Chapter 203: Second Chances

Night had fallen. Deep blue lights lit the floating city with a cold radiance that made Viv want to shiver. Outside, the perfectly smooth surface of the water was an abyss hiding another abyss, an unmoving mirror under storm clouds. Dark shapes moved at the edge of the Azure Lady’s control. The elements unleashed their furies there, while in here, they merely waited. The Azure Lady patiently drew symbols around the sleeping form of Rakan, lying naked over a stone slab. This brought back painful memories.

 

Viv realized she had a hand over her heart scar, where Abe had stabbed her to help her ascend. She’d kept it after the transformation. She had also kept the dragon-shaped burn scar on her arm where Arthur had sneezed her first fire. Dragon fire was no joke.

 

Something was wrong.

 

It wasn’t the ritual itself. As far as Viv could tell, the circle was a complex and impressive mix of blue and soul magic, using symbols in a way she’d never thought about. The Azure Lady would use the imprint of Rakan’s soul to smooth out and reforge his core. It was only possible because Rakan’s core was cracked, not shattered. It was weird how resilient cores were compared to the rest of a person. One had to make an immense effort to destroy it while leaving the person breathing.

 

Sonagi had a lot to answer for, although, now that she thought about it, core attacks might be a way to slay extremely resilient opponents. Maybe there was an angle to pursue there.

 

Anyway, something was wrong with the Azure Lady herself. She moved with fluid grace around the place with myriad symbols forming in her footsteps. She was just willing symbols into existence with elegance and control that was nothing short of godlike. It was honestly a pleasure to watch, but it was also all a lie. The Azure lady stepped around, her dress and hair floating behind as if underwater, free of gravity. her eyes scrutinized the work. Her hand stayed at her side, thin and elegant. Viv could see a light scowl on the woman’s features when she seemed to be focusing on a specific area of the dauntingly complex construct. All of the trappings of humanity were there, and they were all a lie. The Azure Lady was not here.

 

This was just a puppet, a shell, humanity painted over a porcelain doll with artistic grace. A moving illusion. Viv knew for sure because she felt the woman’s soul all around her, in the water sphere under her feet, in the moisture, even in the body, but it was not a person, merely a vessel.

 

The Azure Lady no longer existed as a human, or at least, not here. Elunath had made a conscious effort to stay close to his humanity, though there was much to be said about which aspects of mankind he’d picked. The Azure Lady was gone. Viv was sure of it, so why was she also pretending so hard to still be human right down to surrounding herself with people? How much of her was left to care about her fellow Shadowlanders, and how much was losing itself in the depths of the ocean, searching for truth? Or perhaps learning from a real elemental.

 

Viv wondered if there were true black elementals. She sure hoped there weren’t.

 

“Thou still linger at the source of your journey, young one,” the Azure Lady said to Viv.

 

Her voice wasn’t coming from her lips, though they moved. It was uncanny.

 

“You mean, as an elemental archmage?”

 

“Yes. Thou hath not explored the mysteries of thine new condition. Thou hath yet to ponder its significance, doest thou not?”

 

“Probably. I needed a lot of help to ascend. It was done very early in my life compared to the others, if I understand correctly.”

 

The Azure Lady nodded. Once again, it felt very affected, a deliberate decision rather than a natural gesture.

 

“Although thou were forced upon this path, and thy understanding of thy hue stems not from experience, but from talent and luck, thou are fully counted amongst our number. The nature of thy new condition is still something thou should meditate on for a better understanding of your own nature. I can feel thine power as it roars under thy skin. It is far too constrained. Thou have yet to attune it to your magic.”

 

“Wait a minute, are you saying that I need to think about black mana for more of my body to turn elemental?”

 

The Azure Lady casually kept the conversation going while she built the array. That was a little impressive.

 

“Not think. Ponder. Meditate. Feel.”

 

“And you do this to become… what, closer to mana? To understanding it?”

 

“No. To fully ascend.”

 

“To become a full elemental?”

 

The body stopped, yet the symbols kept being written by the Azure Lady’s presence. It was like watching a movie, except one of the characters was frozen while the others continued acting as if nothing was wrong. A deep unease filled Viv’s chest. Both Elunath and the lady were old but not that old, surely. Was this her fate as well?

