Chapter 231: Buried Hatchet
Mercury slept deeply, and for a full eight hours, like most humans were recommended to. Not that he was human. Or got the recommended amount. After all, that was eight hours per day, and he had slept for eight hours after about a week of being awake.
Still, he felt rather good after he woke up. His mind was clearer. It had improved again, as was reasonable. Each of his zeyjn had grown more powerful, being able to handle more ystirs. It felt… freeing. His thoughts were so light.
[Good morning, dum-dum.]
Appy greeted him affectionately. Her somewhat robotic voice sounded a little more human again. He smiled at the message.
'Morning Appy. I sure took a while, didn't I?' he returned.
[Affirmative. The dum-dum was minutes away from fainting and having a world collapse onto him in several instances. The integrated assistant has contributed significantly to the success of this mission. Autonomy parameters at an all time high.]
He nodded. That made sense. Mercury had not yet opened his eyes, and the memories of the last little while felt hazy. He could focus on them, though, and suddenly they would become sharp again. None of that knowledge was lost. Just a little blurred at a glance.
Ah. That was why.
Diving into that experience made him relive the way his mind was frying all over again. He had no real interest in dissecting the whole thing - though he definitely could, now. His Skills were a lot higher level, after all. But there was no point. He remembered, mostly, after all. And he had already learned from it.
Opening his eyes faintly, Mercury let the dull buzz of notifications pour in.
[Your Skills have levelled up!
There, at the very end of the notification, it stood. Appy had gained another level. It'd been a while since the last time, and Mercury was happy. Seeing his friend gain more freedom was always nice. And she had more than earned it.
For the first time since getting the Skill, Mercury very heavily relied on the autonomous application of his Skills. Appy had done a lot of management for him, even partially controlling the amber of the Stifled Silence.
Actually, now that he thought of it…
With a brief flick of his tail, he dispelled the crown of silvery vines wrapped around is head. The metal seemed to dissipate almost with a sigh of relief, slowly dispersing into a shower of sparks.
It made him smirk with a bit of guilt. The item probably hadn't been meant to be used in that way. The amber was great for preserving, but constantly experiencing tiny shifts as Mercury repaired the world? And with him constantly whispering commands, too?
No, that was not what the crown was made for. The Stifled Silence was meant to exist almost autonomously, and sparse commands would have more power. But it was fine, Mercury thought. He had needed the help, and making the world try to come together on its own was helpful.
Of course, that was not all it had taken.
[Your understanding of
[Your understanding of
Two of his abilities had increased, too. It surprised him a little, but then again, it also made sense. After having remade Sibori,
Amusingly, the way he used
It still worked better the more grass-like something was. As for
Mercury quickly shook his head, banishing those thoughts. No. He was not worrying about that now.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, smelling the ground, the grass, the sky. It felt… alright. Healthy, frankly. None of it was in danger of entirely erasing itself from existence again anytime soon.
When he opened his eyes again, Alice hung upside down in his field of vision.
"Good morning," Mercury said calmly.
"Awwww," the heroine pouted. She was being held up by the wind, her dress whipping with it. "Not even a little yelp?"
The mopaaw smirked. "Afraid not, Alice. Were you and Orin bored while I was… busy?"
"Bored?" the fae asked, sitting on a log and whittling away at a piece of wood. "No. You gave us quite the show."
Mercury tilted his head. "A show?"
"Yeah. We could see you put Happiness back together, piece by piece," Orin confirmed, with Alice nodding along.
"Huh. That's surprising."
"Right?" Alice smiled, flipping around in midair now. "Usually we couldn't this time was different, somehow. Maybe because of the amber? Or because of how you physically took apart Joy?"
"Dunno," Mercury shrugged. "Well. Not that it matters that much. How is Tivo doing?"
Tivo of Happiness. That was what Mercury had named the reborn ruler. Right now, the construct of glass shards had taken on the appearance of a raven with six wings, each flapping in two dimensional outlines.
It was a little like looking at a piece of old animation inserted in the real world. Tivo seemed to move at a different frequency and dimension. Mercury's head struggled with that, since both of his eyes saw the exact same bird, making it impossible to create a three dimensional image.
He chuckled a little, then dismissed the bizarre phenomenon. He'd seen Tivo, and knew what the ruler was all about. The bird let out a happy chirp, one that came out mirrored and in reverse, strangely enough. It hopped off a tree branch, flapping its sets of wings to land on the floor in front of Mercury.
