Chapter 93 - Revelations (Patreon)

“You’re… so fast,” Cameron huffed with one hand on his knee.

Forcing + 2

Coating + 1

“Why are you so durable? I might as well be pummeling a stone,” Jiran wiped the overflowing sweat threatening to stream into his eyes.

“Hah, you can thank my old man for that. The arse talks with his fists. None of my siblings has less than two acclamations for taking blows that should have killed us. Do you have one for speed? Is that why I can’t hit you? I can tell your attributes are lower than mine, though slightly. Which, by the way, is disgusting considering how strong your channeling is.”

“Uh, I do have an acclamation for speed, though it just helps my brain process multiple things at once. I think the big difference is my forcing level being higher than yours.”

“What?! You have Active Dual Minds? That one’s crazy hard to get. Looks like Master Filibree had time to teach you some things after all.”

“He told me it was common!” Cameron howled with laughter at Jiran’s flabbergasted expression.

The outburst was enough to finally rouse Mayalyn, who had somehow slept through their sparring for the last two hours. She stretched before beginning to crawl out of the burrow he had dug for them. “Mayalyn’s awake, I’m going to go get washed up.”

“All right, I’m almost done here. Another few hours and I should have it. Thanks for the spar, got me a lot closer to my caps.”

“Any time. Kicking your ass is pretty fun.”

“Did you say licking my ass is fun? Hey, whatever you’re into man, I don’t judge.” Cameron raised two fingers to his ears in a rude gesture at Jiran’s back which made him laugh again.

By the time he was clean and changed, Mayalyn was sitting at the fire enjoying her breakfast. He plopped down next to her and nudged his face on her shoulder in the way she liked, which caused her to smile up at him.

“Good morning,” She purred.

“Hey, take it to your little burrow you animals!” Cameron bellowed from his training circle.

“Don’t be mad ‘cause the only thing you ever kiss is the dirt!” Jiran yelled over his shoulder.

“It is good to see you enjoying their company.” Mayalyn chuckled as she prodded his ribs with her elbow.

“I guess I have been, huh? They seem like good people, but don’t tell them I said that.”

Suddenly, Jiran turned serious as he rotated to face her fully, “Mayalyn, I’m not going to delay any longer. I’ll fight six more today, then finish the last five tomorrow morning. After that, I’ll be gone,” He leaned closer and whispered in her sensitive ear at a volume so low that only she could possibly hear. “Daughter said these two would die for you. So stay close to them until I’m back, okay?”

She stared intently into his eyes for several long seconds before seeming to come to a decision, “Take us to The People before you go.”

“What?! Why would I do that? If the Aahmra is back, he would…” Jiran trailed off as his mind spun with the possibilities.

The Aahmra wouldn't dare endanger The People by attacking Olive and Cameron. She’s the daughter of one of the emperors for Fathers’ sake. If all three of them are together, and Olive makes it clear that Mayalyn is under their protection, she would probably be safer than just about anywhere in the entire empire. This is assuming the Aahmra is done ascending. It hasn’t even been two weeks and he needs to find and kill four hundred tier fives without the ability to instantly claim density to mana. No matter how good his aura is, that’s a tall order.

What other options do we have? I was planning to talk with Olive about it, then either leave them here or take them to a city where she thought they would be safe. Out here is only a single beast away from tragedy, while a random imperial city could be dangerous if Mayalyn is spotted. Olive mentioned she could be more useful to The People than Reihnhardt, maybe this is her chance to prove it.

“Before I say anything else, can I hear why you want to go?”

“Mhm,” Mayalyn nodded, “They need to see what we can achieve when we work together. I know many wish to run back to the island as soon as possible, but is that what is best for us? The empire is so much more than what we left behind, and I wish to show them what they would be throwing away. Even the Aahmra does not know, or he would never have done what he did.” She reached out, taking his hands in hers, her voice suffused with conviction. “I fully believe that if he knew the power we could achieve working together, he would have made different choices. They need to know, Jiran. Our combined enhancing changed everything.”

He ran his thumbs over the smooth skin on the backs of her hands, never taking his eyes from hers, “You’re willing to risk yourself to show them? Don’t answer that, of course you are. I’m never going to tell you what you can and can’t do, Mayalyn. If this is what you feel is right, I won’t stop you. That said, I also think it's a good idea. If we can peacefully resolve things with the Aahmra, that would be for the best. The People need strength to stand strong in the empire, and he has that.”

