Five Hundred And Thirty-Two

Five Hundred And Thirty-Two

As my consciousness returned from the upper Astral, I breathed out a sigh of relief, as my mind reconnected with my Astral and Material bodies, and I realised only a short time had passed. That made sense, with the time dilation in effect, but it still reassured me. Though one issue I immediately noticed was that a Territory Barrier was back in effect, having sprung into existence in the moments that seemed minutes I shared with the Valkyries high above.

It’s not the same barrier. Not Hermodike’s. It must be Midas’ barrier. Do they have a shared or overlapping Territory? That was something interesting to consider, as I had my Vassals, but now was not the time. All my Split Thoughts and Intellect was surging, thinking my way through the situation. A lot had happened in mere minutes, and while I was desperate to act, the situation chaotic and dangerous, the Valkyries were right, acting hastily wasn’t the same as acting swiftly. A few seconds now to make the right move could salvage the situation...

Now that I understood the basic concept of the existence of Truesouls and soullight, my Eye seemed to sit easier in my socket, less weighty on my spirit. Taking a moment, I quickly examined the Seeds, set in their bracelets of Truesoul, assessing if they could be any further help to me here.

Ortlinde’s Wolf-Hair Bracer Of Silver Wisdom [Item Class: Legendary] [Item Type: Principle]

This spiritual item, attuned and implanted into both Material and Astral subtle bodies, is forged from a strand of Ortlinde’s Truesoul, hewn from her very existence at great cost. This creates a resonant bond with the bearer’s own Truesoul, forming a cascade effect that allows efficient strengthening and transferring of power, far in excess of what should reasonably be possible.

This strand of Truesoul has been forged together with ample Soullight, Adherence and Aether, and the essence of a Divine Favour of Tyr. In addition, a number of Seeds of the Fruit Of The World Tree, Yggdrasil, have been lodged within, and become acclimatised to the bearer of this miraculous bracelet, and through exposure to the Physical, Spiritual and Soul aspects of the bearer as they grow, the Seeds will be absorbed perfectly, the energies they carry adapting to the bearer. The purer the adaption, the greater the absorbed strength, and the Truesoul of the bearer will also strengthen.

As the Seeds are absorbed, so too will be the Truesoul, leading to a greater resonant connection between the Truesoul of the creator and the bearer. The Favour within will also be changed and adapted by the Seeds, the Adherence and Soullight within mutating.

The information my Eye could deliver now was significantly enhanced, and I felt perhaps I was close to another breakthrough. I suppose an Eye of Knowledge would grow when I learn new, shocking things. The information on the new strand of Truesoul I had picked up was also displayed, and it was largely the same, though the name was different...

Siegrune’s Giant-Hair Bracer Of Chaotic Wisdom [Item Class: Imperious][Item Type: Principle]

There was an extra part to the information, as well as the Favour not being Tyr’s, but Loki’s! For a second I thought that was odd, as in most stories I had read, Loki was an antagonistic force to the other Norse Gods, but giving it a moment’s thought, I realised that firstly, while there were obvious correlations between the myths and what Earth was experiencing now, I knew nothing about how the Pantheons actually worked, and secondly, considering Tan, her father Mara would certainly be considered an evil God, but he seemed to be part of his Pantheon without worries. Perhaps the Pantheons aren’t simply a monolith, but the Gods within function as an alliance?

Anyway, the amber letters flared, and I quickly absorbed the information revealed.

This item has been significantly damaged, many Seeds extracted improperly, damaging the underlying strand of Truesoul belonging to Siegrune. Thus resonance while possible, is weaker. The Favour of Loki, Loki’s Jörmungandr Fangs, has been destroyed, and only remnants of the Adherence and Truesoul linger within. The Seeds can be used to empower and strengthen, but as they have already been dyed by the Adherence and Soullight of the past bearer, the effect is unsuited to other subtle bodies, and thus the gain is unpredictable and prone to flaws.

Makes sense. Again, it seemed to be why Ortlinde had left me with virtually nothing to start with. The greater the danger, the less I had already, the more easily adaptable to my needs the Seeds became. So I probably can’t use these Seeds for my purpose, at least not yet. But now they are a proper part of me, through Sieglinde’s strand of Truesoul, I can start adapting them to my needs...

