Chapter 60 - Notions
[Soul Withering: 46.13%
Estimated Time Remaining: 11 Hours]
The Withering had grown about six percent in the last how many hours she had been trapped inside the Primordial Core, possibly more than a day at this point. It should've skewed and inflated the estimates if the System had used the previous prediction method, but it was now factoring in the growth of the Withering as well. This was possibly the closest estimate to the reality she had seen so far.
Was it also factoring in the Rune Cage's role once her Soul Form's boundary touched it?
Liesel found that a bit troubling. Of course, the System observed everything, and the Grander Archive was a borderline omniscient entity. Yet, there was always a symbiotic veil where it only accounted for the things linked to it. So far, the Rune Cage had not been part of the equation, but the current estimation couldn't make sense unless the cut-off point was the contact with the sealed Ashdust.
[Skill Assimilation in process
Estimated Time Remaining: 1 Hour 56 Minutes]
Liesel sighed as she regarded it. She focused on weaving another Rune. Slowly, she was learning to manifest the Materiality faster, but it was still the awkward method where she was pulling it out from the tip of her finger.
She had spent an hour earlier trying to learn the mage's method, but that was basically impossible for her.
If Liesel was diagnosing her problem correctly, the issue was her own mind's image of Materiality. She had always worked it like a thread, weaving it into her flesh, weaving it to create layer for Layering. Its image enhanced her ability to employ Materiality inside her body. But it was hindering her Materializing ability.
I am working on a juvenile method to begin with. I should've learned the formations and structures of all possible Materiality forms and internalized them. I'd not have to be in this situation if I had a little foresight.
It wasn't like she had ever seen herself reaching this far. That foresight would have to be from a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old girl with a lot of trouble in her life. She had reached her peak, and now this was the world beyond.
It's just miserable.
Something inside her said, and Liesel couldn't help but chuckle.
The pain is fleeting. What lies beyond, I have to focus on it.
She was having a conversation with herself. She didn't think she was developing a mental condition, at least yet. But three weeks of isolation may just push her over the red line.
What lies beyond... probably more pain, don't you think? Just look back at my, our past.
Liesel cut off her train of thought, focusing on maintaining a perfect form while she quickly wove the rune. She was far faster than she had been when Arval woke her up. In the last ten hours, this is all she had done, except for walking up to the river once with Arval.
Was she supposed to pay more attention to the child? It seemed unnecessary. Arval had more experience of living here, in isolation, than Liesel. And the Rakamel child may want space from the stranger who killed her father.
Liesel was nowhere near ten runes per minute, but four or five? Possibly. Her runes were not consistent, so she had to divert a portion of her attention to that, rather than merely rushing for imperfect quickness.
"What's that rune?" Arval asked. She was practicing her own thing by the riverside.
Liesel destroyed the rune and shifted her focus to the Rakamel Child. She was carrying a handful of thorny fruit that grew in the riverbed.
Liesel had never seen those before.
Arval had created a fabric to carry them with her. All the Rakamel used weaving techniques for their magic. Liesel considered that learning about it might benefit her.
"What do you think I am doing?" Liesel asked.
Arval dropped the fruits on the soft grass. "Trying to fix your Soul-Form, I would like to think, but you are just weaving and destroying the runes without pause. How does it work?"
"No. There's nothing I can do that might fix it yet." Liesel paused, regarding the Rakamel Child. If Liesel were not going to kill her, then Arval would most likely see her meddle with her soul. Hiding was not a possibility.
I can worry about it tomorrow. Hopefully, she gives me a reason.
"I can only refine my abilities that don't require much mental effort, so that's what I am doing."
"Right." Arval peered at her. "But you are a warrior. Why would you need to practice runes?"
"Distractions are the most important tools in a fight," Liesel said. "Naturally, you can never be fast enough. Practice is a necessity for someone like me to survive."
"Distractions are dishonorable." Arval's voice held an edge. A bit faster. "You fight with your life and respect the ones whose lives you cut short."
