Chapter 126 – Self-Made Man
In the few days since we've been back, Kanin hasn't had time to restore his body, so he's still just a floating blob of ink and broken glass—or as Sandro has (accurately) described him, a living lava lamp. In fact, this form is the only one Travelers have ever encountered him in; I imagine seeing him as a humanoid will be even more strange to them.
When Kanin arrives, I manufacture three giant blocks of glass, each about one and a half meters cubed, as Aquenno watches. I have the Dungeon Core make one standard cube of transparent glass, one cube of metallic glass, and at Kanin's request, a third made of black obsidian. Kanin alights on top of the first, touching his core to the glass so he can settle in for an Attunement, and I settle in with a book, happy to take the rare opportunity for some leisurely reading.
“Holy shit,” Kanin says.
I sit up straight, glancing sharply around the room. “What? Is everything okay?”
“Oh, yeah, sorry,” Kanin says. “It’s just, it looks like it’s only going to take me fifteen minutes to Attune this whole block. When I was level one, it took me hours to Attune just a couple shards of glass.”
I tip my head as I process this. “You started at level one?”
“Yeah.” He pauses. “Wait, you didn’t?”
Huh. “No, I started at level twenty.” And thank goodness for that! I never would have survived the caves without the mana pool I had accessible to me that first day. Not to mention, the Dungeon Core, of course.
“Twenty!” he cries. “What a rip off.”
Curious. I wonder why there was such a significant difference? Of course, all the Travelers seem to be at slightly different levels. It could be based on their age—either that of their body or mind. I suppose Level 1 would match someone who starts as a simple ink bottle.
“Anyway,” Kanin grumbles, “it looks like I'll be Attuning these blocks a lot faster than I was anticipating. You may have less time to read than you’d planned.”
“Not to worry,” I assure him. “I'm rather good at squeezing in time for books whenever the opportunity presents itself.”
“Alright, then,” he says. “Be back in a few.” His glass sinks down to lay flat on the cube, then he’s still.
I Check him out of curiosity.
[Name: Kanin]
[Title: PENDING]
[Species: N/A]
[Class: Arcane Attendant]
[Level: 30]
[HP: 10/10]
[Temp HP: 472]
[Mana: 593/650]
[Role: The Homunculus]
[Status: Attuning]
He has a pending title just like Noli. Even if Aquenno is too uncomfortable to answer my questions about gods, champions, remnants, and the system, it’s not hard to put together all the clues laid out before me.
The way Kanin and Noli are now connected appears to be very similar to how gods and champions are connected, which is why Kanin was able to slip Noli into the Heavens without triggering any alarms. But their titles are both still pending, and why that is, I can only guess. Some qualifying condition they haven’t yet met?
The black void surrounding Kanin ripples as I continue to stare at him, bristling like a dog with raised hackles. Ink doesn’t seem to be affected by the Attunement the same way Kanin is.
“I thought they'd both go into a trance,” I remark aloud. “Interesting.”
“Separate minds, separate elements,” Aquenno says, glancing their way. “It may look like they share one body, but they are merely entwined. Host and parasite.”
“That's a callous way to view them,” I say.
Aquenno grunts, absently rubbing his shoulder. “It's accurate.”
Is it, though? “You know,” I muse, “I was always fascinated by flight. Planes, birds—a factor in how I ended up with this body, I think. Before I decided to become an aerospace engineer, I spent a few semesters studying biology with the hopes of becoming an ornithologist.”
Aquenno watches me skeptically. “Okay…”
“Symbiosis is something that happens quite often in nature,” I continue. “And parasitism is one type of symbiosis, that’s true. Perhaps the most well-known. The host suffers while the parasite benefits.”
“You’re suggesting that’s not the case for Kanin?” Aquenno guesses.
I shrug. “I can at least say with certainty it’s not the case for myself and the Dungeon Core. Our symbiosis is mutual: we both benefit.”
Aquenno grumbles. “I doubt Sandro sees his the same way. Is the Shroud not parasitic?”
