Chapter 239: Direction
Zyl didn't like being alone at home.
The house wasn't big. Not at all like his mansion, or the place he'd shared with his parents back when he still lived in the draconic mountains, but it still had the potential to feel just as supremely empty as any other place.
All his life, there'd been people around Zyl. Servants, guards, spies, friends, sometimes multiple or even all of those things at once. So, suffice to say, the loneliness was strange.
He didn't know many people in Stormbraver, though he'd begun making friends. Few of the locals were truly unafraid of him - but few did not mean none. And his disguise as a human was quite good. So, he went out, and pursued some interests.
It felt strange, really, to not be particularly responsible for anything. No country, no pending invasion, no pressing deals from his brother. All he had to do was… wait. Be patient.
Was he… bored?
Of course, he worried about Mercury. About whether that tether they had would start to flicker and smoulder, or begin to burn, but it never happened. His boyfriend didn't call on him to solve any big problems. Didn't ask him to intervene in fights between the fae rulers. So what was Zyl to do?
Hobbies. Right, he needed some hobbies. Mercury liked blacksmithing, right? Runecraft, too. Zyl didn't think either of them suited him. He enjoyed practicing using make-up, for one. It was something he'd discovered for himself - that despite being able to shapeshift, he found the act of dressing up like that enjoyable.
What else was there, really? Working out, definitely. He liked physical exertion. Running, lifting, anything in between. A good bit of training always made him feel better. But there was only so much time he could spend on that without it getting tiresome, even when he had Yasashiku to make him impossibly heavy specialty weights.
Zyl sighed, a little. What else could he do? A few ideas did come to mind, really. Different sports, maybe, but they sounded boring. There was no appeal to him in cooking or baking, really. He enjoyed them just fine, but to spend his free time on it? That seemed strange.
So, the question remained, what did Zyl wanna do? He thought about it for a long while, talking it over with Lucia and Iris, with Avery and Marcel, with Yasashiku and Esmeya. But in the end, none of them really had an answer for him. Eventually, he had lots of options and none appealed.
The answer revealed itself when he was taking a morning run through the forest. He found that he liked the feeling of grass underneath his soles, actually.
Which then sprouted another idea. Gardening!
Granted, Mercury and Zyl had a small plot of land that their house was build on, and it was not really enough to have a garden at all, but, despite that, Zyl liked the idea. He went to the city administration building, asking about plots of land to buy.
As many bureaucratic things are, it didn't go fast. Zyl needed to wait two pages before being provided a list of prices and places, and he bought a few that were close together, and rather near to where he and Mercury lived.
There were a few buildings there, halfway destroyed and rebuilt, with no one really wanting to live in them since the city had recovered some more. Zyl tore them down.
He didn't need any help for that, at least. A bit of brute force and using his Skills was plenty to turn the buildings and their foundations to rubble. He burned the resulting dust to less than ash, annihilating it entirely in a torrent of scathing heat, and what he was left with was… a flat almost-crater next to a few sidewalks.
After that was done, he flew out of the city to grab some soil himself. He had some storage artefacts, so it wasn't much trouble, and the trips didn't take very long. Soon, Zyl had made himself a nice little plot of dark soil.
Then, he tried growing plants.
It was a fun experience, because he found that he was really, really bad at it.
Zyl, as a fire dragon, was a being of heat and destruction. His flames could be warm and gentle like the sun, but by default? They sure weren't. He'd learnt to be gentle with Mercury, but the flowers took a whole new level of care. Understanding how to hold them, how much water they needed, what kind of shade…
Figuring even parts of it out took pages. His first crop was just covering the entire field with clover to then pulp and till back into the soil. Even then, only half of it grew properly. So, he tried again. And again, and again.
