Sabbatical – Chapter 230: Conflict Without Time

GamingWolf

If you get the reference, I approve.

While Caethya did her best to calm Eleanor down — the prospect of simply being able to make a multiverse was apparently a lot to take in — Aperio shifted her attention to the mortals that were entering the eleventh floor.

The All-Mother had fully expected them to lose it as soon as they entered, as that floor was patterned after a battlefield. It not only featured active armies fighting one another, but also plenty of fresh 'corpses'. Of course, none of them were actually dead people, but that hadn't stopped Aperio from making them look and smell exactly like the real thing.

Observing how the mortals figured out this one would be fun. She had poured over more than a few ancient texts to get the various factions right. They might not have existed at the same time, but this was meant to be a domain of timeless conflict. Every large empire of Earth's past was represented here, and each would fight the people that came just as readily as they did the other armies.

"What about time travel?" Eleanor asked, garnering a bit more of Aperio's attention. "If the multiverse is a thing, does that work?"

"Yes, but perhaps not as you think," the All-Mother replied. "I would simply create a new version of whatever world you came from, starting from the point in time you wish to travel to. The world you came from would continue without you, and the new one would have two of you."

"So it's not really time travel as much as it is dimension travelling?" Caethya asked as she shifted slightly in Aperio's embrace to better look at her love. "It would just look like it."

The All-Mother nodded in reply. There was of course also temporal magic, but that worked on an entirely different concept that Aperio herself would have to dig through her memory to understand. But that one, too, didn't really turn back time. At least not how I understand it, I guess?

Her view on the flow of the universe was different. Unique, even. There was no telling if she was simply not experiencing time like mortals did and was therefore answering these questions incorrectly.

"Do you even experience time like we do?" Eleanor asked, for once appearing as if she had read Aperio's mind.

"I do not know," she replied. "Perhaps I do, but I also have no way to really tell that would not go against the rules I set for myself."

"Do you know what I will do tomorrow?" the mortal mage asked, her pen hovering just above a new page in her notebook.

"I could know," Aperio honestly replied. Probably. "But I never will. It would require me look at everything and, as you have been told before, I do not want to do that."

The All-Mother held onto her love a little tighter, as though Caethya could somehow stop her from going too far. Everyone knew — or at least should know — that nothing and no one could possibly stop her, should she actually wish to do something. All she needed was a thought, and she could accomplish whatever she desired.

Caethya ran her hand along Aperio's arm, repeating the motion again and again as she leaned herself fully against the All-Mother.

"I think I have a book on time magic somewhere," her love said, looking at Eleanor. "I can give that to you, if you want. You wouldn't be able to make use of any of the spells though, as they require power in amounts I didn't have for a long while, and which is far beyond you at the moment."

Aperio could not help but blink at the proverbial stars that formed in the mage's eyes at her love's words. Eleanor's hands were trembling and, if she were a Beastkin, her tail would be wagging at a speed previously unknown to Humankind.

Her love used her free hand to conjure her [Dimensional Storage] and reach inside it, pulling out a thick book that was bound in metal, of all things, a moment later. She lightly threw it at Eleanor who caught it and was promptly knocked over.

The mortal mage rubbed the back of her head as she sat up again, mumbling something about evil Gods before she heaved the book into her lap. "Why is this thing so heavy?"

"It's a book that contains what some would consider forbidden knowledge," Caethya replied. "And whoever made it thought metal looked nice."

"There is a bit more to it than that," Aperio said, squinting at the tome with both her eyes and aura. "Both the cover and most of the pages are enchanted, some of them making the book heavier on purpose while others are seemingly meant to obscure the knowledge within." She tilted her head slightly, a small flex of her mental muscles dissolving a large chunk of the runes. "There, it should be easier to handle and no longer hide its knowledge from you.

"A word of warning, however," Aperio continued, shifting her gaze onto Eleanor. "If you use what you learn from this book to do anything unbecoming, I will punish you."

"You also don't get to keep that forever," Caethya added. "It might not be a family heirloom, but to me that book has more value than the knowledge it contains."

Eleanor gave an enthusiastic nod at the words, whatever fear had gripped her just a little while ago seemingly forgotten. "Of course I will!"

Aperio rested her chin on her love's head again as she focused back on the mortals on the eleventh floor. A part of her wanted to join them, wander amongst them as they tried to piece together the way up. There was no point to that, of course, but it still seemed entertaining to a degree.

"You don't have to wait here with us," Caethya said. "If you want to wander around with the mortals, you can. I think both Eleanor and I are perfectly capable of entertaining ourselves."

"I know you are, the question is whether I prefer to stay with you or mess with some mortals." Aperio shifted slightly, her wings twitching. "I feel like I should have taken care of some of those ships myself. A bit of movement would probably be good."

"Isn't your body like, perfectly maintained at all times?" Eleanor asked, lowering the book and glancing at the All-Mother. "I would've thought that was one of the perks of being a Goddess."

"I like being active," Aperio said, tilting her head. "Something wrong with that?" What would be the point of having a body if I do not intend to use it?

The last part she kept to herself, but it was still true. Sure, the main reason for a body was so she actually had a form, but it was also so she could interact with the world and actually partake in her creation in a way she found enjoyable.

"Nothing wrong with that," the mortal mage replied. "I just didn't think something that mundane would appeal to you."

"It usually does not, but I still wish to partake in some mundane activities. Like exercise." Aperio offered a shrug of her wings. "It feels good to move."

