A Vulpine Spanner in the Works
Chapter 37: Divine Growing Pains
[Lukrut]
After setting up my tent, I found a smirk growing on my face at the thought of how little I've used this tent in the past two weeks. Though, all things considered, I was more than happy with the reason for why I hadn't been using my tent.
Turning around, I saw said beautiful reason stirring up a pot of stew over the fire. It was a little amusing to contemplate that a powerful demigoddess like her could do something so mundane as setting up dinner for all of us. You'd think that she would just conjure up readied food with a magic spell or something similar. Instead, she just used what she considered to be storage magic to preserve meals for later.
Looking on, I saw Ninya quickly move over to sit on a rock as she waited for the stew to be ready.
"Smells good." Ninya commented. I began walking over to the fire pit while taking a sniff of the air. Our emerald mage wasn't lying since the delicious smell was making my mouth water.
"You're telling me, kiddo. Just a moment and I'll bring some over for you." Kashia answered with a grin. Following this, she took out two bowls and made her way over to Ninya before stopping mid-stride as her face seemed to scrunch up in pain.
The bowls quickly dropped from her hands, the contents spilling against the grass, but I watched as Kashia fell to her knees and knew that something was horribly wrong. My heart thudded as I sprinted over.
"MOM!/KASHIA!" Ninya and I screamed together as I slid to the ground next to Kashia and Ninya, ignoring the spilled food that now covered my trousers.
Just as I was about to touch her, Kashia's body became outlined in a golden aura as her illusion broke, revealing her bestial features. Yet, where there were normally nine golden tails waving behind her, I saw a new limb made of that same golden energy wildly flailing with the rest of her tails.
"What's going on?!" Peter shouted as he and Dyne rushed over to us, unable to get closer without risk of being hit by Kashia's wild tails.
"W-We don't know!" Ninya said in fear. Something I fully shared with her.
A moment later, Kashia hunched over and hugged herself before screaming in absolute agony. Ninya and I had no idea what to do at this point, so I pulled her into an embrace and held her while Ninya wrapped her arms around her mom in support.
To my horror, I watched that limb of golden energy begin to grotesquely converge until it became a long string of golden bones that ended at a sharp tip.
"Please be okay, mom! Please be okay!" Ninya begged as those golden bones became encased in a layer of golden flesh that began flinging off droplets of golden blood everywhere. I felt multiple droplets hit my face, but I ignored it and kept holding onto Kashia.
I came to the quick realization after seeing more raw flesh sheath the limb, that Kashia was 'growing' a new tail.
Her screaming took on new heights as veins, nerves, and more formed into place. I looked to see that Kashia's eyes were rolled back in her head so that only the whites were showing.
Please, whatever this was, just hurry up!
"You're going to be okay. It'll be over soon. Please be okay." I pleaded as I watched more layers of flesh cover the slowly-forming tail. As the new tail formed more and more, the golden aura covering Kashia's body grew brighter until Ninya and I were both pushed back by the golden aura's energy bursting.
Even knocked back, my eyes remained fixed on Kashia's screaming form as a pink layer of flesh finally covered the raw golden tissue before a layer of golden fur quickly grew over it. As this happened, a golden pillar of light shot into the sky from Kashia that lasted for multiple agonizing seconds before fading away.
Like a puppet with its strings cut, Kashia fell to the ground and simply lay there.
"MOM!" Ninya cried out as she got up and rushed over to Kashia while I did the same. I joined Ninya as she tried shaking her awake. Picking Kashia up before cradling her in my arms, I found myself terrified at how lifeless she seemed, with only her soft breathing giving any sign that she was still alive.
"KASHIA! WAKE UP!" I cried as I gently shook her unresponsive form. Peter and Dyne joined us on the ground and looked at our teammate with the same worry that Ninya and I shared.
"By the gods, what just happened?" Peter asked in astonished horror.
"I don't know, but we have to help her!" Ninya said with a panicked tone as she took Kashia's hand into hers.
"Then let me try." Dyne said as he crouched by Kashia and cast a spell, "[Cure Wound]!" He said as a green wave of healing energy covered her form, yet it seemed to do nothing.
"Is it working?" Peter asked nervously.
Dyne's brow scrunched as he tried a bit longer before he finally relented and ended the spell. With a disappointed shake of his head, Dyne answered, "No, it's not working. Whatever it is that she's going through is beyond something that magical healing can fix. Or, at least, healing of my level."
That only made me more worried. "Then what can we do? I've got no idea what it means for her race to spontaneously grow an entirely new tail or if what she's going through is completely normal." I asked.
"I don't have any idea on how to help Kashia right now, but what I do know is that we should move camp quickly. That pillar of light was high enough to be seen from miles around. As we don't know how long Kashia might be unconscious, we should leave before someone or something comes by to investigate." Peter recommended as he attempted to take charge of the situation.
Looking down at Kashia's sleeping form, then back to Peter, I gave him a nod. "Yeah, that's for the best. We should hurry." I agreed before looking over to Ninya sitting next to me, worriedly looking at her adoptive mom.
"Ninya," I gently called, getting the mage's attention as she turned her tear-streaked face to me, "keep an eye on Kashia in case anything changes while we pack up camp." Ninya gave me a nod before going back to looking at Kashia.
The others didn't question what I said as they knew, like I did, that Ninya's mind was too preoccupied with what was happening to Kashia to do anything else.
Gently laying my beautiful fox onto the ground, I got up and followed Peter and Dyne to break down our tents and pack.
As we did this, Peter asked, while glancing back to Ninya, "Ninya called Kashia 'mom'. Are they?" He gestured between the two, and I nodded.