Mayalyn squeezed her eyes tight and her shoulders relaxed with a sigh. A few seconds later, she nodded twice before shaking herself lightly and suddenly, she was back to her usual, cheerful self. “Thank you,” She leaned in and kissed him quickly before pushing away with her hands on his chest, “You will be much more powerful the next time we meet. I cannot wait to see how potent our combined enhancing will be then.”

Fathers, she’s amazing.

“It’s going to be epic,” The glimmer of excitement in his eyes every bit a match for hers.

Olive stirred against her tree before teetering off balance. She woke fully with a gasp and barely caught herself before face-planting. She looked around through bleary eyes. When she caught sight of Jiran and Mayalyn holding in their laughter, she blushed slightly before standing up and dusting herself off.

Cameron began grunting as he resumed his training while Olive approached the fire. She was biting her upper lip while sneaking glances at Jiran. Before she had a chance to, Jiran spoke up. “Sorry for being callous with my choice of words yesterday. I thought of another way to explain my method that might help.”

Olive stopped and blinked at him several times before she motioned with her hand for him to continue.

“Think of the world as a cup of water and density is like ground tea leaves. Water is water, and leaves are leaves. When you mix them, they become delicious, though neither started that way. Together, they create new smells and textures and they can even cleanse or enhance the body. They become more than the sum of their parts. Life and density are similar but we only see the mixed tea, since that’s all that surrounds us, even though they are very different.”

Olive pursed her lips as she sat down. She closed her eyes and took a moment to consider his words before piercing him with bright blue eyes. “How can the fish contemplate the sky when it knows only the water?”

“Exactly! It’s hard to tell the truth when you can’t see or feel it,” Jiran nodded.

“You misunderstand, I want to know how you came to your conclusion. How can you—the fish, contemplate something you cannot see or feel—the world without density.”

How much should I tell her?

Jiran glanced at Mayalyn sitting beside him. Daughter’s earlier words about Olive being willing to sacrifice herself swam through his thoughts. He squeezed Mayalyn’s hand again before responding.

“I saw a reality without density, in a dream. In that dream, I lived it, breathed it, and knew it to be real. I remember it still in perfect clarity and nothing I learned in that dream has ever been wrong. It happened right after my first tiering failed, I was also denless at the time and it all just clicked. It’s not like I’m some genius or anything. I just got lucky.”

Jiran shuddered at the memories of that day and Mayalyn’s return squeeze brought a comfort that wrapped around him like a soft blanket. Olive’s mouth hung open as she stared at him in stunned silence. Even Cameron had stopped moving and was looking at him with a sharp stare. Her mouth clicked shut and she covered it with her balled fist while coughing gently.

“I did not expect an answer, let alone one that revealed so much. You were truly denless? That is… I don’t… That must have been shortly before we first met. How did you recover and save us?”

“I discovered the method I taught Cameron yesterday. Without any density, I had no access to my status and had to figure out how to convert density and control mana manually. I used those memories to do it. They showed me a lot about how Madra works, even though they were memories of another planet.”

Olive looked over her shoulders nervously as Jiran talked. She turned back to him with a serious expression before talking. “You should be very careful with whom you share such information! Why would you even tell me that? You know who I am and that I have duties, responsibilities to the empire.”

Jiran shrugged off her concern, it being present all the more proof he was right about her. “I’ve decided to trust you two. On that note, if you don’t think I should spread my method, I won't. I don’t know anything about the emperors or political situation so if you think what I know can cause two of them to go wild, then I’m not going to argue. I’ll keep my mouth shut.”

“That’s uhm, well, thank you for your trust. Would you be willing to tell me how your shaping and channeling are so powerful as well? If there is anything you know that can improve the empire's strength without upsetting Empress Palolla Le’Sanctum and Emperor Lorodarand Le’Sanctum, then we should use that knowledge as best we can.”

“Mostly it’s more stuff from the same dream, though I’ve been indirectly told that spreading that information is restricted. If I did tell you everything, there’s a very real chance Madra would kill you, or anyone you shared the knowledge with.

“What?! Why?” Olive shot to her feet, the whites of her eyes growing visible.

“No clue, that’s just what I’ve been told. It’s happened before, to Mayalyn’s great-grandfather. He tried to pass along restricted knowledge and it would vanish after he wrote it down, until eventually, he vanished too. At least, that’s what we think happened.”

“You said you were told this, by whom?”

“Revelation. It’s a technique Lenton had me learn.”

Jiran didn’t think Olive’s eyes could grow any wider, but they did. “You have revelation. And it talks to you… With words?” Her voice broke as it rose several octaves at the end.

“Yup, she said yours would do the same too, once you level molding a little more.”