I frown, giving the question serious consideration. “Perhaps in his case, yes. Sandro hasn’t benefited from their relationship—yet. But the interesting thing about symbiosis is that it doesn't have to be locked in stone. A relationship can shift between parasitic, commensal, or mutual. As anxious as the Shuddering Shroud is, it reacts defensively, in an attempt to protect itself—and Sandro. Perhaps with a bit more practice, that instinct can become something productive instead of self-destructive.”
“You’re hoping everyone with a remnant can transition to a mutual symbiosis,” Aquenno gathers. He shakes his head. “It’s a nice thought, but it sounds unrealistic.”
“I’m not so sure,” I say, looking back over to the block Kanin’s Attuning. Ink ripples nervously at my look. “If it were a simple animal, then maybe it would be naive to expect such growth. But these remnants have personalities. They can think. You can understand me, can’t you?”
A growl emits from Kanin’s translator as Ink’s void ripples like ferrofluid.
Aquenno gives me a pointed look. “Doesn’t sound friendly to me.”
“It’s just being protective,” I insist. “It’s guarding Kanin, can’t you see?”
Aquenno shifts in his seat to also look at Ink, who bristles in warning, wrapping tighter around Kanin’s core.
The nereid laughs. “Alright, I’ll give you that one. If nothing else, it cares about its host. But what makes you certain all remnants can achieve mutual symbiosis?”
“I’m not certain,” I admit. “But I’ve seen Kanin’s memories. I’ve seen where his remnant started and how far it’s come. If his can change for the better, I don’t see why this would be untrue for others. Perhaps all they need is a good influence. A host to guide their developing sense of self and morals.”
Aquenno looks tired. “And if they develop under bad influence?”
“That wouldn’t be ideal,” I agree with a grimace. “But that means our efforts would be better spent monitoring the disposition of the host than caging the symbiote, no?”
I wait for him to reply, but Aquenno remains silent, brows furrowed in troubled thought.
I reach across the table and give his hand a comforting pat. “You don’t need to answer. That you’re thinking about it is enough. And I’m sure you have enough to worry about as it is. Blair will be okay—she’s tough.”
The nereid presses his lips into a thin line, nodding in acknowledgement of my words, but says nothing else.
#
After Kanin finishes Attuning the three blocks, he begins segmenting pieces of the glass off to form into new body parts. The process is quite fascinating to watch. He has a spell called Sculpt which allows him to reshape the glass as if it were clay, and he uses this to explore different options for a new body—and head, specifically. Attempting to make anything resemble a human face quickly veers into uncanny-valley, and his body takes on a weirdly mannequin-like feel.
I thoughtfully tap my chin while we brainstorm different ideas. “What about a humanoid form that isn’t designed to show one’s face? That might help with the uncanny-valley aspect.”
“What sort of people don’t have faces?” Kanin asks skeptically.
“What kind of people don’t show their faces,” I correct. I sort through the Dungeon Core’s Inventory until I find what I’m looking for; I have it spit out a helmet it consumed from… Well, to be honest, I don’t know where the Core found this thing. I toss it to Kanin, and his void snags it out of the air.
“Oh!” Kanin turns it around, looking at it from every angle. “Fyre, I like the way you think.”
Kanin spends a few minutes manipulating his glass to copy the shape of the head piece; it looks a lot like a medieval knight’s helmet. “Not sure I quite like this design, but I can work with it. Do you have any more I can look at?”
“The Dungeon Core has more in its Inventory,” I say, browsing through its contents. “But they’re mostly the same design. I think we have a scroll around here somewhere that might have some different designs from Dunmora. Otherwise, I know Ollie has collected a good number in his cave.”
Kanin’s body language seems to perk up. “Think he’d mind if I took a look?”
“I’m sure he’d be delighted to show them off,” I say, heading over to a shelf to start hunting for the scroll in question. “However, I’ve already put Ollie to bed for the night. You’ll have to wait until tomorrow to see what he has.”
“I’m in no hurry,” Kanin assures me, going back to playing with the glass. “Do you have a full suit of armor? That would help me with figuring out proportions.”