"For all intents and purposes, Kashia has fully adopted both Ninya and Tuare." I answered as I rolled up my tent up into a bundle which I strapped to my pack.
With a wry smile, Peter remarked, "Damn, I'm happy for Ninya, but I wish that this was a better moment to find out about it."
"How long did you know about the change in relationship between Ninya and Kashia?" Dyne asked as he began packing up our rations.
"Probably a week or so. Easy to notice how they acted around each other. That, and Ninya would call Kashia 'mom' every once in a while, which I overheard." I replied while quickly moving onto Ninya's tent.
Following this, I decided to change topics to the situation at hand. "It's going to be a lot of work to move Kashia with just the four of us. She told me herself that she weights over 400 pounds, and her new tail just adds to it. How are we going to carry her?"
Just as Peter looked like he was about to answer, another voice spoke up, one that I was terrifyingly familiar with, "You won't need to worry on that front. I'll carry the Princess if it is needed."
All of us spun around to see the large red fox with blue-streaked fur sitting by the fire pit. Each of his seven tails waved behind him as his blue eyes gazed at Kashia with a mixture of worry and calm, almost like he'd seen such things happen before.
"P-Puraimu, is m-mom going to be okay?" Ninya asked, surprising me that she knew his name.
"The Princess has undergone the process of attaining her new tail. Normally, such an event is not as horrifically painful as what the Princess experienced. I can only assume that the extreme influx of power going through her Highness due to her apotheosis and transformation of her entire body, turned a relatively painless experience into something agonizing." When the kitsune said this, our jaws ended up dropping.
"Apotheosis?" Dyne asked, "You mean that-"
"Her Highness has ascended to become a full goddess. Because of this, her Highness is at her most vulnerable and will likely still be unconscious for a while longer until her body fully adapts to the power and changes." Puraimu finished for Dyne.
"How long could she be like this?" I asked.
"A few days. Possibly a week? Aside from her Majesty, Lady Inari, there has never been another to achieve the feat of acquiring ten tails. In the meantime, we'll just have to guard her Highness until she finally reawakens." Puraimu quickly answered while pacing over to Kashia and Ninya.
"Aside from you and us, Puraimu, is there anyone else that will be helping us to keep Kashia safe?" Peter questioned.
"Her Highness only brought four of us on this mission, myself included. One of us has already sent a [Message] to the others and reinforcements will arrive soon. It is unlikely that we would need such forces to keep her Highness safe, but none of us will ever take chances with the Princess' life on the line."
Okay, it's good to know that Kashia will be safe no matter what. While that didn't fully alleviate my worries, it did help some.
"Then we should get moving. No telling what may have been attracted by the golden pillar." Peter said, yet we all received a shake of Puraimu's head in answer.
"This area has been saturated in the Princess' power. Even unintentionally, this place has been consecrated with her blood and power." We took a moment to examine the glowing golden blood on ourselves and spread around the camp from Kashia's growing tail violently thrashing about, spraying blood everywhere. Yet, as we continued to watch it, the blood seemed to slowly be absorbed into the stone and soil.
"Her body will recover faster if left in the area than if she were to be taken out of it." Puraimu finished, making me frown.
"What would we do, then? People are going to be coming by within the day to investigate." Peter asked with concern as he set his pack down.
"Kitsune are quite adept at illusion magic. And a few of us can build shelters quickly. Her Highness will be perfectly hidden and protected from all who may come, along with the rest of you."
"I really don't like the idea of us being sitting ducks, but if it helps Kashia to recover faster, then I'll agree to it." I said, considering our options.
"I'm not leaving mom until she gets better." Ninya stated without hesitation.
"If all of you think it's best to stay here for Kashia, then I won't argue against it." Dyne added with a solemn nod.
"Seems we're all in agreement." Peter finished, "What do you have in mind, Puraimu?"
The red and blue kitsune seemed to smirk before looking to all of us. "When my fellow kitsune are finished scouting the area for threats, we'll begin work on shelter. After that, we wait."
[Kashia]
I found myself waking up from the ground with a start. I didn't know where I was, with the last thing I remember being the massive amount of pain I went through before collapsing at camp. Looking around, I knew that I was definitely not at the camp anymore. Or even the New World.
Around me, as far as the eye could see, were meadows of silver grass that reflected the light of the golden sky covered in silver auroras. And beyond those skies, overlooking everything was a silver sun. The only thing to break up this monotony of endless silver plains was a silver hill nearby.
Something about this place seemed so familiar, yet distant to me. Like a far-off dream. Yet, how the hell did I even get here?
Pushing myself to my feet, I noticed that my balance felt slightly off. Looking behind myself to see what was causing it, my eyes widened in shock as I spotted one of my tails that didn't belong. Namely, an entirely new tail added to my previous nine!
I moved the new limb in front of myself and took the time to examine the new limb I had. It looked just like all the others, and taking the moment to touch it, felt like all the others, too. But moving from nine tails to ten?
From what I knew of mom and all the things I've been told, having ten made me a goddess. Then, there was the alert that went through my mind before I finally passed out. The [Fledgling Goddess (1)] class that I had attained, but that would mean that I have more than 100 levels. Holy shit, I managed to break the level cap!
But at the same time, what was needed to level up beyond just the normal 100 levels of YGGDRASIL? I know for a fact that I have not gained anywhere close to the amount of XP it would take to level up normally. Considering that this was a goddess class, could I have earned it from the worship that I've been receiving? And then, how does one quantify the amount of worship it would take to level up? This was going to be a lot of guesswork.
And this still didn't consider if I had a level cap for these goddess levels-
My thoughts were interrupted when my nose picked up a scent; a very familiar scent. It smelled of foxes, nature, and the warmth of home. Mom?