Bit by bit, over the pages Mercury was gone, his garden developed. He created higher beds to separate out different plants. Grew a few vegetables to practice. A few grasses which he then cut, burnt, and spread the ash back over the soil. He learnt, bit by bit, how to control acidity, how to use charcoal, what green fertilizer meant…
As time went on, he began making bouquets from the flowers. They had meanings, he learnt, from some books in the local library. He read through many books on flowers and gardening and farming as the time went on. For a bit, he even tried to paint some of his plants, finding the practice rather relaxing, really.
It was nice. He had found more things to do. Some of his vegetables, he ate himself, others he gave away. Zyl found that he rather liked eating moonflower seeds as snacks, too, especially when dried and roasted.
Most gardens were meant to either look pretty or make as much food as possible, but Zyl did just a little bit of both. A few flowers in orderly rows, a couple tree saplings that were still sprouting, and a few plots of vegetables growing a bit more wildly.
He liked it, really.
Painting became a bit of an interest to him, too, and he made some paint from the flowers, sometimes. He wasn't great at it, not yet, but he was practicing. And often, practicing something despite being bad was the hardest part of getting good. So, Zyl tried to find joy in that, too.
And, when the time allowed it, he made a few more bouquets, trying to communicate meaning with them, arranging them into shapes and presents.
Then, the door opened.
- - - - - -
Mercury left the fae realm. It was always only a matter of time, and that time had finally come. There was a spot of it, now, that belonged to him. Where the caretaker chronicled his story. There was an acorn he planted. One there, one in his dream, and one still with him.
Orin had an avatar in his dream realm, too. Asher, his friend, was busy managing the court of scorch, and Odvye, the scion of Blossom wished him goodbye, too. She was busy in her own right, though her drive for adventure was strong. Maybe someday she would visit him in the mortal realm, but not yet.
Instead, there was one person he missed particularly. Well, many people he missed, but one that he felt he owed the visit more than anyone else.
Mercury breathed, stepping abc into the mortal realm. The oppressive severity of the fae realm washed off him like a bad memory. On this side of the world, things were simply more… solid. The void felt more distant. There was no permanent hunger, no decay eating at him, and the holes in reality weren't quite as glaring.
He took a second deep breath. For the first time in what felt like forever, he let
No rot, no decay, no constant stench. It didn't smell of blood, the surrounding air wasn't freezing, or scalding his skin. There weren't tiny rust creatures trying to eat him up.
Was he in great shape? Oh absolutely not. Tor-Tern had done a number on him. Mercury's back legs had been mangled and torn to bits. He was thus currently walking on two prostheses made from stygian metal.
Bits of flesh had been taken from his sides and face, but most of it had knit back closed due to
But that was just pain. It fell into the
"Hey Alice?" he asked the fae that descended out of the portal next to him.
"Hmmm?" she hummed.
Mercury smiled at the wooden cottage he and Zyl lived in. "Could I ask you to give me some time?"
She nodded. "Of course, Mercury. We've been travelling together for quite a bit, but I'm still very capable of letting you have some privacy, yeah?" She snickered, then walked off with a wave.
Then, it was just him. Mercury walked to the door, limping just a little. Then, he brought a ghost hand up to the wood and knocked a few times.
Noise came from inside the house. A little rummaging, then footsteps, then the door opened. For just a second, Zyl looked confused, before he looked down. Then he smiled. "You're back," he said. "Give me a second."
He closed the door in Mercury's face.
For just a brief moment, Mercury was worried he'd done something wrong. But then, Zyl already opened it again, a hand behind his back. "Guess what I have for you."
Not wanting to cheat, Mercury took a moment to tune out all his perception-based skills. "Uhm, cake?"
"Nope," Zyl smiled. "Try again."
"A funny hat?"
"Sasasa," Zyl laughed. "Good guess, but nope. One more try?"
Mercury smiled, too. "Is this a trick question? Is your gift a riddle or something?"
Zyl laughed again. "It's flowers, dummy!" he said, giving Mercury a bouquet from behind his back. There were yellow roses, as well as white and lavender blooms, almost mimicking Mercury's own colour palette. The flowers smelled lovely.