Liesel stared. That was Garhalik's idea too, and was the reason why she lived. Liesel considered for a moment if she should retreat. What argument achieves but the ire of the Primordial Heart's Dear?
"What is Honor, Child?" Liesel asked impassively. The tone of her voice ruffled the agitated Rakamel. Her control over her emotions was anything but restrained. Unfit for someone of that age and powers.
"The ideals we live and die by. Ideals that differ us from the barbarous monsters and animals whose lives can be summarized as hungry. To fight your opponent on equal terms, to fight them fair, and to respect their life as you wish for your own to be treated. To fight selflessly. To act for the weak. To love all your brethren equally. It goes on and on, but I doubt you can understand. Honor cannot be defined, but a lifelong code and ideal you wish to live up to."
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"Honor is protecting the weak," Liesel said. "Honor is only protecting the weak. The children studying until dawn, the bedridden man who cannot afford his medication, the tired labourer who has not had a sip of water since sunrise. Stab your righteous heart, fill it with the blood of your enemy. Crush your admiring view of life, drown it in the decaying swamps beyond civilization. You are honor, for you live to fight for others. You are honor, for you will fight until every bone in your body has been crushed, until your soul has withered beyond saving, and then still—till the reaper rips it out of your undying corpse. Honor is donning the mantle of the most cruel and vile monster your enemies will see. Honor is protecting those who are not blessed like you, the weak."
Arval stared at her, a bit taken aback.
"So the words are burned inside the mind of every Crusader Aspirant. Over and over until they feel nothing drawing the blood of their roommate, friends, or even their lovers."
"It's a lie. The Empire has no enemies."
"How would you know? You shouldn't know about the world beyond the Necropolis."
"Even this world is in the shadow of the Empire. Every child hears it as fairy tales or cautionary ones. Their cruelty knows no bounds."
"That is honor," Liesel said. "It is the idea that burns inside the heart of all who wield violence or can be made to. The Empire has enemies—whether the Empire is in the right or wrong is an entirely different question. The child or the powerless man who cannot change his origin does not deserve to be slaughtered or be made into something worse. The strongest hearts born in the Empire are raised by the idea of selfless desire to protect the powerless. The monsters who appear in your fairy tales, too, are fighting for the same ideals, for a fair world. Grounded in the belief of loving life."
"It's not the same! We treat our enemies with dignity." Arval stomped her feet.
Liesel felt the entire realm tense for a moment, as if glaring at her. She ignored the heavy, invisible gaze, focusing only on the girl in front of her.
"You must ask yourself, Arval, what is the purpose your ideal serves? The idea of honor, where does it lead? What makes us different from an animal? The access to the Archive, the ability to function in conjunction with the System, holding this conversation, or the desire for that distinction itself. We are not merely hungry, but neither are animals. Have you seen a real animal?"
Arval frowned. "The Farikams that we ride."
"You should consider observing an animal in the wild for a day, if the Heart can recreate it here," Liesel said.
"You are trying to distract me. We—"
"Arval," Liesel's tone dropped a pitch. "We are not arguing. I hate wasting my breath. You can either ruminate about my words, or consider yourself the victor and me a dishonorable wretch, undeserving of my life. This conversation is over."
Arval pursed her lips. She was too riled up. The golden ring in her irises spun unlike any time Liesel had seen.
Why waste my breath to begin with?
She picked up one of the water-based fruits, carefully. After a moment of consideration, she put it to the side. And began meditating again.
Arval picked up one and ate on the other bench, fuming the entire time. She uttered a few words, as if hoping to pull Liesel into an argument.
Then, she calmed down. Sat there for a while.
"Are you not going to eat?"
"If you need it, feel free to take it. I will have them a few hours later."
"Why?"
"Because you are upset, I should be cautious. The realm favours you, and nothing is stopping it from poisoning the fruit if I overstep. So, it is wiser to wait until you are calm and the Heart is less upset with me."