Any other thoughts I might've had about my apotheosis was shunted to the side as I began following that smell towards the singular hill in this sea of silver. I started walking at first, but the closer I got, and the stronger the scent became, the faster my pace became while my heart thumped in a mixture of excitement and hope.
That's mom. There's no mistaking it, that's mom!
I was sprinting at this point up the hill, praying that this wasn't fake as I got closer and closer. My eyes were beginning to sting as the thoughts of possibly seeing mom filled my mind. I don't know where I am or how I got here, but that didn't matter since mom was here.
Within a few more moments, I made it to the top of the hill and I felt my chest hitch as my throat tightened. A woman stood on top of the hill with pure white hair and glowing silver eyes. The years hadn't had any effect on her as she looked exactly the same as I remembered her. She wore a simple white kimono while her ten white tails slowly flowed behind her.
Mom looked at me with the motherly smile I remembered from my childhood. The smile that made me feel so safe and loved…
"M-Mom?" I choked out as tears threatened to fall from my eyes.
"Hello, my little fox. I'm so happy to see you again." Mom answered. When she said this, I no longer felt like Kashia Blanc, the 28-year-old former demigoddess. I was brought back to being Kashia Smith, the 7-year-old little girl who lost her mom. My feet moved without thought towards mom.
"M-Momma?" I was running by now as tears fell from my eyes while mom moved towards me. In seconds, I jumped into mom's arms and wrapped her into a tight embrace with my arms and tails to make sure that I wouldn't lose her! "Momma!" I sobbed as she wrapped her arms and tails around me, filling me with that warmth and safety that I hadn't felt in over 21 years.
At the same time, I could smell the salt of mom's tears and hear her sniffling, "It's alright, my little fox. We're together again, my baby." Mom said in my ear, making me burst into more sobs as I remembered all those moments of her saying reassuring words to me.
"I-I-I mi-missed yo-you so m-much, momma!" I hiccupped out while closing my eyes and holding onto mom with everything I had.
"So did I, my little fox. But momma is here now, and I will be here for as long as you want." As mom said this, she began to stroke my hair and hum a familiar song while I just melted into her embrace. I've wanted this for so long, and here it was. We stayed like this for a long time, yet I loved every moment of it. We were together again
It took a while before stopped sobbing and finally opened my eyes to look at mom. She brushed some of my hair from my face and gently wiped the tears from my eyes. "I remember you being so much smaller last time we were like this, my little fox."
"And you were so much bigger, momma." I answered back with a smile and a sniff.
"In the eyes of a child, I would've been." Mom replied before taking on a look of melancholy, "I just wish that I could've been there for you and Seth when both of you needed me."
Shaking my head to dispel whatever blame she felt, I said, "Dad and I never blamed you when you had to go. We missed you terribly." After saying this, mom kissed my forehead and I felt the warmth of her essence shroud me like magic, and I felt so comfortable and loved from that act.
"And I missed you so much. I missed being there as you grew up, I missed being there to tuck you into bed, and I missed being there whenever you needed a shoulder to cry on. Even if I could watch, that wasn't the same as physically being with you. But now that we're together again, my little fox, we'll have so much to catch up on." Mom said, making me immensely happy.
"Then I have so much to tell you about, mom." I replied while looking into her glowing silver eyes, almost entranced by those silver pools that I hadn't seen for so long, "I'm pretty certain that you've already met or knew of one of my two daughters; Ninya."
Mom gave me a bright smile and nodded, "Yes, I already met one of my grandbabies, and she's absolutely precious. I even gave her a blessing or two to aid her, with more on the way once I have enough power to perform greater feats in this New World."
I giggled at this, "So, aside from the ability to cast [Foxfire], since I know that Ninya didn't learn it from me, you made her have rapid hair growth?"
"I felt that my grandbaby should have the ability to cast [Foxfire]. As for the hair growth, she had such soft hair, and I wanted to play with more of it. Your daughter didn't have many complaints about it, all things considered." Mom replied with a look of amusement.
"And is that little blessing going to be permanent?" I asked.
"No, not really." Mom answered before giving a mischievous giggle, "I didn't make that blessing permanent, so it'll fade away after a few centuries. Three at the earliest." I gave mom a roll of my eyes.
"Mom, Ninya is human. A few centuries to you are barely a blip while, for Ninya, that's multiple lifetimes." I explained.
"I guess you're right," mom considered with a nod of agreement. At that point, both of us began laughing. "Yet, that minute blessing of beauty is only a small taste of all the gifts I want to shower on my grandbabies." After saying this, mom lowered both of us to the ground until we were both sitting, with me laying back into her as she continued stroking my hair. All ten of my tails were entwined with hers, unwilling to let go.
"You're really taking to being a grandmother with gusto, mom." I commented as I felt my hair get released from the binder holding it into a ponytail.
"Of course I would, my little fox, I am a goddess of fertility after all. There's nothing I'd love to see more than my little fox having a litter of her own." When mom said this, I leaned my head back and met her gaze.
"Are you telling me that you want more grandchildren?" I asked.
"Yes. As my heir and daughter of a fertility goddess in addition to the chosen of another fertility goddess, I want you to have a lot of babies. Nine at the very least. Both Freyja and I have talked a lot about it and we're in agreement on this."
My eyes widened at hearing this. "You and Freyja have been talking about me?" I asked, thinking about the absolute chaos two goddesses could get into when focused on one person; namely, me.
Mom nodded with an excited smile, "Oh, yes. Freyja comes by my realm every so often to talk. Both of us wish to see you live up to your duty of fertility sooner rather than later."