The raven tilted its head, and Mercury tilted his to match. Again, Tivo let out a happy chirp. The ruler did not yet speak, though the intent came across. It seemed pleased at its current existence.
A whole jungle just for itself… Well, Mercury smiled, he supposed that being happy wasn't that outlandish for this specific ruler. "Right, right. Sorry, buddy, but you can't ride on my shoulder."
Giving a slightly disappointed chirp, the bird hopped backwards a little bit. Tivo looked at Mercury with big eyes as it shifted again, mirror shards rearranging, sending prismatic dots of light dancing through the clearing.
By the end, instead of a bird, Tivo had become catlike. Similar to Mercury, but smaller, and a bit rounder. Like a kitten.
"Haha. Alright. You can mimic me if you like. No getting carried, though."
Mewing in acceptance, the ruler nodded. "Can you speak, actually?" Mercury asked.
Tivo nodded, again. "Yeah," they said. "I can. Don't wanna, tho."
"Right, fair enough," Mercury chuckled. "What do you plan on doing now?"
The ruler gave another meow.
"I see, I see," Mercury nodded along. "That makes sense. Alright, then. You get on that!"
Alice gave him a look. "You understand what they're saying?"
"Absolutely," Mercury said. "It's easy if you know them well enough."
The kitten of Happiness let out a pleased chirp at that. Then Tivo remembered they weren't a bird anymore, and corrected it to an embarrassed meow. Mercury giggled at the silly critter's antics.
He decided to finally get up and stretch his sore muscles. When he felt his body move, he blinked for a moment. "Oh," he said.
With another thought, he dispelled the Dream of Starvation, letting the liquid metal dissolve again. In the days he'd spent working on Joy,
It was there.
Mercury stretched it, too, feeling how the muscles were tight and a little atrophied. Some of the nerves hadn't grown back just right, so he felt a bit of a tingling numbness and some small flashes of pain. It was, overall, not perfect.
But he could recover. He just needed to move it, get the blood flowing, and give his nerves a chance to rebuild some more. Smiling, he put more weight on the leg, feeling the subtle ways in which he could balance. This was easier than with the prosthesis.
Making the liquid metal flex the same way skin did was hard. But now… he had become so used to the prosthesis that walking without it made him stumble for a moment, numbness stretching into his shoulder. He gave a little laugh.
It was alright. He'd heal. Actually…
With a conscious thought, he activated
A ripple went through his flesh as it rearranged itself to do his bidding. Stamina was consumed alongside mana, reshaping him a little. His muscles churned, growing thicker where they had atrophied. With his strength milestone he could even store mass in another dimension, so recalling it from there also helped with this.
The Spell also let him regrow his fur faster, and soon, his skin was covered in silvers fur with purple streaks again.
It wasn't perfect. Not yet. He was rather sure that he'd heal eventually, though.
Frankly, it was only a matter of time until he could use
He blinked, then chuckled to himself, and dispelled that thought. He was already grappling with being human already. No need to worry about how little of himself he needed to heal. But really… could he regrow his brain if he tried…?
"So," Alice said. She sat in her hammock now, kicking her legs in the air. "Where are we going next?"
Mercury looked at her, welcoming the distraction. "Nowhere, yet," he said. "We'll get another visit soon, I'm sure."
"Who?" Orin asked, slightly tense.
"Not Oberon," Mercury assured them. "Titania, I'd wager. Maybe Uldyrel. The queen always seemed rather interested in my antics. So, I can't imagine she'd pass up on an opportunity like this."
Orin nodded, running a hand through their fur. "Right, right. That's… fine, yeah."
"Don't fear Oberon," Alice said. "If he tries to take you, we'll kick his butt."
"Don't jinx me!" Mercury laughed.
"Right right." Alice ran a hand through her hair. "I'm sure nothing- Actually, I'll just stay quiet."
The three of them laughed and then settled into a comfortable silence. There was not much more to say. Wind rustled through the leaves, stirring the prismacolour grass. And then they waited.