“Oh, okay,” Olive mumbled breathlessly while her brain struggled to come to grips with what she was hearing. Suddenly, her body jerked toward him. She stumbled forward, reaching for his hand and she couldn’t speak quickly enough. “I am ready, we must begin immediately!”

Jiran pulled his hand away before she could snatch it in her excitement then motioned to a spot on the ground. Olive instantly dropped to the designated area and folded her legs while clapping her hands. “Tea leaves and boiling water, right? I can picture that clearly, did you not do something to Cameron last night to help him as well?”

“Yeah, I sure did,” Jiran chuckled as he reached for the back of her neck.

Niya of Feylon

Deep underground—in an old abandoned mining village, Niya leaned against a decrepit fence. She faced a small group of new recruits: Tier threes, and even a couple tier fours. All were eager to hear her words.

She felt the cool, calming presence of the crystal key in her back pocket. She never let it out of her aura, refusing to hand it off to any of the idiotic thugs that surrounded her constantly. One of those very idiots raised their hand, his hopeful exuberance nearly caused her to grimace before she smiled softly and nodded at him.

Emboldened by her kindness, he gulped before asking his question.

“H-how do we know that density isn’t s’posed to be in us?”

Niya sighed, having expected the question her answer came instantly “If the church is right about anything, it’s that knowledge equals power. When you accept the truth, you’re molding will gain more levels in an instant than you have right now,” Niya shook lightly as disgust dropped a ball of lead into her stomach.

Sensing her rising discomfort, Dommell stepped in smoothly, picking up where she left off. “You’ll finally have the power to strike back against the ones who forced you from your homes, who took everything from you. Don’t give in to despair, seek the truth, and let it set you free.”

Great Mother, I'm going to be sick. I need a break.

She bowed low to them, a fifth tier powerhouse showing them such respect caused gasps to run through the gathered farmers and crafters. She spun and walked away before she lost her composure. Dommell was right on her heels as they entered the largest building in the run-down little town, a huge grin plastered on his face.

“The wise prophet of the True Way blesses us all with her holy presence,” He bowed so low he couldn’t even see her boots.

Her tone turned to a deep growl. “Just because you've ascended, don’t think for a second I couldn’t kick your ass so hard you would see the surface,” She stormed deeper into the building, hoping he wouldn’t follow.

His aura slammed into her back—or would have, if she didn’t catch it with her own and push back viscously. The dilapidated building shook precariously for the forces attempting to tear it apart. They paid the temporary shelter no mind as they struggled against each other. She could have instantly dominated Dommell’s aura but chose not to. There was not a moment to waste, they would need the training, and every other edge they could acquire, if they were going to succeed.

She felt his aura reaching for the key in her pocket and she smashed his energy down with a vengeance, bringing him to one knee. She looked over her shoulder to see his nose bleeding and finally, a true smile pulled at her lips. “Nice try, go for my ass again and I’ll drop you down to the next floor with the rest of the beasts.”

“Don’t flatter yourself. There’s not a man alive that would think your ass is worth digging through the mountain of thorns that is your shining personality.” The brevity left him in a rush as she released her grip on him and their aura-battle resumed anew. While struggling to breathe, he changed from the dangerous topic of her derriere. “Do you think they’ll be ready in time?”

“I don’t fucking care. I don’t even want to bring them. I can’t believe I ever agreed to use them as a distraction. Your plan, no, your entire little faction makes me sick. As soon as this is over, you’ll never see me again.”

“Don’t be like that, Niya. They all agreed. After what happened to them, I don’t blame them at all for wanting a little revenge.”

She shook her head and spit on the floor before turning to face him with a scowl. “Whatever, I’m done teaching them. You know the method well enough, you can take over. You have two days. I’m not waiting any longer than that. I’ll go alone if I have to.”

Dommell tsked when he heard the conviction in her tone but he had to try one last time. “Once this job is done, you’ll see that we’re the ones you should trust. Whatever the emperors are hiding in that temple, we’ll use it to show the whole empire that their twisted dogma is nothing more than a deadly lie. Soon, we’ll have all the proof we need to unite the empire and turn the tides on the Graymin. Then, you’ll be a hero for what you’ve already done. You don’t even have to go. Why don't you give me the key and kick back here 'til it’s all over?”

Not a chance, idiot. Not when I know it has something to do with him. She needs me, and he’s the only one who can help. I have to find him, no matter the cost.

“Sure, you can have the key. The second I’m dead,” Then she slammed her door shut before smashing him through the outer wall with her aura.