Not overwhelming or sickeningly sweet, but just sweet. The regular, nice kind. He took them with one of his ghost hands. "Thank you, Zyl," he said. "I'm back."
"Come on in, then," the dragon said, opening the door wider and waving Mercury inside. "Don't mind the mess."
And the house was, indeed, messy. There were quite a few vases with bouquets in them, sitting in water. A few books laid open on the dining table, and there was an easel and a stool to paint set up by the window.
"Have you been redecorating?" Mercury asked.
Zyl snickered a little. "Well, I was a bit bored. So I saw about picking up a new hobby or two."
"Painting and… flowers?" Mercury asked.
"Gardening in general," Zyl confirmed.
"That's awesome, love," Mercury said with a smile. "You've gotta show me."
"Awww. Gladly," Zyl said. "Do you want to go right now, or would you rather rest for a little while, first?"
Mercury paused and thought. Then, he laughed a little. "Haha. You make a strong case. For resting, I mean. I've not taken a break in quite a while."
"About time, then," Zyl said. "Don't worry. I don't think anyone in this city could cause you trouble with me around."
Again, a smile found its way to Mercury's face. He had come home as much to the house as he had come home to Zyl. He could rest easy, knowing that the dragon was watching over him. "Let's hope you won't need to protect me."
"I probably won't," Zyl said with a smile. "Unless you brought trouble home along with you." He raised an eyebrow.
"Uh, not that I know of?" Mercury said.
Zyl stretched out a hand. "Can I?"
"Go ahead," Mercury said.
With his permission, Zyl ruffled the fur on Mercury's head, smirking. "Well, I never know with you! You're a bit of a magnet for trouble, y'know?"
"I would love to refuse, but… well, data's not exactly on my side," Mercury said. They laughed, and the day passed slowly.
- - -
It turned out, then, that Mercury was both great and terrible at resting. With
A lot of which ended up involving magic and practicing.
That being said, he did spend a lot of time lounging. There was a great deal of pleasure to be taken in simply laying in the sun.
Mercury also took some time to sleep, entirely. No spats in his dream realm, no shift-sleeping of his different zeyjn, just… sleep. Going to bed and waking up eight hours later. He didn't dream, not really, but there were flashes of memories that he was processing.
Bits of his adventures in the fae realm, bits of his time on earth. He also made sure to eat and drink well.
Food in the fae realm had been weird, to say the least, and he often didn't eat for a while, simply relying on
It just wasn't quite the same, after all. Drinking water was important, and Mercury tried his best to do that small due diligence to his body.
And, of course, lounging and napping. Plenty of lounging and napping.
A day passed, then another, and a third, before Mercury finally felt ready to go out into the world once more. There were people for him to say hello to, after all. And notifications to check.
-
[Main Quest: "Restore the Fae Realm." (Chain <3>) completed!
Reward: 5 levels,
-
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[
=
Status:
Mercury Rainfall Starlight
Level: 33 -> 38
Species: Srytfyel
Titles:
Alias: Beast, Mittens, dum-dum, Yr'enzel, Biso
===
Hp: 900/1070
Mp: 1657/1657
Sp: 717/717
===
Strength: 126 -> 128(+5)
Vitality: 216 -> 224
Dexterity: 154 (+30)
Agility: 167 -> 170(+30)
Intelligence: 190 -> 192 (+40)
Wisdom: 160 -> 172 (+2)
Willpower: 390 -> 405
Luck: 166 -> 174
===
Ability points: 91
World points: 4745
Skill points: 2000
===
Gold: 29 265
Beast familiars: 1/2
=
Mercury smiled. The numbers didn't change that much, but they did change. His will grew firmer. He felt the way his muscles grew, how his heart beat a little more easily, how he felt lighter on his feet, and his mind felt more flexible. It was nice.
He had a lot of points saved up, too, which was nice. In case of an emergency. He considered spending them all on a single stat to see about crossing a threshold, but decided against it. There would be a time when he might need the points, and he would use them then.
Was it the most efficient way to go about things? Probably not, but that was fine.
