Zero Potential: Chapter 25 (Patreon)

Chapter 25

Pain.

Bones groaning.

More pain.

At this point Terra was realizing just how much of a curse, the curse of Immortality truly was. As she could feel every bone, every muscle, every fiber of her being getting stretched and pulled off in twisting directions.

This pain was simultaneously a blessing and a curse. The blessing came from the fact that her body was being enhanced and pushed to its optimal form. Having lived multiple lives, Terra was well aware of how her body would grow and eventually evolve once she reached her ideal age and peak of conditioning.

The curse of Immortality apparently knew her optimal shape, size, and body composition better than she herself did as she was growing taller. Much taller than she had ever been in her past lives.

Her clothes, made for a teenager not yet on the cusp of womanhood began to bend and stretch under the constant pressure of her body growing both up and out. Her hips particularly began to grow and bulge in ways she had very rarely managed to achieve in her past lives.

Normally the wear and tear of constant training and field rations caused her body to be underdeveloped, at least compared to how she was now growing and expanding. Her senses too were also growing in capability, as she could feel her eye sockets changing slightly as parts of her eyes were now able to pierce the darkness of night due to the changes her body was undertaking.

Panting.

Terra desperately gasped for breath as she finally felt the relief of her body no longer being pulled and manipulated by external forces. Forces that were beyond her scale and comprehension.

The entire process took what felt like hours but was really accomplished in a matter of minutes. At least, if the rising sun was anything to go off.

Taking a moment to center herself she arose from the ground, somewhere during her desperate struggle of pain, she had collapsed.

Looking around with her new eyes, she saw the world as if for the first time. The world was still the same, but now she was able to see the brilliant hues of color that seemed to coat everything around her. Well most everything, there was a tree that was distinctly void of this new brilliance, and it took her a moment to realize why the tree before her was so barren to her sight.

The tree was a normal tree, well normal for a forest that was constantly in the process of growing and cleansing itself. Then she realized that the tree before her was bare of leaves, while there were a few other trees that were also bare, those other trees still had signs of the ethereal glow to them.

She stared, for what felt like hours, until the realization of why this tree looked so different from the others became glaringly apparent. The tree was dead.

There was no chance for revival.

Even reaching out with her magic, she realized that the tree was beyond the realm of saving. It would be easier to grow a whole new tree from the ground, than to waste her mana on this tree.

That was the first time she realized that her eyes had been changed to see the life essence of the living things around her.

Of course, with beings as beautiful and fantastical as the Immortals were, plenty of stories existed. First there were tales of their ethereal beauty, which was designed to lure in creatures that would otherwise cower away from the sheer overwhelming might and majesty that was their supernatural essence.

Seemingly created to be the perfect of evolution, but with one major flaw. The Immortals could not procreate, in fact given the seeming oversight of the different Gods that interacted with Terra’s own transformation, the number of Immortals seemed to be a permanent number.

There was also the one last flaw that was only hinted at with rumors but was often used as a way to show an Immortal’s penchant towards destruction, and that was the fact that they were all claimed to not have a soul.

Holding out her hands in front of her face, she looked only to notice that like the rumors suggested, she did not glow. At least not in the way the world around her seemed to glow and radiate with the brilliance of life.

There was also another rumor that suddenly came to the forefront of her mind. This was the note that Immortals either couldn’t cast magic, or eventually grew to the point of losing the ability to cast magic. Yet, to everything Terra could sense, her magic was the same, if not seemingly enhanced by this alleged curse.

As a test, Terra held out her hand and attempted to breathe life back into the dead tree before her.

Rejuvenation.

Magic was even more brilliant in this new state of being. With but a minor focus of her will, she could feel the magic flow from her and force a few leaves to come to life on the dead tree. Of course, without a soul the magic would be wasted, Terra knew this, just as she knew that while having spent some of her magic, it would come back, if only at a slower pace than what she was used to.

So, there was a slight drawback to her magical renewal rate, but what she lost in regeneration speed, she more than made up for with her potency.

Pausing, she realized that to truly tell the changes that had overtaken her body, she would need to go and take a new reading. As soon as she had this thought, her mind warned her that the reading would no doubt still show her as being an awakened Seer, which was a crime in almost every country that had signed the original Treaty of Peace. The Treaty was first used to unite the land and provide yearly resources to the Island of the Oracles. This was also the same treaty that made it a crime for those that had the blood of a Seer within them to be forced to join the island nation, or have their family be branded as heretics.

With that, Terra’s hand went up to touch the pendant she now wore around her neck. The pendant that showed her to be an awakened Seer.

Idly she wondered if that was part of the reason why she as an Immortal could still use magic? That or if the old wife’s tales of Immortals not being able to use magic was just something said to make the monsters that were Immortals be that much more acceptable. The Immortal she faced did seem to have a touch of power, especially with his regeneration and ability to seemingly teleport away from danger, but that was limited. It was clear that either the Immortal she faced was not used to the power they had, or the power they once wielded had slowly diminished over time.