 

How long would it take before she grew so detached, she might as well be insane?

 

“Yes. To become a full elemental.”

 

“Is this why you are living near the abyss? To understand water?”

 

“To understand all aspects of the blue, for only in full cognizance can ascension be achieved. Does thou not seek the same thing?”

 

“Hmm. No.”

 

So she confirmed elemental archmages became elementals at the end. What made them different from gods, though? Well, no, she understood how one became a god. It was through deeds and actions, doing, while elementals were more about being, she guessed. Meditation, understanding, not changing the planet and being recognized by it. Those were different vocations.

 

“Perhaps thou art merely too young…”

 

The body was completely inert by now, except for the unseen current playing with the woman’s hair. The disembodied voice sounded a little lost. Viv didn’t have the guts to ask her why one would want to become an absent-minded, disembodied creature who spent all her time looking at water. Maybe it was a different version of the afterlife kind of thing. The Azure Lady wanted Nirvana while Viv wanted Valhalla and she sure as fuck was ready to send a lot of people there as well. In any case, the pseudo-senile lady was nice and also a good source of knowledge, so it was the perfect opportunity to learn some secret information.

 

“Are elementals born from archmages different from natural ones?”

 

There was another considerable delay while the Azure Lady processed Viv’s question. Viv sometimes had to refrain from replying before lower step administrators finished their questions due to how fast her mind had become. Viv didn’t think her inquiries were too complicated, therefore it had to be an issue of… of RAM. The Azure Lady was doing too many things at the same time. It also meant Viv was being treated as a low priority task. Fair enough since Rakan ought to be first. It was still a little annoying.

 

“They are the same. The essence is identical. The path is different. Elementals are born from concentrated mana that gained sapience. Archmages turn into elementals by becoming concentrated mana. Two sides… two sides of the same coin.”

 

“I see.”

 

“Why wouldst thou not wish to transcend thy base nature?”

 

Because you look like a lobotomized demigod and Elunath was a twat.

 

“I enjoy being alive here, in the world of humans. My friends live here,” Viv replied with all the diplomacy she could muster.

 

“Thou shalt outlive them. All of them.”

 

“I wouldn’t be so sure. And besides, I am living in the now. I can always change my mind later.”

 

“So young…”

 

The Azure Lady returned to her weaving. Viv felt a familiar presence appear while the Azure lady finished.

 

“Sidjin,” Viv greeted with a smile. “I thought you wanted to stay with the ship for safety reasons?”

 

“Yes, well, I’m making an exception for a few hours, at least.”

 

His gaze fell on Rakan’s supine form.

 

“His wound is also my responsibility. I allowed him to take the field in the arena. It was because of my decision that he fell into the trap, and that he ended up crippled. I must be here for this moment. We should be here for him together. We owe him that much.”

 

“You’re right,” Viv said.

 

After all, she had poached the poor guy before he could be snatched by some rich family from the Northern Cities. Maybe some of them would have treated him well too, despite the general discrimination against Hallurians.

 

“I just hope everything will go well.”

 

“Could she have not covered his, ah, mid-section at least?” Sidjin mentioned with a frown.

 

“What?”

 

“His genitals are very visible.”

 

“It’s a medical procedure. A medical procedure!” Viv scowled. “We are being professional here.”

 

“The second time you performed a medical procedure on me, at the end you grabbed my —”

 

“Hey, we were already a couple!”

 

“You said it was for testing functionality but we ended up making love on the operating table.”

 

“It was an operating altar and it was very cold, thank you very much. You traitor. You know too much. Perhaps I should have you…. silenced.”

 

Sidjin gave an exaggerated shrug. Some of the tension had left.

 

“You know how to seal my lips. I will let the displayed testicles issue drop, so to speak. I think it’s about to begin.”

