feel she had gotten when she had inspected Vigil's creation, and was nowhere similar to the sensation of transitioning to Ferio's Dominion, she doubted it was the doing of one of the Gods. ...Did the System make this?

Aperio narrowed her eyes as she focused on the anomaly, lightly setting down in front of it. She let her senses follow each of the threads that comprised the distortion, tracing them through the infinitely complex weave that was the fabric of reality.

Keeping track of the Human that was moving — Falling? — through the anomaly, the stick she had thrown into it, and now the individual bits and pieces that made up the presumed portal in front of her were somehow not much of a burden on her mind. While it required her to focus more than most other things — to ignore the physical world around her — it did not feel as strenuous as she had thought it would.

What did cause her to almost lose track of the other threads of thought in her mind was the revelation that her hunch had been correct. The mana that made up the anomaly in front of her did, in one way or another, lead back to the System — to her.

Aperio still couldn't quite figure out where the System was located, but it was close to her well, which was for all intents and purposes the source of all mana in the world. And it is part of me… So the System is part of me too?

She had always assumed that it was a construct powered by her mana, not an actual part of her. But how does that work? Quite unlike her well, it did not feel like the System was a part of her. It simply existed — keeping watch over everything she made. No, not everything.

Wherever the man still travelling through the anomaly came from, it was a world largely untouched by mana and the System. The idea of such a place felt wrong to her, not something she would have to fix immediately but probably something that shouldn't be ignored for too long. Knowing this is weird.

Aperio continued to send her senses through the ever more dull feeling thread leading to the potentially mana-less world. The idea of it, while still wrong, intrigued her; stirred something deep within her that she hadn't known about. Something that just wanted to know — to tinker with the part of her creation that had not turned out how she knew it should.

It only took her a few moments longer to sense — to feel — the world on the other side. The familiar flow of mana in the air was absent. Instead, all she was able to find was what Aperio could only describe as a piece of her Void, neatly interwoven with the threads of Reality. Can I not feel it on Verenier because it has mana?

With a slightly tilted head, Aperio let her senses retreat away from the world devoid of mana, focusing more on the Human that still moved towards the distortion. He seemed to be slowing down, however. Too quickly. He can't control it, can he? ...Not that he should be able to. If a random — manaless — Human could guide something the System had created, something would have to be seriously wrong. Or just more broken than I assumed.

Aperio sighed as she expended a bit of her mana to grab hold of the man seemingly trapped in the distortion. So much for trying to live a normal life… It had been her initial goal — and still was, to an extent — but other matters simply were more pressing. Like remembering who I am. Or dragging an errant Human through a random portal-anomaly ...thing. And figuring out why this even appeared.

She doubted the System would make such a portal completely randomly. As far as she knew, the System itself was not capable of thought, just a machine she had built to fulfill a purpose she had long forgotten. Enable magic use for everyone, for one. Perhaps also to allow the emergence of new Gods? ...But why?

With a shake of her head she returned her focus on the anomaly in front of her, using her eyes more than her aura to look at the distortion. It hadn't changed since she had first appeared, but Aperio knew there was a Human about to emerge from it.

It took only a moment longer for the distortion to vanish and the Human to take its place. Aperio tilted her head as she felt the threads of reality shift ever so slightly. Mana, guided by the System, flowed into the Human, establishing a reserve for him to draw on and pushing it through his body. Soon it circulated naturally, in the same flow she could observe in any other living being.

So where he comes from really has no mana? Aperio thought to herself, stepping a bit closer and leaning over the newly emerged Human. The first thing she noticed was the scent. Whatever it was, it was stronger than most anything Aperio had smelled before. A bit like soap? While it wasn't unpleasant, she would encourage the Human to perhaps wash more often, or use less of whatever he did to achieve such a ...fragrance. 

She had never seen the like of his clothing before. His shirt held colourful depictions of various people striking heroic poses, and above them stood a bit of very bold text that she did not understand. Famous adventurers perhaps?

His pants were made from a rough, blue material that she was certain she had seen before but could not quite recall the name of. He seemed to have been in some trouble previously as multiple tears in the fabric were present on his thighs and knees. Was he running from something? Aperio did not doubt that wherever he came from was free of monsters simply because it was devoid of mana.