Oh no, they are both conspiring together. "I mean, I know that I planned to have children in the future, but isn't that a bit much all at once? Lukrut and I are both too busy to take care of babies at the moment. And then there's the number-"
"But, Kashia, I remember hearing you tell me as a little girl that you wanted to have a big family. I'm fairly certain that hasn't changed as you became older." When mom said this, I took a moment to think about it.
Yeah, she's right. I did want to have a larger family when I was a child. Growing up, I would've loved to have multiple kids, but the difficult/almost impossible standard of living a child born on Earth would go through if they weren't one of the elites made such a thought inconceivable, if not completely selfish to subject another person to that. I was thinking three kids or so, but nine wouldn't be so bad…
"Okay, mom. I get it. When things slow down, and Lukrut and I feel comfortable, we'll work on it. But right now, I can't go a few months out of commission." I conceded to mom.
Mom stopped playing with my hair and quickly pulled me into a hug before nuzzling my cheek, an action I leaned into. "I'm so happy to hear that my baby plans to give me more grandchildren to spoil!"
I loved every bit of being with mom again, but even so, my bliss was marred by the questions that went through my mind. "Mom, how did I get here? Where is here exactly?" I asked.
Mom stopped nuzzling my cheek and giggled, "To quickly answer you second question; this is your true home. The Realm of Foxes, the place you should have been raised with your father at my side. I only wish that had been the case compared to the regrettable life you lived on Earth."
I rested my head against hers, "We might have struggled, but despite that, I didn't care as long as I had you and dad with me." I consoled her. "And because of that struggle, it made every moment I had with the two of you all the better."
"Thank you, my little fox." Mom said appreciatively before changing topics, "As for how you came here, technically, your body is still in the New World. Your soul, on the other hand, came here the moment you ascended into becoming a goddess. As you are still weak in your divinity, you were only able to arrive here on the Silver Plains instead of further within."
I took a moment to glance at my hands and think of how real they looked and felt. How did a soul have the ability to be so tangible?
"Wondering how you seem like a physical body instead of a disembodied spirit?" Mom asked, earning a surprised nod from me at how she could tell. "For most of my other spiritual visitors, I turn them corporeal with my power over this realm due to it being my domain. For you, due to your status as a goddess, you have to comprehend things from a more metaphysical side. You are a goddess; therefore, you make reality bend to your will."
"That will take some time getting used to." I remarked.
"Don't worry, my little fox. You'll get used to it eventually. But aside from your divinity bringing you here, your presence, along with that of the skeletal friend of yours, caused Yggdrasil to spread its branch out to connect with the new realm that its World Items resided in. This made it much easier for you to come home to me." That made my eyes slightly widen.
"Wait, do you mean to say that there are now ten realms of Yggdrasil instead of nine?" I asked quickly.
"Yes, there are now ten. And with it, there will be a rush of the deities and other beings of the realms that will attempt to conquer this realm as their domain once they were to learn about it. You likely have a couple years for the new branch of Yggdrasil to grow enough to become fully noticeable, but when it does…" Mom trailed off, making me concerned.
"Everyone will try and claim what they see as an unclaimed plot of land. An actual divinely-mandated version of manifest destiny." I replied.
"Thankfully, you're well on your way to mantling the rule of this new realm as your domain. Once you have done so, none will be able to usurp your position. From what I've seen, this realm is very special to mantle." Mom explained while brushing my hair.
"Why do you say that?" I asked.
"The New World worships empty gods that have acted as reservoirs of worship for an untold number of years. Any god or goddess who managed to usurp the positions of these empty gods would become one of the strongest entities in all of Yggdrasil." With that, I fully understood the situation that I was in.
At the same time, I found myself wondering about something else, "It sounds like you want me to acquire all that worship. But what about yourself? You've been a goddess for a hell of a lot longer than I have. Wouldn't it be better if you got most of it?"
While asking this, I felt mom manipulating my hair with some gentle tugging, but I couldn't tell in what way. "I already have much of what I need. Any excess power and worship I acquire from you would be more than enough. I want my little fox to have everything she needs in life and more. My baby princess will be a queen by the end of this, just like how you promised your follower a kingdom, I promise you an entire realm."
It made me feel warm and loved to hear how mom was willing to promise me an entire realm of Yggdrasil just to make me happy. In a way, I guess she was trying to make up for everything she couldn't give me as a child.
"Thank you, mom." I said with closed eyes and a smile.
"You're welcome." Mom answered gently before she continued with whatever she was doing to my hair. I just enjoyed the closeness of the moment. Mom then lifted my hair up and I heard the click of the hair binder at the same time as my hair felt suspiciously heavier.
Without opening my eyes, I asked, "Mom, did you just pull a Ninya on me?"
"You inherited a trickster tendency from someone, and we both know that it was not from your father." Mom answered, making me open my eyes and conjure a mirror in front of us with a snap. Even without the mirror, the first thing I noticed was that the hair framing my face was now well past my chest in length.
Sticking from the top of my head, behind my ears, was my hair in a high ponytail that had been braided down the length. Worryingly, I pulled out the braid from behind myself and saw that a few inches of it piled onto the ground. In other words, if my hair had been freed up, it'd be well past my ass at this point.
"Mom, how long will whatever you've done to my hair last?" I asked with a deadpan gaze that met hers through the mirror.
"Consider it to be training. As a goddess, you'll need to know how to bestow and dispel blessings and curses. I'm certain that you'll figure it out." With an amused grin, mom leaned into my ear and added, "Who knows, maybe you'll want to keep it instead of dispelling it?"
I could only sigh at this. "Right…" I said with a wry grin. Then, another though came to mind and I nervously asked, "By the way…is dad here as well?"