Checking the two Divine Favours I held, that of Taranis I took from that brat Donovan in London, as well as the new one I had wrenched free from the attacker here in the Material, I was pleased to confirm my suppositions. Yeah, these are also crafted from tiny shards or threads of Truesoul, likely from the Gods themselves. No wonder they aren’t eager to give out too many or those too strong...

It was like death from a million cuts. They seemed different to the Bracers, from what I could tell, the Truesoul from Favours was still attached more securely to the Gods, the resonance deeper. So, the majority return... in fact... are they even severed strands like the Valkyries did, or is their approximation simply made wrong from lack of a deeper understanding, or other factors?

I didn’t have any further time to consider, even with my accelerated thoughts going through all this in an instant, time was precious. Tan doesn’t do her own Favours, but she knows enough to bind to Shiro. I had imagined it was just a linkage of their spiritual bodies, but now... I’m almost certain there has to be a Truesoul bond too. So she must be knowledgeable to an extent...

That aside, I addressed Adelheid, who was holding off the surviving Chosen of Dino’s faction, while Midas was grinding his teeth in fury, deadly radiating waves of metallic dust pouring from him. Where they passed, Dino’s forces perished, coughing up tainted froths of blood and internal matter, aether scattering as their bodies started to petrify to metal. “Can you handle things here for a while?”

“Shit. Demanding an extra sausage again, are you?” Her smile was bitter, and her face was streaked with blood, but she nodded. “Do what you need to, but you owe me! I don’t forget!”

With my new knowledge, my Eye could now see the Soullight and Truesoul within the spaces that simply appeared as absences to me before in the Favours. I was therefore more able to prevent Dino from fully Conquering it, and saw the connection between a Favour, the Territory Anchor and the bearer. I don’t have long. If I try and fight it right now the Favour’s just going to completely disintegrate...

There was a lot to unpack, but now wasn’t the time. Now was the time to act swiftly, but not in haste. “Great, I may be asking for an extra sausage, but it’s a meat feast on me when this is all done, order what you like!” With that I turned away, leaving a faintly red Adelheid shaking her head, a bitter scowl on her face.

“Shit. Shit. He said that on purpose! I’ll be telling Frau Hinata about this!”

My Chakra Network had been strengthened by the absorption of another Seed, and had Ranked up. That gave me another significant boost to my Statistics, as well as an overall improvement in my aether and elemental generation. But the second Seed had been more interesting. It had not only strengthened my crown Chakra, but thanks to the aid of the Valkyrie Rossweisse and her runes, it had been able to assimilate the adherence and spatial power of Godwin’s Seven-League Boots, integrating it as a Skill rather reminiscent of those granted by Favours.

Now the boots are just a nice pair, with no special powers. I feel a little sorry, since it was a treasure of the Tower of London, but... me having a power is better than relying on items. After all, items can be lost, broken or... my Eye glowed as I inspected the Favour I was struggling to trap. ...time to go. Lowering the barely stabilised Hermodike to the ground, I moved.

Spatial element boiled, and I teleported. It wasn’t the short hops I did with Void Motion, but I was suddenly three kilometres away, following the connecting glow of Soullight, and, ignoring the bitter pain in my feet, I fixed my gaze on the great hole that had been burned into the ground, a metre across, the edges shimmering with flecks of light, smooth like volcanic glass.

Performance is good. I doubt I can get back to Japan with this Skill, but crossing hundreds of miles rapidly should be very possible. The new Skill, Seven-League Wings Of The Chooser, was at its heart a spatial technique which could send me a significant distance in a singe step. Ordinarily the cost of such in spatial element would run me dry in short order, but now a powerful adherence had been absorbed and integrated within me, and that reduced the cost to manageable levels, though the Geas had now also become the fuel. Fortunately my stats and Ether Healing were up to the task, but prolonged use would definitely lead to me needing to grow new feet.

