An hour later I had finished bathing and was lying in bed, replaying the events of the day in my mind and wondering how I was going to overthrow a society composed mostly of people vastly stronger than I was. Although my body was exhausted, my mind wouldn't stop racing. I eventually gave up on tossing and turning in bed and cast a spell to help me sleep. The effect was fairly immediate.
"Back so soon, young one?" the voice asked with no small amount of interest. "You must have learned something important. I certainly didâ¦I can now reach out and feel the other with you."
I quickly checked my status and realized she was right.
Arabella (Arabella Unbound)
Insights: 2
Epiphanies: 5 (2 available)
Revelations: 3 (1 available)
Current Path: Sensate
Metagift: Tactile Magic
Specials: Delayed Metamorphosis, Soulbond (stage 2), Spiritbond (stage 2), Share Attributes, Heat Resistance (hands), Natural Telepathy, Unknown
Having grown strong enough to unleash without assistance over the past month, I reached deep inside to find the truths that needed to be uttered, releasing the two Epiphanies into the void as energy crackled around me. Next came the Revelation, which was more difficult to handle on my own and left me panting for breath as primal energy flowed through my entire being.
I quickly distributed the new attribute points I had gained from unleashing, continuing to prioritize endurance and willpower for my physical and mental attributes respectively, and more or less evenly boosting my cycle, density, and homogeneity attributes.
When I finished, I happily addressed the voice. "You were right! I gained twelve insights in one day!"
There was a long pause.
"That's not....that's not at all what I meant, dear," the other entity finally answered. "I meant you had learned something that I needed to know. Why don't you start at the beginning and tell me all about your day."
Although the request seemed odd to me, telling her about my day was the least that I could do to repay for all the help she had given me. I started at the beginning and narrated my day, sparing no details. It took what felt like hours, but finally, I reached the end.
"...then I cast Melatonin Surge and passed out. And now I'm here with you."
There was an even longer pause after I finished speaking. I used the time to explore the void with my senses, but aside from a general sense that the other being was somewhere in front of me, I could detect nothing about where I was or even what it was I was standing on.
"You did very, very well, young one. Had the Oath taken root in you somehow, I would have been forced to end your life. Instead, I can now grant you a boon. Not only will it make you stronger, but you will also have a stronger feel for the warp of magic itself and an increased ability to resist compulsion magic."
"Wait, wha..." I tried to say, but a sudden warmth rushed over me. The feeling was incredible, even my hair crackled with newfound power.
When I had recovered enough to think straight, I took a look at my attributes again.
Arabella (Arabella Unbound)
Insights: 2
Epiphanies: 0
Revelations: 4
Current Path: Sensate
Metagift: Tactile Magic
Specials: Delayed Metamorphosis, Soulbond (stage 2), Spiritbond (stage 2), Share Attributes (stage 1), Heat Resistance (hands), Natural Telepathy, Perfidious*, Unknown
Focusing on the new special allowed me to see what benefits it granted.
+5 to all Physical Attributes
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
+ 5 to all Mental Attributes
+10 to all Spiritual Attributes.
Increased Chance for Spellcasting to Succeed
Increased Chance for Ritual Casting to Succeed
+10% Resistance versus Compulsion Magic
*This is a hidden special
Even though it had been accompanied by the wave of power, I hadn't expected so much out of one special. But it still didn't negate the fact that my mysterious benefactor had been willing to kill me to hide her existence from the Empress. We needed to have a discussion about that, assuming I wasn't kicked out of the void for asking. So before I broached that subject, I took a look at my other new special, Share Attributes.
The user may temporarily grant up to 50% of their physical attributes to any creature with whom they share at least a level 2 Spiritbond, or may take up to 50% of that creature's attributes. The user may only share attributes with one creature at a time. Cost at current Spiritbond level: 2.65 mana per minute.
That was pretty good as well. Being able to take up to half of Ronaldo's physical stats was the only reason I had managed to take out Darlene in the final match of the Oathtaking games. I had a feeling that I would need all the attribute points I could get to pull off the half-baked plan to free the Pegasi that was taking shape little by little in my mind.
I took one final look at all my attributes, realizing that I was just stalling to delay the confrontation with my benefactor but not really caring. After all, "time" had little meaning in the void.