"I'll leave that a surprise." Mom answered, making me fully hopeful as I turned in my lap to her.
"Please, mom! I-Is dad here?" I begged her while holding her hands in mine. "There's so much I have to say to him, so much I have to apologize for." I was on the verge of tears when mom put both of her hands on either side of my face and rested her forehead against mine.
"Grow stronger, my little fox. Once you get strong enough, you'll see Seth again. I promise." That set me at ease as I pulled mom into a hug once more.
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" I cried to her as I felt her arms wrap around me. This was one of the happiest days I've had in my life, and I didn't want it to end.
I would be able to see dad again!
[Ninya]
Day 33:
Since yesterday, I've barely left mom's side after she fell unconscious. All I could think about was how horrible her screaming was as she grew that tail. Looking from mom's sleeping face to the newest tail she acquired, I found it extremely hard to feel happy about it when mom had to suffer, and now wasn't even awake to enjoy it.
After a large group of kitsune arrived at camp, more than 20 of them, within the hour, they immediately got to work setting up shelter for us. It really was more of a temple than a shelter, considering that they went about conjuring stonework from the ground with architectural spells that I've never thought to have existed.
When asked about it, Puraimu had explained that due to this place being the location that mom had ascended into a full goddess, it should be marked as a place of worship for her believers to flock to and pay homage. What this ended up as was a large and ornate temple of white stone that seemed like marble. Decorating the walls were stained glass windows depicting mom wearing the goddess clothing that she donned in public, except now depictions had ten tails instead of nine.
Though, while the temple was impressive, what truly astounded me was the small pool of water that a small team of kitsune had managed to infinitely conjure from the ground. This pool was large enough to allow a person to comfortably submerge their entire body with room to spare. And the water of said pool?
It was golden, just like the elixir the Order of the Fox Princess'. This pool, which was confirmed to infinitely fill itself by the kitsune, was an ever-flowing source of mom's blood, essentially. I couldn't decide if I should be amazed or terrified of the fact. The rest of the team also shared my opinion on this.
At the back of this temple was a large statue of mom's fox form with ten tails that faced the entrance, almost as if to welcome in any visitors. Yet, while the first floor of the quickly assembled temple seemed simple and open, behind the fox statue was an underground entrance to a set of rooms that we had been given leave to rest in.
The rooms were quite nice and furnished with beds, tables, chairs, and torches lit with blue [Foxfire]. Honestly, even though the beds were nice, Lukrut and I hadn't used the beds in either of the rooms as we stayed by mom, waiting for her to wake up. But unlike how Lukrut could only see her as she was, that connection I had with her revealed the immense amounts of golden motes of mana that were being absorbed into her body from the surroundings.
At the same time, I remembered that massive pulse of power I felt from mom when her tail had finally fully grown. I couldn't really describe it in any other word than godly. And all of it had to do with those golden motes converging on her body.
"How are you doing, Ninya?" I looked over my shoulder to see Lukrut walking into the room and make his way over to me before taking a seat in the empty chair at beside me.
"I'm fine. Just worried." I answered. Lukrut rest his hand on my shoulder and gave me a reassuring smile.
"Well, don't be. Our Kashia is tougher than a little setback like this. Soon enough, she'll wake up and be her usual self. Give or take the new tail that she now has."
I found myself smirking at Lukrut's little joke. "Y-Yeah. She'll probably love showing it off to us." I said back. At the same time, I kept my other thoughts hidden about another fear of mine.
What if becoming a full goddess somehow changed mom's personality? Made her a different person?
"Think things are going to change after all of this?" Lukrut asked while gazing at mom.
"By the gods, I hope not. Seems like things are already hectic enough as it is." I replied. Lukrut patted my head after I said this.
"Change isn't always a bad thing, Ninya. We've dealt with a lot of changes in over a month. And, based on my own personal opinion, those changes have been pretty good." Lukrut reasoned in an easygoing tone.
He wasn't wrong, and that response helped to push my doubts further to the back of my mind. "You're right. Mom will wake up better than ever soon enough." I said optimistically. I hope.
"That's the spirit!" The blond archer said positively before pulling out my spell tome and placing it in my lap. "Now, why not try taking your mind off of Kashia for a bit and try practicing spells. I know that doing target practice tends to take my mind off issues."
Looking at the spell tome in my lap, I smiled and nodded. "Maybe I can try mastering the first spell in this tome before mom wakes up. Try and surprise her."
"Then I wish you all the best. Magic is nowhere near my strong suit, weird root abilities aside. But I think that you could do it." He then pushed himself out of his chair before adding, "If you've got anything else you want to talk about, all of us are here to lend an ear whenever you want."
"I'll remember that. Thanks, Lukrut." I said appreciatively.
"You're welcome, Ninya, the Emerald Mage." Both of us laughed at the epitaph for a few moments before Lukrut gave me a final nod and left the room. He was probably off to follow his own advice and do some target practicing.
Flipping open the tome to the page I had last left off at, I conjured an orb of [Foxfire].
[Peter]
Behind the magically constructed temple that the foxes, technically kitsune, had created; I busied myself in practicing my swordsmanship. Ever since Kashia had started that training regimen for me, I've made certain to continue following it, even after we stopped diving in that dungeon.
Namely, I haven't taken any of the weights I'd been given off during that entire time. Even with the most recent battle included. Aside from strengthening my body, there was also a practical reason for it. The metal weights were surprisingly good as armor.
It helped that I was noticing dramatic improvements after each day. Almost supernaturally dramatic improvements.
Being an adventurer for a while, I've done my fair share of weight training, but any physical gains I earned took a lot more time than this. One part of me thought that this was due to the proximity I had with Kashia since, before then, such improvements took multiple weeks or months to see.