“I’ll see what I can dig up,” I tell him, grabbing a couple other books while I’m at it. I’m not sure the Core has a complete set of armor—not like a suit from Earth—but there are various pieces I can cobble together. “Actually Yequariel, my tailor, would probably be helpful for this. He’d know exactly what proportions you’re looking for.”
“Good idea,” Kanin says absently, starting to flip through the books. Even though he hasn’t built a new body, yet, he has a small army of glass hands he uses to turn pages and unfurl scrolls. I wonder if he realizes how eldritch it all looks?
He must to some extent; he still seems determined to retain some semblance of a humanoid form while building his new body. From the memories he shared with me when we first met, he was extremely self conscious about his body and keenly missed being human. Yet, he waited this long to ask me for help with the glass; either he saw helping the Travelers as the bigger priority, or he’s starting to feel more comfortable in his skin. Maybe both.
The room grows quiet again as Kanin studies the diagrams and Aquenno turns back to his reading. I consider broaching the subject of his and Noli’s connection. I’m not sure he realizes the implications of their bond, and I also haven’t had a chance to talk to him about the age of the gods, yet. But what do I even say? What is he supposed to do with that information?
I take a breath. “Kanin…”
“Hm?” he responds, distracted.
“I wanted to talk about your and Noli’s connection,” I say. “And maybe Aquenno, here, would be willing to answer some questions for us.”
He blinks at me. “Their connection?”
He can’t see System stats, of course. He has no idea what happened between Kanin and his friend—I doubt he even remembers much after Shirasil’s interference in the fight with Lorata’s champions, given the injury he sustained at the time. But maybe this revelation will finally get him talking.
Kanin appears to shift uncomfortably. “Ah, yeah. About that…”
When Kanin hesitates and Aquenno looks between us blankly, I push forward. “Kanin and Noli share a magical bond,” I tell Aquenno. Perhaps it isn’t my place to reveal, but the implications of their connection affect all of us. “They’ve both gained new stats as a result.”
“I don’t understand,” Aquenno says.
I look to Kanin to see if he wants to elaborate—assuming he even understands what it means.
“The stats haven’t finished populating,” he says reluctantly. “Some sort of error. I tried to use a Sever Bond spell on our connection, but it didn’t work. And I’m worried about messing with the magic too much. What if it glitches further, and Noli ends up with a Role, too?”
That’s not a possibility I had considered. I don’t think it’s likely, but then again, none of us Travelers should have gotten a Role in the first place.
“What kind of stats?” Aquenno asks, looking between us.
“Titles,” Kanin reluctantly replies.
“And for Noli, an Allegiance,” I add.
Aquenno’s eyes widen. “Allegiance to who?”
I nod to Kanin, and a nervous ripple runs through his elements. Aquenno’s eyes go as wide as saucers.
“But,” the nereid says, “but that shouldn’t be possible.”
Kanin scoffs out a laugh. “I shouldn’t be possible.” He gestures to me. “Travelers being here, having access to the System, shouldn’t be possible.”
Aquenno opens and shuts his mouth in a rather fish-like expression. “But—but that can’t be right.”
“It’s not,” he says fiercely. “As I said, the Stats are only showing Errors. It doesn’t mean anything yet.”
That ‘yet’ is carrying a lot of weight.
“Besides,” he adds, “Shirasil sent me a location to one of his studies in the mortal realm. He said there are notes there that might help me with Noli—and Anika’s refiner.”
That’s news to me. I haven’t been able to reach Shirasil since getting back from the Heavens, but I also didn’t try to contact him right away; he might have had time to communicate with Kanin before he returned. I must admit, though, gaining access to any sort of magical notes Shirasil may have taken sounds extremely enticing.
“I just have so many bigger issues to worry about,” Kanin continues. “Like the Travelers, and their Role Requirements, and freeing Anika from her refiner.”
“And the gods,” I say, wearily tucking away fantasies of reading magic research papers for a later date. Perhaps he’s right that his connection to Noli should not be at the top of either of our priority lists. “And preparing for their assault on our city.”
“Right,” Kanin says dryly. “How could I have forgotten about the gods? They’re liable to drop on our heads at any moment!”
Which is precisely when the air cracks open and Blair, God of Wards, craters into the room.