Mercury spent his time practicing magic, because of course he did. Well, he tried to rest. He really gave it a shot! But after about thirty minutes of letting his mind drift, it drifted towards magic. He could hear the wind whisper to him. So, two of his zeyjn focussed on practicing
As his ability with it rose, he felt that he'd probably be able to figure out new spells more easily. Or, well, at least he'd be able to probably deduce and transfer them from other disciplines, like
It was kind of funny to think about, though. The way he was far more advanced in some Skills than others. The fact that he could reconstruct the fae realm with his mind alone but still struggled to form more than basic ice spells was kind of ironic.
But, well, he was more than set up for learning. His minds were fresh, and the simple exercises he put them through were easily supported by
His third mind focussed on stamina, actually. He felt the familiar energy pulse through his body. Was he reliant on it? No, absolutely not. But it was a rather useful resource he had neglected a little bit.
Especially since
But Mercury didn't get to dig too deep into it. After a few hours of practice, the air rippled already.
It didn't tear or break like it so often did when the fae rulers arrived. Happiness was too stable for that. The world just shook, like the surface of a lake when struck by a rock. Then it stretched, and Titania appeared. Still, not once did it break or rip.
The faerie queen didn't even look at Mercury. Instead, she reached out, tracing her fingers along the air, causing those same ripples. "Remarkable," she said. "How did you…" She paused, then shook her head with a faint smile. "There's no point asking, is there?"
Mercury shrugged. "Same as before. You've seen it. You could have watched again, but you were-"
"Busy, yes," she nodded. "You have been creating enemies and uproar, Mercury. Also many allies, but many, many enemies. So, I've been having to…" she laughed for a moment, shaking her head some more. "Gosh this sounds silly. I've been passing out information pamphlets."
Alice burst out laughing before Mercury could. "Hahahahaha! Pamphlets?!"
Titania nodded gravely. "Pamphlets."
"How?" Orin asked. "Why? Really?"
"It's a… public service information campaign," Titania said. "I wanted the regular members of the courts to know that the things that are happening were overall positive for them. That things might be changing, but it was not for the worse. And doing big announcements and calling all rulers and their entourages in… well, it usually causes panic. So, yes. We have been passing out pamphlets."
"That's hilarious," Mercury said.
The faerie queen blushed a little. "Well, pardon me for trying."
"No, no!" he laughed. "It's reasonable. It makes sense, really. It's just so… human."
Titania nodded. "Yes. It is. Our human servants have been rather vocal about participating. And since they are, by the ancient ones' decree, untouchable, they have been able to largely spread information around. This… has the added effect of making you rather famous, Mercury."
"... What."
Alice smirked. "Oh yeah, haven't you checked the leaderboard? You've overtaken some of the rulers."
Mercury blinked. "No. No way." He called up the leaderboard. And his name sat at the eight spot. Right underneath Heath.
"Yes way," Alice teased. "Wow Mercury… you're basically an honorary fae ruler already."
At that, Titania tilted her head. "A fae ruler? I suppose… It might not be entirely impossible-"
"No," Mercury said. "I'd really… rather not. It's just-"
"You're scared," Orin said. The fae looked at him, eyes glinting with amber. Then, they tilted their head. "Of what?"
Mercury grit his teeth. "I am not." But as he said the words, he knew that they were a lie. There was that twinge in his chest as
Orin must've felt it, too. They didn't believe him, not for a second. "What are you scared of?" they asked. "You've dreamt before. What happened?"
He'd thought those wounds were healed, but a few words dug back into them. Into the first time this world had beaten him down. The way his friends died. How a red sun had swallowed what he cared about.
Biting his lips, Mercury drew a grimace. He didn't want to have that dream again. Didn't want to-
"Hey, uh, it feels like I've asked a kind of loaded question. You okay?" Orin asked, leaning in a little. They didn't touch Mercury, and he hoped they wouldn't try.
He shook himself for a moment, then took a shaky breath. "Yeah, uh. I spiralled a little. I'll be alright, just. No dreams of grandeur for now."
Orin nodded. "Alright. It's fine. Won't push the court stuff anymore."
"I really think you should consider it-" Titania started, before Orin shot her a glare.
"Excuse my impudence, faerie queen, but I really think you should shut the fuck up for a sec right there," they said.
Titania flinched for a second at the hostility, then blinked. Then, Orin themself startled. "Where did that come from…?" they muttered.
"I could kill you for this," Titania said, calmly.
"To be fair, I asked you to excuse me."
"And you are forgiven," the faerie queen replied, waving her hand in the air. "I did not expect you to have such spine. Surprising. When did you acquire this?"