With a small laugh, Caethya tapped the All-Mother's arm, causing her to let go so her love could stand up. "Her appearance is a hint, Eleanor. You'll notice that deities that don't take the physical approach as often look vastly different."

"I guess?" Eleanor replied, seemingly quite confused with what Caethya had said.

The mortal mage regarded the All-Mother as she stood up and stretched herself. No matter what Eleanor might think, to Aperio, exercise — especially in the form of a good fight — would always be a welcome thing.

Aperio wrapped her love in a quick hug, her wings following the embracing movement of her arms as well as providing the two of them with a brief moment of seclusion from the mortal mage's eyes. Hidden from view, she planted a quick kiss on Caethya's lips, then disappeared from the room. Only a few feathers remained as an indicator she had ever been there in the first place.

Ryan shook his head as he watched Jacob empty the contents of his stomach over the railing of the bridge they were on. Sure, the sights and smells on this floor weren't nice, but they had been confronted with plenty of death and decay already. The only difference here was that they looked Human. He knew they weren't. Nothing in this place — besides them, of course — was an actual, sapient being, after all.

"You good now?" he asked as he pulled out his sword again and inspected the blade. "Maybe eating wasn't such a good idea."

"It wasn't," Jacob croaked in reply, grabbing a bottle of water from his backpack. He took a big swig, turned around and leaned himself against the railing. "How can you deal with all of this?"

"By knowing that it's made to mess with us." Ryan shrugged. "I'm starting to doubt that we can even be seriously harmed in here as well. How else could a group of mostly clueless people face monsters, after all?"

A flame flicked to life in Jacob's palm. "Because we have superpowers?" He balled his hand into a fist, extinguishing the flame. "We don't get tired like we used to, and we’re stronger and faster. Hell, I was thrown across the room and into a stone wall without a scratch. The wall broke, not me."

"For not being broken, you sure complained about it hurting," Ryan rebutted. "Anyway, what's the point of this floor? Psychological damage?"

"I doubt it," the other man replied. "What was the thing the System said when we entered again? 'History does not forget the wars you waged'?"

"Something like that, why?"

"Well," Jacob began, taking another swig of his water, "I might not be a history buff, but I am pretty sure I have seen dead Romans, Greeks, Samurai, and what I think might be Persians already. I wouldn't be surprised if this place is some sort of battleground for them all to fight one another forever."

"Made to fight an eternal war," Ryan scoffed. "That is not what I had expected from this, but it might as well be true. The System doesn't seem to be the best when it comes to feelings. If it even has those."

Jacob took a deep breath, coughing almost immediately before he shook his head. "I just want to get to the next floor as soon as possible."

"Then we have to figure out what we have to do, and I am pretty sure it involves these dead guys."

Jacob visibly shuddered at his words. Why the man was so put off by a few bodies was probably something that would remain a mystery for Ryan, but he would try his best to work around that. The mere thought of falling back to his old habits and abandoning Jacob caused a feeling of dread to creep into the pit of his stomach. Something wished to remind him that he was insignificant and his actions would be judged; no matter how small they might appear to be.

"Your turn to feel like shit over all of this?" Jacob asked.

"No," Ryan replied. "Just some bad memories." He waved the other man off and walked past him. "Let's go."

As soon as they stepped off the bridge, the entire sky flashed first with a blue light and then a silver one. A moment later, the corpses that had surrounded them vanished and a deafening roar washed over them. It was quickly followed by the very same System notification they had gotten when they had first stepped onto this floor, letting them know that conflict was eternal in this place.

The surroundings quickly came alive with shouts in languages Ryan did not speak, and the repeated clashing of metal. Much to his surprise, he could see flashes of lightning stemming from groups of people instead of the sky, as well as balls of fire in various unexpected hues. I guess ancient history was filled with magic, then.

All of that, however, was overshadowed by a sudden feeling of cold dread that washed over Ryan just a moment later. He spun his head around, trying to spot the person that was looking at him. The hairs on his neck stood up as the feeling of being watched did not subside and he could not see who it was that was observing him.

"Greetings," an all too familiar voice said, the power contained in each word driving the colour from Ryan's face. He turned around to see the Amazonian Elf towering over them, holding a staff in one of her hands that was even taller than she was herself. "It has been a while since last we met. I see you have grown substantially since then. Congratulations."

No matter how Ryan turned the words in his head, they all sounded patronising. Like she was talking to a child.

"Miss Velkari," Jacob said, his voice more than a little hoarse.

"I hope you have no laid claim to the battlefield ahead," she continued, offering a smile. "I had wished to make use of it to test my skills a little."

"I'm good," the other man said, raising his hands in what might have been a mock surrender. "Fight them all you like."

Ryan shook his head as the woman's gaze shifted to him, and he tried not to look directly into her eyes. The shifting dots on her otherwise blue irises gave him a headache at the best of times.

"You are free to accompany me if you desire. Perhaps you could learn something from observing me."

"You know what?" Ryan said. "Why not? It's not like we have anything better to do." He threw up his hands, his surrender in no way a joke. "Will you also kill the boss of this floor on your own while you are at it?"

The Elf titled her head to the side, her hair shimmering as it cascaded over her pointed ears. "If it is present, I do not see why I should not."

Ryan debated saying something more, but he could not find any words and a look at Jacob did not offer any help either. "Lead the way, then," he finally said. And don't kill us on accident.

GamingWolf

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