 

The Azure Lady was ready. Her presence encompassed the whole spell, smothering everyone under a thick blanket of power. Blue mana coalesced until Viv could no longer tell where Rakan began and the foreign mana ended. In the following seconds, things became… abstract. Lines merged while entities bled into each other. In her soul sense, the delicate touch of the Azure Lady held the core of what made Rakan a mage in her dainty fingers. It wasn’t like a tank of gas, or a furnace, but more like a metaphysical echo of what the planet was. The world under Viv’s feet was alive and conscious, if barely in a way she could comprehend. Its will permeated the reality around them, and the Azure Lady’s will, in turn, permeated a fraction of that. Now Rakan’s entire impact on the world came into full view. That will was still pristine and true, but the strands of power that made it whole flickered, bleeding potential out instead of keeping it in. Patiently, the Azure Lady collected those strands and brought them back together. Errant figments of strength reformed into a delicate lattice that seemed to grow not just up, down, left and right, but also inward and outward, and recently and soon as well. Viv shivered when she felt her own strands echo in sympathy.

 

The Azure lady pulled back after what felt like only a few minutes. By comparison, building the spell had taken much longer.

Rakan woke up with a jolt. His eyes traveled to the ceiling, then to his surroundings. To Viv. He sat down with a start.

 

“Thou must not hasten. Thy body lacks strength,” the Azure lady said.

 

He extended a hand. A flame appeared, soon followed by a twirling gust of wind, then a blob of water, then earth, then fire again. His breath turned fast and manic. Several spells activated at the same time, flowing into one another. He took a few more deep breaths.

 

Viv could see it in her mana sight. His core was greedily gulping mana to turn it into his own. None of it went to waste. He was cured. A beaming smile replaced the look of fearful expectancy.

 

“I… I… it worked? It worked!”

His laugh was infectious. Viv extended her arms. Without hesitation, Rakan crashed into her.

 

She’d only meant to grab his hands but…. that was nice as well. A pleasant warmth filled her heart. Rakan was laughing, and crying too. She patted the unruly hair near his neck. Soon, Sidjin joined them. Rakan grabbed both in a bear hug with surprising strength. Looks like the teenager had filled out a bit.

 

“I’m so happyyyyyyy.”

 

“It was a long time coming,” Viv whispered.

 

“You did it! You really helped me!”

 

“Hey.”

 

She broke the hug. Rakan was practically bouncing on his feet.

 

“Look, I know I’m kind of bad at this but after spending years here, I finally have to admit that… you locals have been growing on me. At the beginning, I really wanted to head back but now, my life is here, and I’m glad I could be here for you as well. Just, you know, it’s hard for me to say.”

 

“You prefer to act, I’ve noticed,” Sidjin said.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

 

“In Halurian, we used to have a saying: a tongue like stone, a heart like mushroom bread.”

 

Rakan gave her a good, earnest look. He was hesitating, Viv could tell. She encouraged him with a smile.

 

“You know, you like to pretend that you don’t care but I think you’re using it as a shield to do what you think must be done. The Viv I know isn’t ruthless. You’re practical, and you don’t like people finding out you have a heart, but I can see the way you look after me through actions and little gestures, just like you look after Sidjin over there, or Arthur, or even that silverite hulk Solfis. It’s like this as well. When I wanted to fight, you didn’t like it but you let me do it. When I got hurt, then maimed, you didn’t abandon me to my fate, or told me ‘I told you so’ as you could have. You found a solution to help me by having Abe lend his staff. You trained me. You gave me this feeling that I still mattered and that I was still me, even when I was diminished. You gave me a position in your court in a function I could complete and though you let me take responsibility for finding a cure, once I did, you were there to help me get it. You never even hesitated. I see you, Viv. You are slow to thaw but when you do, you’re a friend for life. It is no wonder that you have gathered a collection of elites. I just want to tell you that in this case, I think it’s a collection of friends. We are all out there living our lives and building the Harrak we want to live in but you know that if you need our help, we would stand against a dark god side by side with you. With your luck, one day we will. Thank you.”

 

Viv huffed before she could let that treacherous warmth spill into obvious feelings. Rakan was a sly one, however, and he noticed anyway. They chuckled.

 

“Thank you. It means a lot to me. I will remember this moment and your words. Now come on, I’m the mighty Empress of Harrak. Our enemies fear us and so on. I need to keep a modicum of fear about me. Can’t let people know I’m half decent.”

 

“Your secret is safe with me,” Rakan swore. “I will tell everyone you are a cold-hearted beast.”

 

“Nice. In return for my service, I have a favor to ask you.”

 

“Is it about me wearing underwear right now?”