With that Terra made up a plan, she would continually push herself with her magic. Seeing if there were times when her magic would fade. The fact that her magic was regenerating slowly, well slower than she used to be a bit concerning, but she also realized she was given the ultimate ability. For she now had a lifetime, multiple lifetimes, to explore the world.

With that, her one remaining fear, that of her needing to remain pure to receive the blessing of being chosen as the hero once more, was finally gone. Well not completely, there was still a vast empty void in her chest where the fact that she was no longer chosen by the Gods for her role as hero did hurt. But she saw the way the Gods of light seemingly fought for her, removing curses, as if they were rewards for a lifetime of continued self-sacrifice.

Was this their way of rewarding her? Or was this the way of saying that Gods needed her to help train the next Hero? Realizing that it was likely the latter, Terra decided that she would take it as part of her dues, that for receiving the blessings from the Gods of Light, that she would use her gifts to teach the next hero, so that they might be better than herself had been, during her times as the hero.

With her mind made up, Terra realized she still had the better part of a month before she would once again meet up with Lady Montague to return back the Seer’s Pendant. From there, she would embark on her journey to find and train the next Hero for the inevitable battle against the being of supreme evil.

Rip.

Terra’s school clothes that had been remarkably tight on her after her sudden transformation tore from the bulges of her muscles, and her suddenly increased height.

“Well, I guess I will start by finding some new clothes first.” Terra said to herself, as she inspected the sizable tear on the inside of her left pants leg. “Fortunately, I do know how to hunt, skin, and curing leather.”

***

The sun arose on the body of lady Montague, causing her to awaken from her slumber.

Panting.

Lady Montague awoke and instantly began to search the area around her, looking for signs of danger. The night had been hectic to say the least, from being attacked not once but twice, only to be saved by the Guardian angel. A term used by Lady Montague’s daughter, one that seemed unbefitting of the wayward student from the northern Academy.

Yet, after seeing everything that happened, to include the ray of light that all but devoured her daughter, the claim of a guardian angel made sense.

Then, half wishing her memories to be misinterpreted, as if they were just the fantasy of a sleep deprived mind pushed to the brink of madness. She stared at her daughter, Marianna, and found that the other half of her thoughts were correct, the one where her daughter was truly chosen by the light.

Looking down at the beautiful girl within her arms, she could see it, the faint golden glow of a halo that seemed to burn brightly just behind Marianna’s closed eyelids.

“You’re the chosen one?” Lady Montague found herself saying, as she clutched her daughter and her infant son close to her chest, letting them rest in the warming light of the morning. “This changes everything.”

Originally, Lady Montague had thought to run to her acquaintances to the north, but now that she had the special charge of raising and protecting the chosen one, her options became limited.

Then thinking back to the savior who had appeared out of nowhere and had seemingly known everything about her plight without having to say a word. The more she thought, the more she realized that her being an angel, or an instrument of the Gods was the only thing that made sense. She had known too much, been too accepting. Even the supposed awakening of the Seer’s bloodline, that only showed that she had a direct connection to the Gods.

Realizing this was the moment that all devout prayed for, the moment to be part of the great crusade against evil, Lady Montague did what any mother would. She prayed.

“Give me a sign of what I should do next, of where I should go?” Lady Montague said softly, still trying to remain quiet while her children rested silently within her arms. At this moment, she knew this would likely be the last calm morning the three of them could share together for quite a long time.

Ka-caw.

Then just as she had that thought, a war screech of a large predator cut through the calm of the calm morning air. Followed shortly by the sight of ever-increasing shadows that began to descend from the heavens.

“What? Huh?” Marianna’s tiny voice called out, as she was awakened by the sudden darkness that covered her face.

Looking down, Lady Montague saw her daughter awaken, followed shortly by the twitching features of her son, who was also soon awakening. With that Lady Montague realized her moment of peace was over, and now she would have to interpret the whims of the Gods.

Then the more she watched, the more she realized that she might need to travel north to the Academy, as she saw the search and rescue flight crew of the Academy. The one that the protector sent by the very Gods of Light had worn, and the one near where her friends who would at least be willing to listen to her story also stayed.

Yet, all of that was caught into question, when the Knight Captain who led the easily identifiable Search and Rescue wing called out, asking the question that caused a shiver of fear to run down Lady Montague’s spine.

“Tell me, did you perchance see the golden pillar of light that was said to have landed somewhere in this forest last night?”

***

From overhead there were countless signs of struggles, as if the forces of darkness themselves were already aware of the potential chosen and were trying to strike them down before they could fully reach their true potential.

On their flight searching the countryside, there were signs of hunting groups, bandits, and what could only be described as the battlefield of Gods. That is of course assuming that burnt forests, and random spike pits filled with monsters was a sign of anything other than the Gods battling.

From the looks of everything, Wing-Knight Captain Roderick would have sworn that at least one of the monsters that fought was an Immortal. All the signs were there, blood, exsanguinated corpses, mayhem, and of course no body to be found. The fact that three survivors were found at all, was beyond amazing. Yet, this only made Captain Roderick even more certain that providence was at play with these three. That was the only thing that Roderick was certain of, providence, and the fact that these woods clearly housed an ancient evil that should be avoided at all costs.