Without hesitation I threw myself down the recently charred hole, following the Soullight glow. As I fell, I chuckled at the last line of the Skill description. While it is a great honour to be swept up in Valkyrie Wings, and Chosen to be one of the true Einherjar, the bearer of this Skill wishes to arrive before those his wings enfold are slain, even at the cost of maddening pain. For Choosing life suits better than Choosing death, noble or otherwise.

Damn right. Sometimes my Eye sasses me, but other times, it’s spot on. My thoughts were scattered moments later, as a sudden howling gale of jade wind element surged, the glassy walls of the hole sliced apart into a maelstrom of glittering glass knives. I merely frowned, tanking them, my Brigandine starting to struggle to keep up with the damage, but I was beyond such attacks now.

As I thought that, the smell of ozone filled the air, and lightning seared up at me. This attack was more dangerous, but in the narrow pit there was no room to dodge, so I countered by conjuring Prominence Dusk, sucking it in, the penumbra at my back crackling with dark energies, brilliant light illuminating the ground below. Moments later I dropped into a large cavern, looking like an underground hangar, the roof and floor connected by great stalactites and stalagmites.

“You’re a persistent thorn in my fucking side...” Dino growled. He was barely a human now, a shifting figure of winds and lightning, but to my amusement I noticed that two of his fingers, those he’d lost earlier, hadn’t reformed. “...I’ve been planning for weeks to take down Khumo and Lola, gain the great strength for doing so, but... I got greedy and thought I could take you on as well. I wonder why? Everything was so perfect. I’m normally more methodical.” His eyes shimmered with elemental energies, and with a gesture he swept his arm, the rock pillars around him shattering, bolts of aetheric light caught in a barrier of swirling winds, not unlike Shaeula’s Emerald Wind Prison.

“Fuck, Khumo’s a paranoid bastard. His bolthole is riddled with traps...” Lightning blazed, and in the distance a number of Defensive Emplacements were bathed in forking bolts of energy, before collapsing, the golden columns topped with the familiar crystals exploding.

Waves of strange creatures were battling, though several more Agadzagadza’s Spawn were ploughing through like living tanks, crushing the monkey-like defenders underfoot and belching venomous fumes that seemed to corrode whatever it touched. One Spawn hammered into another golden Building, and the gold tarnished as claws raked down it again and again, until it exploded, ether scattering, only to be absorbed by the struggling Territory.

“...but there’s always a weak link. That idiot Nkosi claims to be a hunter, but me... I’m a poacher.”

“You’re a traitor.” I shook my head, and he laughed scornfully, winds blowing, echoing his voice around the cavern.

“Hardly. Khumo and me, we were just using each other. No matter how strong he is, he and his wife can’t survive alone. The savannah and deserts are full of the bones of those who tried.” He sneered at my naivety. “It’s a weak will like that which will see you fall! You are wasting a precious gift. The Seeds are power!” He raised one hand, lightning flaring. “And power should be used by those fit for it!”

Back in the Material, Hinata was pacing restlessly. It had only been minutes, but she was deeply worried for Mayumi and her grandfather. Kazumi-san was trying to comfort her, while I was attempting to contact Aliyah and Trey, the phone ringing out.

“Akio, what do we do?” Hinata asked, panicked. “This is such a mess...”

“I know. But we’ve almost dealt with things here.” I reassured her. “But they have been taken for ransom, so hopefully they shouldn’t have been harmed. Anyway...” I looked at Hinata closely. “It’s time to make a decision.”

“A decision?” At my serious tone, Hinata was distracted from her worry and faced me, her brown eyes meeting my grey ones. “What do you need from me?”

She’s a good girl. She immediately puts aside her pain and starts thinking of us, and how she can benefit me. I... have to repay that faith in me. No, not have to, I want to. “It’s like this. Do you want to be a Chosen? If so... I can leave you here without worry. But if you do take up this mantle...”

“I know. Like Kana, Eri, everyone else... I’ll have to prove worthy of it.” Hinata nodded, understanding. “I don’t think I’m much of a fighter, but Kana isn’t either, and she manages. So... which Favour is suitable for me?”