Yet, looking at the ignited blade in my hand, I wasn't entirely certain.
Beyond the magical sword just having an amazing cutting ability or the enchanted flame, there also seemed to be more. Whenever I picked it up, I just felt stronger. Perhaps there were further enchantments to this blade than was obvious at first glance?
And that didn't even speak of the strange dreams I've been having since acquiring this sword.
They weren't nightmares exactly. It was always me appearing before a giant figure, taller than mountains in a land of superheated rock, fire, and magma. His skin was soot-like, with cracks of magma that spread across his entire being. He had a massive beard of fire and lava that covered his face with a pair of eyes made of white flame while irises of blue flame were contained within.
Even without being able to fully feel the heat from those eyes, I somehow knew that they were hotter than any other flame I've ever seen. Even Kashia's seemed minor in comparison.
In this giant's hands was a massive blade of obsidian, wreathed in flames that started as red near the crossguard of the blade before lightening until they became pure white at the tip.
While the sword may have been different in shape and design from my own, it almost felt like my sword had been hewn from the same material of that mountainous blade, if not from the giant sword itself.
Yet, even with the colossal being's intimidating appearance, I didn't feel fear before him, nor did he seem hostile to me. The dreams would always start with the giant taking a stance with his blade at the ready, unmoving.
The moment my dream avatar's body copied said stance with my own dreamt blade of fire, the giant would perform a strike with his blade and wait for me. If I copied it correctly, the giant would move to another strike and wait. If not, then he would repeat the previous strike until I performed it correctly in his burning eyes.
He had never spoken in any of my dreams, yet it seemed like he was becoming used to my presence. Compared to the first dream, it had taken a few minutes of him studying me before entering that first stance.
Now, the moment I appeared in the dream before him, he'd immediately ready himself in preparation to teach me. It was the weirdest sword instruction I've ever received since it was all in a dream, yet the skills I learned from it translated to the waking world extremely easily.
At first, I believed it was just my subconscious, but thinking more on it, I was coming to the idea that this sword might be 'alive' in a sense. Or perhaps the enchantment of the sword might also include some sort or tutelage for the users.
All things said, I didn't have any wish to take this unorthodox training for granted. But when Kashia finally woke up, I'd probably ask her if she might have some knowledge about the sword or had a spell that could inspect it more than normal mages.
Until then, I'd take things as it were, and aside from a few stumbles, things were looking great for the Swords of Darkness. And beyond just the team, Helena and I have been getting close. We had a wonderful night prior before this job was taken. I'd like to have more of them, though compared to Kashia and Lukrut, we haven't received as many noise complaints.
With a steady breath, I entered the first stance of the fire giant's and began practicing the sharp slashing movements. Switching to the second stance, I practiced the multiple guarded blocks against an imagined opponent. Mid-block, I entered the third stance and parried away the strikes before following after with swift counterstrikes of my blade, my crossguard, and my pommel.
Changing to the fourth stance, I made heavy attacks that would batter an opponent's defenses. This left them open to the fifth stance, utilizing both blade and body, I kicked at the legs of my opponent as their guard broke. Off-balanced, I performed a quick jab with my elbow at their face and brought my sword down near the crook of my opponent's neck where their armor would be most vulnerable.
Taking another deep breath, I pulled myself back into my first stance. These stances, while fitting for my weapon, still felt incomplete. There was likely more that I hadn't been shown yet, but until the fire giant showed me further, I'd need to practice with what I have now.
In a way, I found it a little humorous that, with all this swordplay that I was being taught, I still had no idea what the fire giant was called. Unless he had no name and was only that, a fire giant.
…Surtur…
Looking around myself after hearing an ancient voice that sounded like the stone of a mountain scraping against itself, I called out, "Who's there?"
All I received in response was silence. Who said that? And what did the word Surtur mean?
[South of E-Libera]
The massive gathering of mana I sensed yesterday, in combination with the golden pillar that pierced the sky, both intrigued and upset me greatly. Miles away, within my hidden fortress, the power was still palpable from here.
Immediately after it had been felt and witnessed, I went to work trying to discover the origin to the mass of power. Annoyingly, some form of magic blocked my sight when I attempted to scry the exact location of the mana's source.
Concerning to see that something is able to elude my abilities like this. Yet, it was also intriguing. In that direction is E-Rantel, a city that my minions had marked for death. I know for a fact that this was not them, for they neither have the ability to perform something of that scale or the mana needed to be so detectable. Even with the Orb of Death in hand, they still didn't have enough power to accomplish this.
Yet, something near that city did. And with how close it was to my research base, it told me of two things. The first; that some magical item of great power was discovered by incompetent fools that lacked the ability to control it, leading to the announcement of their presence. The second; that a rival was near my territory and was trying to send out a challenge to those nearby.
If I still had flesh, I'd be glaring at the thought.
But the second option was the least likely in this situation. Beings of such extraordinary power like myself, the dragon lords, other night liches, the older vampires, or even the godkin wouldn't do such a thing since it would attract the attention of too many competitors. The only thing closest in consideration would be the Evil Deities. I firmly remember how bold they were, flaunting their might and power as they believed none could challenge them.
Arrogant fools.
Their wanton destruction was immensely vexing as I lost decades of work during one of their rampages that took them through the Eirthalia Kingdom. Though, the country was gone at this point as it had been absorbed by the Baharuth Empire centuries ago.
I couldn't care about the lives lost, besides the massive amount of research and spell materials that had been left behind for me to collect and experiment on. But when my base had been part of the collateral of one of the Evil Deities' spells, I found myself angered beyond measure, the first time in centuries.