Arabella (Arabella Unbound)
Insights: 2
Epiphanies: 0
Revelations: 4
Current Path: Sensate
Metagift: Tactile Magic
Specials: Delayed Metamorphosis, Soulbond (stage 2), Spiritbond (stage 2), Share Attributes (stage 1), Heat Resistance (hands), Natural Telepathy, Perfidious* Unknown
Physical Attributes
Strength 66
Reflexes 64
Durability 81
Mental Attributes
Charisma 74
Intelligence 96
Willpower 107
Spiritual Attributes
Cycle 121
Density 120
Homogeneity 121
Derived Attributes
Resistance 374
Mana Reserve 657*
Hourly Mana Recovery 83*
It was hard to believe how much my stats had gone up in one day, so I decided to give serious thought to joining a sparring club. If I could replicate today's gains even once every few months, it would be worth it.
Not having anything else to do I took a deep breath, or whatever passed for breathing in the void, and addressed the voice.
"So, we need to talk about this whole 'I almost had to kill you thing'. Why would you have done that? And what's more, why did you tell me about it? I would have never known if you had said nothing."
"You have to understand, child. What is going on is bigger than any one person. For centuries of your time, the world has not been right, and the longer things go on this way, the longer it will take to repair the damage that has been done. Plans are now in motion to put an end to the madness, but they will not bear fruit for at least a hundred of your years. But when I felt your spirit enter the void, I knew that you were worth taking a chance on, that maybe with your help we could speed things up. That's why I revealed myself to you.
I promise I knew nothing of the Oath, or I would have warned you about it. I have not been able to observe your world for a long time now, so I can only wait here until the day comes when I can make things right. Please, please forgive me, because you are very important to me, little one."
"But if I'm so important, why would you have had to kill me?"
"Because the other cannot know about me. She believes that she has robbed me of everything, and she has indeed left me with but a vestige of my former power, but she has not stolen all. If she were to find me, she could take the dregs of my power and ruin my plans permanently. The world would be doomed to suffer a fate far worse than the cataclysms that accompanied the ritual she used to ruin the world."
"So the other you speak of, that's Empress Vashti I assume."
"I know not her name, only her deeds. And of those, I may not speak."
"Why?" I asked. It didn't make sense that a powerful being that transcended time and space would have such a limitation. But no answer was forthcoming.
"I see," I finally continued. "And I do forgive you, for what it's worth. But if you're right, we're not out of danger yet. If the Empress doesn't already suspect my motivations, I am sure to become a suspect after I free all the Pegasi, as I have promised the one who helped me gain my freedom. Since it is well-known that I owe one of them a debt of gratitude, I will probably be the prime suspect."
"You...promised what!?" my benefactor boomed, sounding angry for the first time ever.
"I promised Ronaldo, the Pegasus I bought from my former master, that I would help free his kind. I even swore an Oath and formed a Soulbond with him."
The voice took on an exasperated tone.
"Why would you do that? You should be doing your best to blend in until we can act in concert!"
It was my turn to get angry.
"Well, excuse me! I didn't realize any of this before just now, because you didn't tell me! How was I supposed to know I had some sort of special destiny?"
"Because I appeared to you, of course!"
"But you won't even tell me who you are!" I retorted. "Yeah, you've given me some help. But I have earned every insight on my own, kept myself from being re-enslaved by the Empress, defeated a much more experienced woman in single combat, and forged bonds with both Ronaldo and Mia. If we're going to do this, I deserve to be treated as an equal partner."
There was another long pause, and then a heavy sigh.
"Fine, I'll help you figure out a way to free the Pegasi and not get caught doing it. But we'll need to figure out how to wipe any information about me out of your memories if you end up being found out."
"Oh that'll be easy," I answered confidently. "If it comes down to it, I'll never submit to being made a slave again. Help me create a spell that will kill me when activated. If I can't have freedom, I'd rather be dead. And after we've done that, I need help figuring out how to teleport all the Pegasi somewhere hidden enough that they can't be hunted down again."
"Before I can help you, I need you to tell me one thing."
"Ok," I said, wondering what it could be.
"What's a Pegasus?"