"You… a fragment, a flicker, dare to let such words spill from your mouth? The Lake of Harbingers is not some pool of water to be spoken of in passing. It is the marrow of our eternity, the blood-price of forebears who were torn apart so that we might endure.
For eons unmeasured, it has borne our weight, carried our torment, and kept the flame of our kind from collapsing under its own burden. You dare diminish what was wrought from suffering so vast it bled into the marrow of creation itself."
A voice tore into reality, though it did not echo from the spiraling towers above, but the writhed mass which lay on the ground.
The figures above did not speak at all, letting the churning masses speak for them.
The woman, now in her grotesque form, flickered violently, her mass shifting and changing states spontaneously as she struggled to speak.
From her trembling form came a voice, which was eerily thin and desperate.
"I-I beg forgiveness… for my heinous act, for my blindness, for my unknowingness. Yet I swear I have never once doubted the Sacred Lake, not even for the briefest breath. Not for a moment.
I just sought to report that the human which we had invited to our realm, when we realized the mass abduction had to be fortified, did not appear to be drowning or floating in the endlessness of the Lake of Harbinger, and we jest that it alone would have held the ability to swim through the vastness."
"What about you? Did you attempt to skirmish through the lake to locate it, to find it? You must have known that those with the 'forbidden soul' sink deeper into the Lake.
Not encountering any human with a forbidden soul for a century does not excuse failing to go through all the necessary measures to fortify."
The words came from the writhed mass, now calm.
The woman had regained her original form and sat back in the wheelchair, her hands gripping the sides as if bracing herself for judgment.
"I affirm that we had searched through the 'Critical Area' of the Lake.
From the surface down to the deepest reaches, everything was scoured.
Yet, unfortunately, no one—no trace, no sign—was found. That was also one of the reasons I came: to seek your permission to extend the search beyond the 'Critical Area.'"
For a moment, silence withered as those above pondered. Then, the same voice broke it.
"No. There is no need for you to venture beyond the Critical Area. No one has ever been summoned outside of it. That is how the lake was created, and that is why the Critical Area was even identified."
The woman nodded in acknowledgment, then spoke, her tone uncertain.
"What… could be the odds? I wonder, is there any chance that the human did not teleport to our realm at all? At least, that is what I could piece together after the words of wisdom shared with me today."
For a long while, no one spoke, not because they had run out of words, but because they pondered the nature of that being.
One who had seemingly defied their fate.
"What do you plan to do now, about that human?"
The voice pulled the old lady out of her thoughts.
"Farlands…" she replied.
"In the Farlands, it has been detected that an 'Autophage Dissipation has occured "
"It is indeed correct that we have sensed a sudden power surge in the Farlands," the voice intoned, reverberating through the cavernous hall.
"But that does not mean you may claim that a mere human—no less, in our realm—has managed 'Autophage Dissipation' for not only one, but two of our kind. Throughout history, countless events have been recorded to explain the strange behavior of the Farlands."
The woman's form shuddered faintly in the wheelchair, but she steadied herself, speaking with restraint.
"It seems my thoughts have once again failed to be conveyed to you.
I could never believe a human could be that strong… unless it was by the Order's will. However, for further investigation, and for the sake of knowledge, we would request permission to step into the Farlands to record the aftereffects of an autophage dissipation.
It has not occurred for centuries, and such records could serve to educate the newer generation."
A heavy pause followed.
The silence was oppressive, as though the very walls of the hall weighed down upon her fragile frame.
Then the voice returned, cutting through the stillness.
"Very well. However, keep in mind—these humans are vile by nature. They do not always use strength, but their minds, their cunning, to bring down foes stronger than themselves."
The old woman lowered her head, eyes glinting with a trace of unease.
She nodded, conveying that beyond the facade, the truth that had been spoken was understood by her.
Then the woman lowered herself back into the wheelchair.
Her escorts moved to her side and took her out through the entrance, and the gate closed behind them without a resounding thud.
"We are to arrive in the Farlands within a day, at worst. Alert the scouts and navigation teams. Crossing the Sea of Viscosity will slow us if we travel alone."
She gave the order to the escort beside her.
He simply nodded, then twisted into the same grotesque form she had taken before, and they shot off into the air.
Vanishing from sight.
"Vile by nature..."
•••
[DING!]
[QUEST ACCOMPLISHED]
L Rewards given ☆¤¤☆
[] LVL 2 "" LVL 3 []
• +1 Skill slot unlocked
---
L Enter skill name and description
---
The blue holographic screen flickered before Aziel, hovering over the wake of the defeated plasma being.
Enter skill description... hmmm.
He hovered his finger closer to enter a skill, but paused.
Weighing the consequences he had possibly suffered exactly because of that.
Even though Oliver had been the one to originally accept the invitation card from the lady, he was unaffected, fine—unlike Aziel.
The system, in its own twisted logic, had sacrificed one of his skills to reduce the chance of transfer, and not just any skill, but the superior one.
Intellectual Intellect.
In a desperate attempt to free up something called 'Probability space.'
The sacrifice, rather than Champion's Arena, also made sense.
Since it felt more out of logic instead of the other one.
The system was trying to deny any possibility of teleportation, even though the teleportation had already commenced.
That could only mean that his skill creation was affecting the 'Probability space' the system was insisting on.
He figured the more skills he created, the higher the chance of him getting dragged into random bullshits.
"Still… it couldn't do shit if I'm being honest."
Aziel exhaled sharply, poking at the screen with a finger.
"The sacrifice of my skill to deny doesn't make sense. Unless… they're both connected at some root level."
"Can the skill slots be stacked? I don't need to create a skill anyway. Don't want to get summoned somewhere else out of the blue just because my damn skill left me no choice."
[Alert!]
[Violent energy surge in the body!]
[Failed to take proactive precautions!]
[Body is at the risk of explosion!]
Aziel froze, then slowly lowered his hand as the notification popped over the previous one.
"Or, I guess... I do."