But I was weaker then, so all I could do was bide my time and wait. Thankfully, my patience was rewarded as the Thirteen Heroes defeated each of the Evil Deities, and I made certain to scrounge the remains of those beings or acquire live samples before any others came along with the same idea or the Evil Deities were fully sealed away.
From my experimenting with the remains and samples, along with the incorporation of them unto myself, I could not and would not believe that any like the Evil Deities or those of my power were prowling the world.
Instead, this was obviously the discovery of another one of the God Items that had been utilized by the Evil Deities, the Eight Greed Kings, and the Six Great Gods. A God Item that was free for the taking, if these fools were so daft as to lose control of it like this.
While it had taken centuries of work, I've only ever acquired one God Item in my time. An ancient item with an unknown name uncovered during one of my expeditions at the northern seas. From the centuries of studying it, I have come to the understanding of its property to merge the features of one creature on another.
With it, I've spent all these centuries slowly enhancing myself, becoming greater than the pathetic human origin I started from, and enhancing the night lich form that I've transformed myself into.
Looking at the immensely strong and durable insectoid arm of the Demon God of Insects attached to my shoulder, or the tails of the God Dragon and the deceased Dragon Emperor that swayed behind me, only some of the multiple parts I've grafted to my form.
With how powerful the God Item I dubbed Chimeric Evolution had made me, acquiring another would give me strength to rule this world after killing all who could oppose me. I would turn cities into necropolises and raise my armies from them.
I'd swarm over the world with my forces, subjugating all those in my wake. I would ascend myself into an undead chimeric god, and then, never again would any dare to stop my studies of magic and reality.
But I would need to move fast, as I am not the only witness to this display of power. No doubt that other liches, normal or night, along with the multiple other beings that understood the emission of such power would be coming to claim it as well. Overwhelming force would be required to stop all challengers.
My forces can converge on this place within two days as they would never tire and had been marginally enhanced like myself. My undead horde, even at its size, can traverse relatively undetected by the inhabitants of this kingdom. Even if they are, such witnesses would be killed and added to my horde.
While nowhere close to the maximum number of combatants I could muster, I didn't have time to waste waiting for the nearby members of Zurrernorn to assemble. Instead, I'd acquire the God Item from whatever fool was holding it, fight off any would-be thieves that would try to claim my prize, and finally retreat to my hidden fortress and uncover whatever abilities this God Item holds.
From there, my cultists would be sent the orders to begin their grand necromantic works in any of the cities they currently hid in. It would split the focus of the various authorities from my actual assaults on the unprepared cities, starting with this kingdom.
As I know that Khajiit was working on E-Rantel, I'd take E-Pespel instead as my starting assault. The large group of cultists hidden in the nobility and governmental positions of E-Libera would handle that city before we would aim both of our forces at Re-Estize. After that, it would be easy work taking the rest of the cities for myself.
Humorously enough, I'd even welcome the Baharuth Empire into my newly-made undead kingdom. The dead of their armies would make fine troops. After all, the more soldiers they sent me, the greater my armies would swell from their dead.
And, once the pathetic empire was weak enough, I would go ahead and take them as well.
The only difficulty would come from the Slane Theocracy, but they could be handled easily enough. As a country, they are already on a war of three fronts between the demi-human armies of the south and northeast along with the Elvish Kingdom to the east. They'd be straining themselves beyond measure in trying to hold everyone at bay.
That's why I already had cultists hidden in their ranks near the front lines. A few lines crumbling because of a newly summoned undead horde in the middle of their armies would break them.
None would stop Alonne Vikus, leader and future god of Zorrernorn. I would ascend past that of the Slane Theocracy's God of Death into something even grander.
And then, when all was said and done, I would have beautiful silence to work in peace.
Letting my multiple sets of differing wings carry me from the ground, I flew down hallway of my hidden base towards the enormous room holding my years of work.
Within the long and arching room of stone and lead designed to block all attempts at scrying, was the army of the dead standing in formation as the minor vampires and liches under my command inspected each of the rows of undead chimeras that stood at the ready.
Each one of my hybrids had an overall base of human corpses, exposed ribcage or rotting flesh excluded. Yet, that was where the similarities stopped. While a human base was the easiest and most malleable to adjust, most parts of it were too weak.
As such, my chimeric undead utilized the arms of a troll, generously gifted from a captured troll in the dungeon whose parts we constantly harvested. Their regenerative properties were quite astounding.
Even though the arms went down to the shins of my undead's digitigrade legs, they had the use of acting as continually regenerating shields to take attacks for the main body. On note of the legs; I attained them from the corpses of the lizardman tribes at the Great Lake of Tob.
The war that they had years prior among one another gave me more material than I could ask for. Enough that I didn't even need to kill more or perform another breeding operation.
Speaking of the breeding operation, the tails and wings of my chimeric undead had been acquired from the young frost dragons that I had been breeding in captivity for years now.
I don't enjoy the process since it takes so much effort and resources to perform and maintain, but it's better than earning the ire of the entire clan of frost dragons on the Azerlisia Mountains. No, breeding them in captivity while harvesting their wings and tails at a young enough age was an easier process. Once at the correct age, most would breed once before being euthanized and harvested.
The ones kept alive would act as adult breeding pairs until no longer able, before they were put down as well and harvested. Was this process cruel? I'd believe so, but it was not a cruelty I took pleasure in. Just the most optimal method to acquire the necessary parts needed for my project.
This finally left the head, a combination of human, dragon, and orc. Elongated jaws of a dragon on a human skull base with the tusks of an orc added on while a crown of horns completed it.
Utilizing the dragon hide and bones, all of my horde were armored in a mixture of the two, giving them a stark white appearance.