It was evening already, and she had a feeling tonight might be worse than the previous one. She was sure the countdown would be at zero before nightfall, so that was a relief.
"It would never!" Arval scoffed. "I can taste it for you, if you want it."
"I jest," Liesel said. "I am not in the mood."
"No, you were honest. And I can understand your reservation... The Primordial Core is a place of life. It never kills anyone. It expels them if it is upset. You are here, so you are safe."
"Or perhaps it is not upset enough to throw me out into the Necropolis, which would be the same as granting me freedom, you see. But who knows, it may not kill me, but diarrhea? It may be upset enough for that."
The Rakamel child made an upset face, but didn't push again.
Liesel wove another rune. After the small rest, she was a bit quicker and tighter in her control.
"Why do you use such a weird way of Materializing Materiality?" Arval asked.
"A habit that needs fixing, but I haven't had the luxury to work on it."
"You have all the time in the world."
"I'd rather work on something I know my way around. Materializing will have to wait until I have access to better knowledge."
Is there a skill in the system for it?
Liesel opened the system, mentally filtering with Materializing as an element.
[Materializing Impact: 35
Materializing Acceleration: 150
Manifestation Strike: 120]
Liesel closed it with another mental gesture. The golden-ringed eyes regarded her. Arval smirked, as if she knew what Liesel had just done.
"You were looking for a way from the System, weren't you? You are trying to act disciplined, but you are also lazy, like everyone."
"There might be a way, but it is far too expensive to entertain the idea. I will have better ways once I return to my home." Liesel was beginning to regret her decision to illuminate the child's blind tendencies.
Arval nodded.
Liesel returned to her meditation as Arval looked for another question.
"Where's your home?"
"Inceptius," Liesel answered.
"Where the Empire was established."
"For someone who doesn't know much about the outside world, you are surprisingly knowledgeable."
"I cannot learn about the things in the outside world, but I am not ignorant of the Empire or its history. No one should be."
"I am glad to know Caravan is not altogether disconnected from reality," Liesel nodded.
"How's it like?"
"No different than any other city in the world. Depending on where you are born, you could live a very free or community-driven life, or an isolated and self-deprecating one. If you are fortunate, you will oversee the misery of others instead of living as one. If you are blessed, you live a fairly comfortable life. It is not a special place, certainly not an accommodating one for most people. Nor is it a unique one."
"It has tall buildings, taller than the hills, or even Sirmal's tomb, right?"
"It does."
"And the Imperial Palace that rivals even the majesty of the divine kingdoms."
"So it is said."
"But it's not unique or special?" Arval frowned.
"No. But it may be for you, if you look at it for the first time. It would be grand on the second day, but once you face the city, it is ordinary for ordinary people. I am not a daughter of a Minister, a clan of any importance, or a powerful bloodline. The hill-high buildings only hide the sun and a half-hour wait in the elevator to reach my apartment, while the castle is both a reminder and enforcer of my stature."
Arval stared at her, nodding. "Why are you like this?"
"Like what?"
"Unhuman?" Arval mumbled.
"That certainly is a term that most humans would find derogatory."
"You don't."
"I find it curious. What makes me unhuman?"
"I don't know." Arval shook her head. She stretched her spine. "I am going to gather more fruit, and the... don't you need to sleep? You didn't yesterday, except for sitting by the doorway."
"I may consider it. Thank you."
Liesel exhaled as the girl left her line of sight. She settled her eyes on the countdown. It was almost there.
[Lost Skill: Soul Weaving Assimilated Successfully!
Soul Weaving Lv. 1 Acquired
Ancillary Ability: Soul Sense Lv. 1 Acquired!
Additional Attribute Unlocked: Sensitivity
Sensitivity: +9
Ancillary Ability: Soul Communion Lv. 1 Acquired
Additional Attribute unlocked: Authority
Authority: +1]