Then, there was his new title.
[
That was nice. The change wouldn't make a huge difference, but it did seem good to have. Maybe it would synergize with
Now, though, he was without a main quest. He had two slots for them, so the point came where he had to ask himself: what did he want to do?
All he needed for his next evolution was two levels, probably. His first evolution happened after ten levels, his second after twenty, his third after thirty, so… well. He could guess.
It would also mark the point where his total level crossed 100. Would that mean anything special? He considered asking Zyl… but where was the fun in that. No, if level one-hundred was unique in some way, Mercury wanted to find out himself.
But hitting a level just wasn't a quest. There was also the option of just waiting until trouble came to find him, but that seemed… boring. He wanted to go out with his friends, to talk with Avery and Lucia, Marcel and Iris, Ruvah and Yasashiku and everyone else from Stormbraver. That was fun, but it didn't feel like his purpose.
No, what he really wanted to do was see more of the world. Learn more about magic. Lern more crafts.
Forging was fun. What about woodworking, though? Or gardening, or alchemy, and more runecraft, too… those were things he wanted to pursue.
There were so many places for him to still see. He'd barely seen a glimpse of Damoy, and then there were more continents beyond that, still. And then, there was the temptation that
It was really written right there, into who he was. His
But he didn't need to, not right away, not yet.
There was that insidious pulling from the realm of wrath, too. The same kind that might have caused a blood eclipse when it was still gluttony. What would this one be called? Starry night? That just wasn't violent enough.
Mercury shook his head at the thought. How silly. He didn't need to give it a name. Really, he was already prepared to stride up into the realm of wrath - but it seemed like a poor idea, still.
Gluttony, the court of the crimson sun, had been dying for forever. Finva of Dust, the fae ruler, had destroyed that realm before Mercury ever visited and he'd still almost died multiple times. Was he stronger by now? Yes. Was he ready to face all of wrath?
The thought made him smirk. No, he wasn't.
His trip to the fae realm had been enlightening. He was very good at dismantling things that depended on collective consciousness to exist. In fact, he doubted there was anyone more suited to taking apart fae and putting them back together than him, now. Not to mention that he had the most experience out of anyone in the world.
But that did not mean he was all powerful.
In fact, Mercury was rather vulnerable physically. He'd lost three out of four legs total during his outing in the fae realm. He was great at regrowing them, of course, a little bit like an axolotl, but it was far from an exciting arrangement.
His physical strength was difficult to think of, too. By Earth-standards, he was easily superhuman. Mercury's strength was enough to pull a tree out by its roots, or crash his body through a brick wall without breaking a sweat. He could probably do some things that were a whole lot more outrageous than even that.
But that did not make him strong by this world's standard. Avery and Zyl, for example, had monstrous strength scores. Way, way higher than his, with more practice in manipulating stamina and more Skills to enhance that physical power.
That was the nature of specialization, he supposed. If they simply used their strength more as they levelled, it would grow more, too. He could not have the highest possible stats in all categories.
Unless, of course, he was simply of a vastly higher level.
Still, Mercury was more than happy with his current stats. He felt fitter than ever before in his life. His heart beat easily, he could eat whatever he wanted, he never got random headaches or muscle pain… it was nice.
But he'd gone off on a tangent. What did he want to do? Where did his future lead?
…
He let out a sigh. Maybe that decision could wait a little.
Maybe, for a few pages, it was okay to just live. Just learn. Do more smithing, more magic, more weaving, and all that. Consolidate his gains for a little while before setting out on another adventure.
He smiled. Yeah. That would do for now.
For a little while, he didn't need any grand goals. It was just fine for him to live in Stormbraver. To help Zyl in the garden, to meet and talk with his friends, and spend time with them. For just a little while, it was okay to not go and face some world-ending crisis like the neverending incursion of the Void eating away at the fae realm.
All he needed was to spend some time with his friends, after all. Eventually, he'd travel again, but not quite yet. Not quite yet.
And so, the pages passed.