Chapter 4: Chapter 3: Blessings

Chapter 3: Blessings

“Why can’t you hear me, you freckled goof!” Tara yelled at her husband, wishing Ken could hear.

Tara hovered in the void, searching desperately for a way to communicate with Ken and warn him of the impending danger. She tugged on their connection, but nothing happened. Pulling harder might sever the bond, leaving his wounded soul to recover on its own—a risk she couldn’t take. She tried sending pulses of energy, like Morse code, even surging power through the link to jolt him to the knowledge of her existence. No response. She had even resorted to shouting in vain when…a door opened.

In the infinite blackness, a doorway appeared. A portal, slicing through the void like a blade of light. A perfect rectangle, carved into the emptiness. But it wasn’t the doorway that made Tara shrink back—it was the figure standing within it that commanded her fear and awe.

The being that entered defied easy definition. Their form was human-like but impossibly perfect. Their marble skin seemed to glow with an inner light, and their eyes were deep, endless black voids, absorbing everything around them. Hair cascaded down to their waist, each strand alive with every color imaginable—shifting from the deepest ocean blues to neon browns and everything in between. There was an androgynous beauty to them, which is maybe why Tara couldn’t tell if it was a female or male god.

For that’s what it was: a god.

The deity moved with an elegance that radiated an unparalleled grace. Each step heavy with unspoken power, and Tara could only stare in reverence as their presence settled on her like a hurricane.

“So, this is what’s tethered to the little outworlder,” the being said, their voice simultaneously powerful enough to shatter mountains yet gentle enough to soothe a child. It reminded Tara of a concerned mother.

“A venerated spirit, hmm? Hello, dear. What are you doing out here, lingering in the Blind Nothing?”

Tara struggled to speak, stunned by the god’s presence.

“I was about to bless the baby traveler when I noticed your curious little link,” the being continued, their tone as smooth as silk. “I just had to see what caused such a strange connection.” They pressed a hand to their head and smiled—a radiant smile that felt like the warmth of the sun.

The being examined her with a sense of wonder. “Turns out, it’s love. A venerated spirit tethered by love. Who would have guessed?”

Tara, still in awe, managed to mumble: “My husband…he…”

“Ah, yes. That explains it. You interfered with that little lichling’s summoning ritual, didn’t you? Poor thing didn’t stand a chance. But that’s what you get when you try to use sacrifices that don’t belong to you. Well, it can't be helped now.” The god mused.

As the god spoke to her, Tara began to tremble. “So dear, are you planning to bless him, or are you planning on becoming a wraith?”

“Wraith?” she managed to say, but it came out as more of a squeak than a question. She was barely able to voice her question under the god’s immense power. The being’s presence felt like the pressure at the bottom of the ocean.

“Yes, a wraith.” the being explained, their black pupilless eyes studying her closely. “That’s what happens to venerated spirits, like yourself, who don’t gather enough life energy, that is energy of all four aspects, the combination of all eight sacred attributes. They become forces of disruption, the cause of many temporal and natural disasters.”

Concern and curiosity now overwhelmed her awe. “Then…how do I gather life energy?” Tara asked, almost desperately.

The god smiled again, their androgynous beauty softening for a moment. “Simple, my dear. You must ascend. Stagnation leads to death—or worse, for you. To gather life energy, you must gain believers who will channel their energy to you through sacrifice or piety. You can collect temples or edifices that sit on leylines of natural energy. Or, if you’re feeling adventurous, you could make a pact, though most gods frown on that practice.” They paused, grinning. “My personal favorite, however, is gambling on mortals.”

The god’s warmth enveloped Tara as they stepped closer. “Take your husband, for example. He’s the only one in Nowhere who believes in you. He has a zealot’s faith though, a rare find.” The god gestured toward the connection between Tara and Ken.

“I’m going to bless him, imbuing him with a fraction of my power. Every time he uses my gift, I’ll receive a small return—an investment that should pay off over time, assuming he doesn’t die soon. Devils nearby, you know. Excitable creatures, those,” the god giggled.

Tara watched in awe as the god made her investment. The god pulled on all eight of the sacred attributes, but mostly the aspect Karma. No, she pulled Luck, one of Karma’s attributes, and then altered it. Allowing just a touch of their power to seep into Ken’s makeup. It was like watching fireflies weave through the connection, embedding themselves in Ken’s being. His very essence shifted as the god’s power took root in his DNA.

“There are four types of blessings.” the god explained as they invested in Ken “Classes, that determine how they grow in power. Skills, that grant unique abilities, but must be attached to a sacred attribute. And titles, which passively influence their fate. And lastly, traits, minor helps that are simply part of their being. I am imbuing him with two traits. An ability to navigate Nowhere and another to understand his surroundings.”

The god regarded Tara with a matronly smile. “If you wish to survive, dear, you’ll need to gamble wisely. But be careful—big blessings come with big sacrifices. And if you give too much, you could run dry, or worse, the other godlings could come after you.”

Their gaze lingered on her. “Remember, if Ken dies while still linked to you, you’ll most likely perish as well.” The god laughed again, like the jingling of the universe’s most perfect bells.

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With that, the god turned and began to walk toward the doorway, their departure as sudden as their arrival.

“Wait,” Tara called out, summoning all her strength. “Who…who are you? Why are you helping me?”

The god paused at the threshold, glancing back over their shoulder. “Yoki, Mother of Chaos, Grand Goddess of Luck, Matriarch of the Shyft,” she said, her voice filled with mischief. “As for why I’m helping you? I help because I wish to. Besides, I find your chaos quite amusing.”