Another thing that struck her as strange was the black hair he had, in a very similar style to a certain youth that had challenged her before. It wasn't exactly rare, as she had seen many slaves with black hair, but in the current times it did not seem to be a prevalent colour. Maybe he wasn’t from here either?

The two did share a similar build and face, furthering her belief that they came from the same place. Or is it mere chance? Aperio made a mental note to talk to the Human should she meet him again. Perhaps ask him to take care of this one?

She took a step back as she felt the System's touch recede, the threads of reality stitching themselves back together. Scaring the Human after he had presumably run for his life and now found himself in an unknown place was not something she wanted to do. Not that I would be any less scary if he would sit up and discover me by himself.

Aperio waited patiently as the Human groaned, grabbing his head as he slowly came to. He froze a moment later, the mana in his body surging briefly before returning to its natural flow. She could sense reality changing in front of him, undoubtedly a message from the System. Why does it welcome him to the world? ...Does it do that for newborns as well?

With a shake of her head, she willed the small information window the System provided into existence.

Adam Keino Lincoln | [Walker of the Veil (Hidden)] | Level: 22

Should I even approach him if he is only level twenty-two? ...Maria has a higher level than he does. Not that levels mean much at the moment. Aperio was still fairly certain that Laelia was stronger than Caethya, despite the latter having nearly twice the levels of the former. I really need to fix that.

The title, Aperio assumed, he had gotten because he had gone from one world to another — piercing the veil between worlds if one wanted to be poetic. Why is it hidden, though? ...And how, exactly, did the System decide he should be level twenty-two?

Aperio sighed and lightly shook her head, the noise enough to startle the newly System-inducted Human. The [Status] he had just summoned before his eyes vanished and he quickly righted himself, freezing once his eyes landed on Aperio.

He tried to crawl backwards, away from her, but only managed to elicit a slight wobble of his arms. Aperio could only let out another sigh as she took a few steps to close the distance between them. Her wings twitched as she heard his breath quicken and the beat of his heart start to race. Does he think I brought him here as a sacrifice?

She rubbed the bridge of her nose as she sent a small mental nudge towards Laelia, requesting her presence. The eager reply she received prompted her to send a clarification: no weapons or armour needed to be brought. A small flex of her mental muscles ripped the threads of reality apart, letting Laelia appear next to her without any visual disruption that might further scare the Human. Or is this scarier?

"What do you need, my Goddess?" Laelia asked, her eyes darting between the downed Adam and Aperio. "Did he do something?"

"He… appeared here," Aperio replied, gesturing towards the air above the man with one of her wings. "Came out of a portal I did not make. He also seems to be scared of me, even though I have done nothing.” Why is that always the reaction of nearly every mortal I meet?

"Was the portal the anomaly Ferio said you wanted to investigate?"

"Yes," Aperio replied. "But please, could you try and speak to the man? I doubt he will do so with me present. If he can understand us. His name is Adam Keino Lincoln, level twenty-two. So please, be careful." Somehow, she doubted that language would be a problem. The thought caused a bit of anger to rise up in her. Why does the System help a random Human with language but not me?

Laelia nodded after a moment of hesitation. "Of course. But, unless he has a serious affliction, special care should not be needed. Level twenty-two seems about right for a man his age. One that has not done much to raise their level, that is."

"Y-You can stay there," the man managed to stammer, his words perfectly understandable despite his weird accent.  "P-Please stay over there."

Aperio sighed yet again. She wanted to ask why he was so scared, but being taken from your world — probably in the middle of running for his life — was bound to be scary. But I am not that scary. Just a tall, winged Elf. With mana-wisps floating around me. ...And Laelia just said that I am her Goddess.

"We mean you no harm," Aperio said, not quite managing to convince herself despite it being the truth. "I am just trying to find out why you ended up here."

"Something the remaining traitors did?" Laelia inquired.

Aperio shook her head. "No, they are not the ones responsible. I know what happened to bring him here, but not why."

Her last word caused Adam to wince slightly, the man obviously not used to her mana-intensive voice. She could only repress another sigh, instead gesturing to Laelia to take care of the man. Why is everything broken?

GamingWolf

Shits broke, yo. (Poor Adam)

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