ALEXiThymiA: Chapter 145 One of The Chosen (Patreon)

Chapter 145

One of The Chosen

Monday

“Come, let me show you what it means to be one of the chosen.” The old crone said.

At that Alexa just watched the old crone, trying to understand what she was talking about. Her status of the woman showed that she was not trying to deceive her, but that still meant she didn’t know what she was talking about.

Old, withered Orc: The Old Crone: Level ??? Oracle, Status: Healthy, Disposition: Nurturing. Other: One of the Chosen.

Seeing the new marking, Alexa couldn’t help but stare, this time for slightly too long. Alexa’s memory was solid, well at the very least her memory was advanced enough to remember odd details on a status screen, particularly something as odd as seeing an entirely new category like ‘Other’ and she knew she would remember a note depicting the phrase ‘One of the Chosen.’

Seeing her expression that the Old Crone smiled, an old-gnarled smile, one like the way grandma looked, if grandma had been able to live for yet another hundred or so years past her last. “You see it?”

“If by it, you mean the phrase ‘Other: One of the Chosen,’ then yes, I do see it.” Alexa said, still not quite understanding what the old crone was up to.  Was this a power against the system? In her mind Alexa knew there were still a great deal of powers that one could gain and wield, to her it appeared that this Old Crone had gotten ahold of just such a power. For whom would rightly name their child The Old Crone, first the child would have to be young at one point, so even if you wanted them to be named Crone, they would have to just be the Young Crone, at least for a while. No, it was clear that there was some type of chicanery afoot here, and Alexa was more than a little weary of anything the ‘Old Crone’ had to say at the moment. While her body didn’t tense up, didn’t show any signs of being ready to strike, she was ready to move at a moment’s notice.

Flashing light blue lights.

There was a sudden flash of lights that were so bright that the photoreceptors in her eyes surged temporarily with the influx of light, though her body began pulling in the ambient energy with a hungry gleam.

There was a pause as the lights in the old crone’s eyes dissipated. Judging from the look in her eyes, it was clear that the old crone was momentarily blinded, if Alexa wanted to, she could leave now. In fact, Alexa took this exact moment to begin doing just that. With a slight step, she shifted her weight and position around, so that the exit from the dungeon was only a step and a half away. In her mind she was strategizing, going through different scenarios where she could get through the portal without being stopped. In some cases, she imagined throwing the woman with a quick burst of Telekinesis, in another, she created an Illusion of herself, though she felt that this old crone might be able to see through such petty tricks, and that was what these were, tricks. If it came down to it, Alexa was certain that there was nothing she could do in a head-to-head fight. This woman was powerful, even able to hide the relative power rating of her Astral Projection, then there was the fact that she was allegedly an Oracle. Again, that part made sense, given everything she was now seeing from the old crone, the fact that she was an Oracle wasn’t too hard to believe on its own. No, what was concerning was the way she seemed to be able to change what was available to be seen by the system from moment to moment. Such a skill, if there even was such a thing as Status Alteration, would be extremely useful in the future. But that would mean she would have to stay with the old crone, and that was something that her rational mind told her in no uncertain terms was a bad idea. In fact, the only reason she was hesitant about leaving now was since her emotional side was telling her that she could learn something here. At the very least she wanted to stay because she was the first of the invading species that seemed to be willing to help in some way. That alone meant it was worth her time and effort to see if she could at least end this meeting somewhat cordially.

Alexa opened her mouth to say that she had to go, which she did, the Tenth and final stage of the Trials of Ascension lay just beyond that shimmering portal. She was so close to getting her class and being done with all of this, these trials, the constant manipulations, that she really wanted to just push her way through the final stage and be done with everything Trials related, but before she could say anything, the Crone regained her faculties.

“Sorry about that. I am apparently doing this all wrong.” The crone began, and then took a step away from Alexa, making it so the exit was even easier to access. Given the muscular deterioration of the old crone, Alexa was fairly certain that she could make it to the exit, before the crone could do anything. Whether she would be able to follow her through the portal was a different story entirely. That was another thing that kept her still, right now, everything was cordial, they were having peaceful dialogues.

Hearing her Alexa nodded, never taking her eyes off of the old crone’s.

It took a moment, but eventually the cloudy light blue fog that had covered the crone’s eyes eventually dissipated, revealing two light blue, rather human looking eyes. Seeing the color and clarity of her eyes, Alexa was taken aback, and almost wondered if the woman had some form of shape-shifting ability. While Alexa hadn’t worked too much with orcs in the past, she never remembered them having human light blue eyes, especially eyes that were surrounded by a pool of white sclera. Though, it was also clear from a glance that the orcs eyes were slowly changing, as the color was slowly faded away. Perhaps they started off at darker shadings and only after years of near constant flashings did her eyes go to this level. Still, Alexa was quiet, as she took everything in, her body loose and ready to move at a moment’s notice, should anything happen.