Orin thought for a moment, then smiled. "I think that standing up for your friends is only natural."
At that word, the world again rippled, ever so faintly. Mercury smiled. Right, that was true. He had rather reliable friends. After taking another deep breath, he focussed on Titania again. "Okay. Let's put that aside, for now. You came here to be introduced, yes? Tivo, come say hello."
The kitten of glass poked their head out from behind a tree, having snuck behind it when Titania appeared. For some reason, they seemed rather apprehensive to interact with the queen. Mercury could guess at why, but he refrained for now.
"Tivo," Titania said, letting the sound ring out in the quiet jungle. "Is that what you named them?"
"It's their name," Mercury nodded. He didn't feel the need to go into whether he picked it or simply found it. "Tivo of Happiness."
"Hmm," Titania hummed. "You've taken out the addictive parts. How strange. I would have believed those to be rather integral to us fae."
Mercury smiled. "And you'd be wrong. They're ephemeral and cruel. A joy that is used to trick people is hardly one at all. You used addiction to gain permanence, and that is a false eternity. One that binds. What I've really done isn't take away anything - I've added freedom to what was once Joy."
Again, the faerie queen hummed. Then she shrugged. "Well. I suppose, if it works. And it seems to have worked… rather remarkably." And again, she got distracted by the world, poking at its fabric. "It surprises me that with each attempt you create a more stable lattice."
"Lattice?" Mercury asked.
"Ah, well, yes. You take strips of the world and make a lattice, no?" she asked.
"Not quite- actually," Mercury paused. "Yeah, that's a decent way of seeing it." He thought about it some more. Lattices were, fundamentally, kind of the same as weaving, except done with less flexible and often thicker strips of objects. Like metal or wood.
But it was still a rather adequate image of what he was doing. Especially if he… Could he do that? Could he grab "broader" bits of weave and entangle those, too? It was a strange thought, but it did make sense, even combined with the weaving motif he had been following until now.
Mercury took a deep breath. "Yeah, a lattice. Interesting."
Titania smiled. "Well, I am glad you find some curiosity for my mental image. I do hope you mean to repay me." Her tone was deadpan. "I'm joking."
"... Right," Mercury said. "Well. You have seen Tivo. Why are they so scared of you?"
At that, Titania finally properly focussed on the new ruler. Tivo flinched from her gaze. The kitten shifted back to be more covered by the tree, but now that Titania was paying attention, there was no way to hide behind a piece of wood.
"Yes," she said. "That is why I am here. Hello, Tivo."
No reply came. Instead, the reborn ruler simply stared at her.
"I see that you're scared of me," Titania said sadly. "Not surprising, I suppose. You were exiled by me before, yes?"
At that, Tivo nodded, giving a little hiss.
"Joy fractured, and then I banished you. Because your insidious influence was like poison to this realm," she said coldly, simply rattling off facts. "Because the belief in you caused this realm to decay."
Titania smiled. "Well, it doesn't anymore. I happily welcome you back into the circle of the courts. I don't regret my past actions. They were necessary. Had you remained with the rest of the courts, the decay may have spread, and perhaps, your little realm would have fully crumbled before Mercury could save it."
Then, she shook her head. "But hypotheticals hardly matter here. I have harmed you. I would make the same choice again. Still, I hope you will forgive me, eventually."
Her words didn't seem to particularly impress Tivo. The new ruler hissed a little. But at the same time, they were already part of the courts again, so, Titania was technically their queen.
Mercury smiled. "It's alright, Tivo. You don't needa love her. Actually, I think most of the courts are on kinda iffy terms. But you get to be part of decisions again properly, now, so you will have to talk, sometimes."
At that, Tivo nodded at least.
"Do they not speak?" Titania asked.
"They'll speak if and when they want to," Mercury shrugged. "Just as Uldyrel will. Though the situations are a little different, I suppose."
"Right," the queen nodded. "Well then, Tivo of Happiness. I hope we can work reasonably well together, and that we may bury any hatred for one another soon."
At that, the little glass-creature simply nodded, then turned around and walked away, head held high. A few more moments passed. Titania was the first to speak again.
She let out a long sigh. "So, Mercury. Where do you intend to go next?" she asked, placing the matter of Tivo's hate aside for now.
"Truth," Mercury said. "In fact, I'll be off… just about now."
And then, the sky tore open with purple light and eldritch, eye-bleeding shapes.