“It’s this...” I finished up my complicated Chirurgery and crafting, combining my Skills. Using Midas’ Favour as the base, I integrated what was left of Hermodike’s Favour, and while the improperly integrated Seeds were a little awkward to work around, I believed that I could stabilise it fully later. “Fortunately, while my adherence stocks are low, we have a lot of spare Favours to work with...”

Hinata nodded at the implication, especially with our captured Chosen here. “It’s a shame, but it’s simply not possible to hold all of the Favours of those you’ve beaten, is it?”

“No, the adherence drain simply scales up too fast. And now I think it might also overstress something else.” I shook my head. “But I need adherence for a lot of things, like implanting and also repairing and shaping Favours, as well as hopefully saving Mayumi...”

“You can save her?” Hinata’s expression brightened. “Oh... sorry, now isn’t the time for that.” She changed the subject, though she was still pale. “You get stronger when you break down Favours too, don’t you?”

I agreed. “Yeah, though since I’ll be using the adherence and other bits for this, I won’t see too many benefits. But having fought this mess of a battle alongside Adelheid, and against Dino and Midas... while we need Chosen, a few stronger Chosen are better than a lot of weaker ones...”

Hinata nodded solemnly. “Yes. I agree. There’s definitely merit in having a number of Vassals, but...” Hinata sighed. “You have too much to protect, and even being a Chosen is no guarantee of safety. So... I will be strong. But I won’t do it at the expense of your other needs. Wealth, political power, influence... you still need more. This proves it.” She then swallowed. “So, I hear this hurts, doesn’t it? But... I’m ready for it. Be... gentle, okay?” She gave me a tremulous smile, and I patted her head, before aether and adherence surged, as did soullight I had extracted from the collapsed Favours I was breaking down. I’m stronger now, so I can safely hold three longer-term, maybe. Taranis can stay for now, but I’ll have to pick the others carefully... anyway...

Hinata felt a foreign energy enter her, and she paled, her body shaking. I tried to mitigate her pain as much as possible with Ether Healing, but the pain was on spiritual, or perhaps a soul level, so preventing it all was impossible. Still, connecting everything up was much easier now I could see more of the Favour and its workings, as well as the shadow of Hinata’s deeper aspects.

“Hinata... stay strong!” Kazumi-san took one of her hands, while I held the other, and as I worked, Hinata sweating and aching, the Chirurgery only lasting a short time, but to her seeming like it took forever, Kazumi-san whispered into my ear, a tiny, almost inaudible buzz, trusting to my enhanced senses, so that Hinata couldn’t hear.

“Is there any I can use? I don’t care if it’s weak, or even useless. I need anything that will make me stronger. And... I’ll take any other measure too. I hate being weak. I’m a bodyguard and a friend. I know how Natsumi-san feels. Besides, if Hinata gets a Favour... I feel like I’ll lose my purpose.”

Yeah, she’s been shaken by this mess, as well she might be. But... With my eyes, I tried to express that she shouldn’t be hasty, and she gave me a knowing look, before nodding. Moments later, I was done, and Hinata’s eyes brightened, her body full of energy.

“This... this is Midas’ Favour... and Hermodike’s too?” She seemed shocked, but I shook my head.

“Not exactly. But... it’s certainly close enough. It’s now just this.”

Ajé-Shaluga’s Golden River Of Prosperity And Treasures: This Divine Favour is made from two paired Favours, though part has been stripped of its Truesoul connection. It has also been fortified by Seeds of the Fruit Of The World Tree, and through clever Chirurgery and Shaping of Adherence and Soullight, the benefits have been maximised while retaining as much strength as possible.

Crafted from concentrated Adherence, refined Ether and Soullight infused Truesoul strands, this Favour can search out and find treasures, objects of spiritual significance, rich resources and exploitable wealth. Treasures and items can also be improved, and instincts and luck regarding such matters are sharpened to a high degree. Fortune significantly increases, Fate increases, and Charm also increases. In addition, this Favour bestows the Mutated Metal Elements Gold, Silver and Copper on the bearer, though due to the incorrectly applied nature of the Seed that enhanced the Metal Element, only a very small amount of Silver and Copper Elements are generated, and Gold Element is also significantly reduced from what it should be as compensation.