“Perhaps I should start with who I am. Or rather what I am.” The old crone began, but then continued, “I am the sole remaining twin of my union. Though, I will admit that mine was an actual twin, versus a second egg fertilized at the same time.” The old crone began, and while she used different words, having to revert to her native Orcish tongue to complete the statement, the ideas posed still made enough sense to Alexa that she found herself nodding along at appropriate points, to show her understanding if nothing else.

“Well, I was the oracle of our twin pact, and my sister, she was the one who was much like you. Precocious and always heading off into danger.” The old crone said, as a wistful tone filled her words. “Needless to say you and your brother were chosen incorrectly. Your brother likely realized the mistake and opted to drop from the path long ago. Normally this would have meant that you yourself would also be dropped from the path, but then your soul mate took up the mantle of Oracle, making it so you could finish the path you started upon. Honestly, I am impressed that you have managed to walk the path laid out before you this far. All while seemingly never truly relying on your Oracle for guidance. I don’t know if that is a blessing or a curse, but regardless it does show that you at least have some understanding of the role you want to play in all of this.”

“The role I want to play?” Alexa asked.

At that, the old crone nodded her own means of acceptance. “Quite correct. You are playing the role that you want, from opening the rare Absorber class, to all but forcing those beneath you to fall in line or be replaced. Honestly, I am impressed with the way you have seemingly filled out the roles of an army, without truly being integrated.”

“What are you talking about?” Alexa asked, finally curiosity won out amongst her different thoughts that were warring inside her head.

At that comment it was the old crone’s turn to look confused, as she cocked her head to the side. Then finally after a second of evaluating the confused look on Alexa’s face, the old crone seemed to realize, “you mean, this was all instinctual on your part?”

Alexa didn’t say anything, as the question made no sense. Then shaking her head, she looked to the chain that was still in her hand, a chain that felt cold, but nothing more than that, just a slight chill that anyone would expect from a disused piece of metal. “Look, I don’t know what you are talking about, though you were going to tell me about these chains?”

The old crone just looked at Alexa, and Alexa could almost see the moment a light blue flash of energy passed over the old crone’s eyes. “Very true. It seems that I am ruining this, and not giving you much of a reason to trust me.”

Silence.

“Right, the chain. So, as I said before, this is a demon infused chain, one with an actual demon’s spirit inside it, that is why it feels so cold and foreboding. Again, the fact that you can handle it at all is a testament to how much your resistances have grown, showing that you are truly on path for what is to come.” The Oracle said.

Alexa nodded, trying to fight back the exasperation she now felt as if she had already had this exact conversation with the crone.

“Right, you already know this, as I have already said all this. What you might not know is that with your Creation magic, at the higher tiers of that school of magic, you can learn to Deconstruct any item that you have come into contact with.” The crone said.

At this, Alexa became interested. After her second major crystal, Alexa had once again increased all of her previous Tiers of magic once again by two, except for her Creation magic, that now sat capped out at Tier X. Hearing the old crone speak, Alexa couldn’t help but remember being trained by the one bound dungeon, the one that taught her what it was to be a Creation magic user, being able to create both chocolate, and a key to an unknown prison. During that interaction with that dungeon, Alexa remembered how a piece of chocolate fell to the ground and was seemingly absorbed by the dungeon floor. Realizing that, Alexa’s eyes went wide, and had a question come to her mind.

“Is Creation magic solely meant to be used by Dungeons?”

At that the old crone paused, and then smiled slightly, as her withered lips began to part to show rows of old, but still razor sharp teeth. “Yes, the fact that you both have Creation magic, and have it to such a high level speaks volumes to the trust that has been placed within you. Trust that I was to be the last person to verify.”

At that, Alexa couldn’t help but feel that there was something more sinister to her tone.

“Don’t worry child, you have been judged by others and me, and we all agree that you are capable of handling the mantle you have been given.”

“What mantle?”

At that question, the crone just shook her head. “I can’t say, as that is not my job. And who knows, you might still fall short even now, but I doubt it. I’ve seen the way you focus on the true goal of these Trials, the way you even diverted from your main path to free other dungeons that were lost to the war so long ago. You have done all these things, while only being a novice yourself on the path, that speaks volumes to your character.”