With a wink that spelled trouble for all of creation, Yoki vanished, the door closing behind her.

Tara stood there, reeling from the encounter. She had met a god—a being of unimaginable power—and not only that, Yoki had blessed Ken and answered her questions. The whole experience left her dumbfounded.

But Yoki…Goddess of Chaos? Grand Goddess of Luck? Deep in her core sirens were going off. Big red flags. Who and what did this Yoki being want? Though she was grateful, something didn’t sit right, but she couldn’t put her finger on it.

Tara floated in the void for a while, trying to gather her thoughts.

After what felt like hours, Tara decided that her and Ken’s survival depended on her figuring out how to bless him. She knew little about this world, but Ken needed her to help him survive—and she needed him to gather life energy for both of them. She had to give him a blessing, something that could guide them through the challenges ahead, so they would both be okay.

“Alright. Let’s see,” Tara said, rolling up her metaphorical sleeves.

“Where to start? Hmmm… Maybe Yoki’s blessing can give me an idea.” Tara peered into Kenshiro’s make up. She spied the first attribute in his Karma aspect, intricately woven like a clean seam into his soul.

‘Fellowship,’ a simple power that worked basically like a translator. More simply, it was Google Translate for his eyes and ears.

The other was Identify. A simple, yet elegant skill that allows the user to gather information about a target, for up to five seconds. Ken could study a person, beast, or object and learn useful details—enough to make smarter decisions in battle or exploration. It was a way for him to navigate the world in the simplest of terms.

“It’s not like my sight, though…” Tara thought.

Unlike Ken, she could instantly discern the makeup of affinities, aspects, and mana flows, but it was perfect for Ken. It required no mana and offered just enough insight to help him survive. Yoki’s brilliance was in the balance—Ken could keep himself alive, and in doing so, Yoki would reap the benefits.

“Brilliant.” Tara admired how clever that was. It sparked an idea. She needed something equally ingenious—something that would let her guide Ken while giving him an edge. Like ‘Identify,’ it had to be flexible enough to allow Ken to adapt to the situations he found himself in. Something that could help both of them navigate the world’s dangers and complexities while gaming the system.

The solution had to be simple yet powerful. It had to tap into what Ken knew best.

“Boxing?” She mused. She considered giving him a boxing skill—something physical he could easily master. “No.” that wouldn’t be enough. Ken didn’t love boxing; it was just another workout for him, a way to connect with his late father.

“If I could make something where he could use his knowledge of beer or Magic The Gathering, we would be set. That isn’t going to help either…”

She almost laughed at the thought of creating some convoluted magic deck for him to wield in battle. No, she needed something more intuitive, not a silly trading card game proxy. Something that fit Ken perfectly. Something that would let him game the system.

Then it hit her. A literal game system. Ken worked in programming, he understood systems, mechanics, and how to optimize them. If she could turn his career into something tangible, something he could use in this world…

“That could work. I could hijack Yoki’s blessing by creating an overlay of sorts—something that would give Ken control over his fate. Use the very method to teach him about his surroundings to communicate with him via a system of some sort. A system that would also allow me to interact with what he sees and comes in contact with.” Tara paced back and forth, conjuring ideas of what this could actually do.

Through this system, she could issue Ken quests, each task a small investment of her life energy. If she was smart, she could direct him to do things that would return knowledge and life energy to her. It would be a continuous loop of growth, survival, and replenishment. The best part? It was scalable. The first quest might be small, but over time, they could build a cycle of investment and return that would strengthen them both.

“So what am I going to build? Super-Identify?” She stopped in her tracks, pausing in the nothingness that was the void.

“Ken is going to need more than just quests. Something beyond the traditional paths mortals followed in this world,” she thought. The forces at work were such that people living in this world would undoubtedly be inundated with the aspects.

Instead, she decided to design a system that allowed him to take the skills of creatures he defeated, like the imps. By absorbing the abilities of his enemies, Ken wouldn’t be locked into one class or a set of abilities. He could mix and match, becoming more flexible and adaptable than anyone else.

Dealing with imps? Defeat them, take their skills like that nasty little intelligence attuned Embolt, and attach them to his Intelligence attribute. Fight in the dark? take the imp’s Diresight, and assign it to Will. He could adapt to any situation, assuming he survived it first.

However, this approach would have some big risks. By giving Ken this freedom, she would have to untether him from the natural impact of mana and aspects. Where others could grow by doing things, training, or getting in touch with the aspects, Ken’s power would be sporadic, based on what he could take from his enemies, and maybe willing creatures, just in case.

Another worry was that he could become incredibly strong in some areas while leaving others vulnerable, making his growth uneven. That could be dangerous. Then again, this was all dangerous.

Moreover, if she gave Ken both the quest system and the ability to absorb skills, she would be risking a lot. It was a dangerous gamble. Not only did Yoki say that too much power too quickly could attract unwanted attention from godlings or other powerful beings, Tara also had no idea how much of her own energy she needed to invest to do this.

The more she invested in Ken, the more vulnerable she would become. If something went wrong, if Ken failed, if their connection broke, they would both inevitably die.

“Doing nothing is just as fatal. Without a way to help Ken grow, we both die,” she said resolutely.

This was the only way forward. Tara focused her energy, envisioning the system she would create for Ken. It wouldn’t be perfect, but it would be enough to give him a fighting chance. She prepared the framework, weaving her power into it, making the necessary investments.

She replicated what she saw Yoki do; seeing something once was all she needed. She pulled on her power, organized the sacred aspects, and made her first investment.

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