Even if some would consider it to not be the most efficient design for my chimeric undead, I guess one might say that I have some nostalgia for my humble human origins to have made the main base of my masterpiece a simple human, even if it was upgraded.
"Lord Alonne, your horde has been readied and inspected. What is your command?" Levina, a vampire of less than a century, asked.
Levina had a young appearance, just at the beginnings of adulthood. As a habit from her prior experiences under her former master, Levina kept her black hair cut short, while her red eyes, contrasting greatly against her pale skin, looked at me eagerly. She wore dark robes, belted in the center with leather wrap that held a mixture of potions and arcane foci.
She had been turned at the age of 17 by her former master who had bought her as a slave. Her master had bought her when she was 12, but waited for her to age before turning her. For the next 20 years following this, he was quite cruel to her, using Levina for his 'needs' in any method he saw fit.
This continued until Levina managed to escape him, running through the Baharuth Empire until encountering me by chance at a village I had been forced to 'liquidate' due to hostilities. I'm not certain what it was that made me wish to take her in; scientific curiosity, boredom, a faint remnant of my former humanity?
I couldn't say. What I could say, however, was that she's been a remarkable student under my tutelage in necromancy.
"If all preparations are ready, we leave immediately for the arcane source. We shall fly high to avoid being picked out by any witnesses. Once close enough, we shall fly low to avoid being spotted by any mages that will also arrive and be keeping their eyes on the sky." I answered.
Upon concluding this, I reached into my purple robes and pulled out what one might assume to be a large knitting needle of golden metal. At the handle of this needle, it bulged out into an oval shape where numerous creatures, demi-humans, monsters, and more seemed to merge into one another.
This was my prized possession, Chimeric Evolution.
"I leave the God Item in your care until my return. Ensure that this base remains protected while I'm gone." I ordered, though Levina smiled at what most would consider to be a cold and emotionless tone.
"I will, Master Alonne. What do you believe this magic source is to send all of your chimeric undead to accompany you in its acquisition?" Levina asked.
"Potentially, another God Item. I will claim it for myself." I answered. Levina looked excited for me and gave a nod.
"Then, that'll mean that you'll have become even more powerful than you already are." The little vampire summarized, "Will it allow you to finally enact your plan sooner than predicted?"
"With good fortune; yes, it will." I said before patting Levina's shoulder with my multiple left hands. "But until then; keep the base, the God Item, and especially yourself safe."
"I will." I gave a nod at the answer before turning to my army.
"Come, we have my God Item to acquire!" I commanded to the army.
With synchronized movements, all of my army walked towards me, and I began leading them to the base's hidden entrance.
[Slane Theocracy]
Within the halls of the meeting room of the Theocracy's highest religious authority sat six cardinals. Each wore matching robes and ceremonial hats, yet the coloring of each of their robes differed from one another. The table they sat at was a perfect circle, made to symbolize how none at the table had more power than the other.
"This report is deeply concerning." A woman in red robes remarked with a face full of thought. She had chin-length brunette hair that lacked the signs of age her plump face did. She was Cardinal Bernice.
"Indeed, it is. That is why we need to act fast, least this falsehood continues to spread and that origin of mana be acquired before we can take it." Cardinal Zinedine, a shriveled and skeletal old man with cunning eyes and shoulder-length gray hair wearing blue robes spoke. "It is bad enough that this falsehood of a new goddess has started taking over E-Rantel, but we all witnessed the pillar of golden light from even here. I've no doubt that it's a power of the Six Great Gods that could possibly be stolen by the heretics in E-Rantel."
"We're all in agreement that it is an item of the Six Great Gods?" Yvon, a man in yellow robes with short blond hair wearing a monocle over his left eye asked.
A fist slammed the table as Dominic, an elderly man in green robes with gray hair, had an enraged look upon is face, "Of course it's an item of the Six! None of the Six would ever bother to appear near a city of heretics compared to a city of their most devout! The fact that such an item is close enough to a city where heretics can put snatch it with their unworthy hands is sacrilege!" He shouted before he seemed to rein in his anger.
"I understand your frustration, Dominic, but we must keep a level head in a situation like this." Raymond, a bearded man with short brown hair and a lighter-brown robe reasoned. Of the cardinals in the room, he was the youngest of them. "Zinedine, of your agents within or nearby E-Rantel, would any be able to investigate and possibly obtain this item or knowledge of it at a quick rate?"
"We have two methods to do so. The first one is that we can contact our agents through the [Message] spell and likely reach them within the day. The risk that comes from it is the potential failure or interception of the [Message]. The secondary option is to send a squad of infiltrators, possibly even a few members of Black Scripture in a joint operation, over the mountains with the [Fly] spell.
It does risk noticeability, but such an operation needs to be done at all haste." Zinedine answered, earning a nod from the cardinals as they considered the answer.
"If this is the case, then might I offer Quaiesse to aid in this mission?" Maximilian asked. He was an older man with straight black hair that went to his chin, matching mustache and goatee, and glasses. His robes were black, and he displayed a talent for magic due to the book next to him being levitated by it. "He has a good track record, can handle large groups on his own since this will be a small infiltration team, and is close enough to the border to be quickly picked up for transport."
"That would be acceptable." Zinedine replied. "We'll have just enough time to send our infiltration unit to the location within two days time, possibly less. Our trackers should also be able to locate the magic item if it were to have been taken and moved before they get there."
"Excellent." Raymond complimented with a smile, "Within short order, we'll soon have another one of the Six's godly items in our grasp. Perhaps it could even aid us in repelling the demi-humans."
"With faith in the Six, it will be." Dominic concluded.