Alexa wanted to argue that she didn’t do anything for pure altruism, she had been rewarded, quite handedly in most cases. Her ability to use and manipulate both her Magic and Psychic abilities were exceptional. Her rows upon rows of stacked Titles proved that her actions were at least partially influenced by the perceived rewards of the systems. Even the crystals that were produced were enough to keep her going in most cases. That had nothing to do with her character, her personal make up, or anything else in her eyes. In fact, hearing that she might or might not have passed some form of test, didn’t sit right in her.

“I am not what you think.”

“Hush. You are more than you think.” The Crone said, holding up one gnarled finger that bent and curled in the way only elderly fingers can. “Now, back to Deconstruction. To do this, you must first have something truly unique, like the demon metal chain that you currently have in your hand. Now I want you to first...”

As the old crone spoke the perceived temperature of the chain began to increase, going from a chilly cold, to an almost too warm sensation. Feeling the sudden increase in temperature, Alexa could almost feel the malicious tingling intent from the energy, energy that clearly wasn’t supposed to exist in this plane of existence. Feeling the sudden chance of energy, Alexa felt herself cutting off the old crone before her.

“What about the demon soul inside this?”

“Oh, is it already active? Huh, I guess that means we must be scaring it already, this is good, as it means it too believes that you can do this.”

“Do what exactly?”

“Deconstruct the chain and Cleanse the demonic soul inside.”

“Cleanse?”

“Yes, now pay attention, this will be very important in the not-so-distant future.”

Hearing that, Alexa couldn’t help but feel the power of prophecy coming off of the old crone, her words seeming to have a certain undeniably weight to them. Realizing that at most she would be wasting time, Alexa decided to at least listen to the instructions being provided. Just as before, when she was taught by a non-verbal dungeon, Alexa found herself learning from an expert on different ways to use the magic she had already been given.

***

A few hours later, Ma’hathine Dar’ulan, otherwise known as the old crone, watched in amazement at the speed and efficiency that the human girl before her learned her lessons and almost seemed to understand the very heart of magic at an instinctual level.

They began first by simple Deconstruction, taking parts of wood from the deck of the ship, and breaking it down to the base components and elements. From there, they went on to metal from different nails on the ship. Then finally, they worked their way up to Deconstructing the demon metal chain she held. The more she worked, the more agitated the entity within the chain became. The entire time Alexa either didn’t notice, or more than likely the case, didn’t seem to care. For a while Ma’hathine watched as the chain tried to attack Alexa, but either instinctually, or by design, Alexa grabbed the power of the chained beast and Absorbed it. Watching her work brought back memories of her own twin sister, a person who selflessly sacrificed her own life so that she, and those of their planet could live on in relative peace. That peace is just a façade, a false image that everyone looks to, in order to keep the true horrors that lie just around the corner at bay. Seeing the way that this human, this Alexa, worked so hard and pushed herself, even going so far as to speak to an old orc who did nothing but set her nerves on edge.

Ma’hathine couldn’t blame the girl, that had been her job, her whole reason for coming to the trials now was to make sure anyone that passed on with her qualifications was worthy. Many humans, elves, gnomes, goblins, and countless orcs were all slain before they could become a tyrant. The power that her class gave her was potentially unlimited, which was why it was so important that there were checks and balances along the way. Checks to make sure the candidate was not too egotistical, would not go out on a rampage to gather as much power as they could. There were warnings, a few alerts early on, ones that flagged her as potentially power hungry, but she passed the test with the Gnomes, Dwarfs, and the Beastkin, going so far as to share her complete memory with Arthur Tide. Honestly it was Alexa’s willingness to do a full merger with Arthur that set this whole process in motion. While Ma’hathine could not directly connect to the dwarf caster, she didn’t need to, as their interaction was recorded by the dungeons, and made publicly available to those who know where and how to look. The fact that she and Arthur made a complete merger, and he did not immediately try to slay Alexa right there was a mark in her favor. That was but one of the times she was alerted to Alexa, the fact that Alexa had found hidden power word fragments and had managed to first assemble the words, but then use them correctly, without any soul scaring, that was impressive.

There was also the fact that every time she got a new source of power, it was never used maliciously was also important, as it showed the Ma’hathine, a person so old that her true name has forever been lost to time, someone who is instead known by her moniker of the old crone would now teach this budding warrior the final tricks needed to help win the upcoming war that would befall her planet and her people.

Ma’hathine, watched as Alexa slowly dissolved the chain down further and further, forever shrinking the size of the demon soul stuck within. The demon of course helped with this transition, the more power it exerted, the weaker it got, and therefore the easier it got for Alexa to dissolve the demon metal chain down further and further. Until finally, the chain was at its lowest portion. That was when Ma’hathine nodded her approval.

“Good. Now, I will show you the final trick to ensure that you manage to banish a demon’s soul forever. Brace yourself, for this will get violent.”