If the Seed could be properly integrated, this downside could perhaps disappear. Just as Ajé-Shaluga brings prosperity and shelter, warmth and plenty, to hearth, home and relationships, so too shall the bearer of this Favour prosper and their family shall be wealthy beyond measure. Yet even Ajé-Shaluga could not predict that the Favour could be used this way. [Class: Legendary][Type: Law]

Not sure why Charm increases, but... it turned out well. Hinata’s... no longer weak. Though other than Aether, her Statistics haven’t seen huge gains... but against ordinary people she’ll be fine...

“I... Motoko and Natsumi will be jealous.” Hinata smiled guiltily. “On their trip they didn’t get anything, and they even conceded their chance to Miss Aditi to help out your political aims. But...” She was resolute, not allowing her guilt to rule her. “They’ll be happy for me. And so...” Hinata frowned. “Huh... I smell a treasure. Quite a few in fact... a scarf of gold, some bangles and jewels...”

I nodded. “Yes. Sadly though, they didn’t help Hermodike when her Territory was usurped. We have to be very careful who we let inside our Territory. I don’t want to get beaten this way, it’d be humiliating, and would bypass a lot of my strength.” Although as I’m not actually using the Favour... I don’t know. I’m definitely still linked to my Territory Anchor, so it’ll still damage me, but I daresay I wouldn’t be as crippled as Midas and Hermodike...

Hinata was showing off, conjuring tiny specks of gold, before suddenly making a eureka face. “My Pot Of Faerie Gold... I think I can make it less random... huh...” She blinked, before flushing guiltily. “No, I can’t get distracted. Mayumi. You can leave me here... you can run fast, right? Faster than a sportscar? It should only take you an hour to two to make it back to Cape Town. Though they could get away in that time...” Biting her lip with anxiety, my ringing phone surprised us all. Looking down, I was pleased to see it was Treyvon.

“Finally.” I said, only for his pained words to cut me off. On hearing that the situation was worse than bad, the two Chosen dead, Trey and Aliyah only alive because of Ixitt’s emergency medicine and the enemy’s fear of my retribution, I squeezed my phone hard enough for the screen to crack and metal to deform. No, it’s time to calm down. I can do this.

“All right. I’ll be there in a minute.” I hung up, before Trey could reply to my puzzling comment. Seeing that, Hinata looked hopeful.

“A minute? Not even you can do that. Though... can you?” she asked, and I nodded.

“I can. So... Hinata, I’m leaving the Material aftermath to you. As for the Boundary...” My expression was grim as I approached the caged, weakening Dino, after helping myself to and destroying a couple of the less useful Favours his surviving minions had to top myself up. “...I have to claim what we’re due as compensation.”

“That’s right.” Hinata agreed with a wicked smile, covering her anxiety. “I’ve told you, always get what we’re owed!”

As Dino screamed, his Favour hewn from him, his body disintegrated, and due to the special nature of it, I didn’t think much of his chances of his Material body surviving either. Despite that, I had little sympathy for him, only glaring at the last few Chosen. “So, it’s time to pay up. Don’t worry, I’ll fix you up enough to stand trial when I’m done...”

Meanwhile, after one final kiss with Hinata, in the Material I vanished, bounding over twenty miles in a single step, though my feet burned as they hit the dusty ground. Despite that, I moved again, once more leaping across Botswana, and with another couple of spatial enhanced steps, I was over the border and into South Africa, but my boots were filling up with blood. Fuck it. Doesn’t matter. Feet can be regrown. Just push through it...

With another step, and then another, even my newly plentiful spatial element was starting to diminish, it wasn’t as efficient as Arisu-san’s Room for transportation, probably as her Room was kind of like a portal, whereas I was moving myself. Speaking of Arisu-san, it should be time for the concert in Japan. I hope everything goes well, and my sis and everyone else are having fun... someone should be...

Trying not to think about my disintegrating feet, I strode again, and again, and again, rapidly returning to the south, where I was going to show the last of Dino’s minions the error of assuming that just because we Japanese were polite, reserved and didn’t enjoy trouble, we could be threatened, pushed around and tormented...