B6 Chapter 16: Farewells

Time resumed with a blink. There was no explosion that came with the eruption, only a splash of water as Teldrin stumbled forward. 

“Wha-”

“Teldrin!”

Then a collective gasp as all eyes focused not on the child, but the woman holding the boy upright. Teldrin groaned as he started to cough. Black bile seeped out from the corners of his mouth and then it started to appear in place of his sweat. 

Ysanna ignored it all. The second it touched her, the bile evaporated with a living spark that chased around her skin like an angry serpent. 

Aimon, Zillassa, Callen, Khrem, and Teldrin’s parents dropped to their knees, lowering their heads.

“My lady,” Callen whispered.

The only ones who remained standing were Sereza, Teldrin’s sister, and I. Even then, Teldrin’s mom hurriedly pulled her daughter down and made her bow. Sereza didn’t go as low, but she too lowered her head respectfully, leaving only me in the end.

I caught the side-eye from the serpent and made my mask wink.

“L-lady, Ysanna?” Teldrin coughed. Black gunk had poured out of his eyes, gluing them shut as he continued to expel the material. “Wha… happening?”

“I’m sorry, Teldrin. It’ll be over in a minute. Your body is just adjusting to the drop of ether.” She waved a hand over his face, and a wind stirred through the church and cleaned the boy of the goop. “I hope you’ll forgive me for this moment of pain. It will be worth it, I promise.”

Teldrin went rigid, but a tap from Ysanna made his limbs return to jelly. I scanned the boy’s body, finding an influx of mana surging through him. 

It’s not just electricity and water… There are multiple aspects… 

Like Ysanna promised, within a minute, Teldrin stopped expelling the black bile, and he slowly regained control of his limbs. With Ysanna’s help, he stood up on his own but swayed side-to-side. A snap from the goddess cleaned his skin, but his white clothes were permanently ruined. 

Even from here, I could smell the stink and activate my mask’s enchantments.

“Well, young man. Do you see it?” Ysanna asked.

“See?” Teldrin blinked slowly, his grey eyes focusing. 

Ysanna leaned forward with a smile and tapped his nose. “Will your status. I know you’ve been waiting. Think really hard in your head of the command. It’ll become instinctual soon enough.”

The boy’s eyes narrowed, then widened as he got the dazed look. It was common among those reading system prompts, his eyes looking past his environment and skipping along to something only he could see.

Then his eyes widened even further, and a panicked, yet surprised look overtook him.

“M-my Lady!” he started to bow, but Ysanna held his chin up with a finger. He started to shake in place. “But you… That’s… Why?”

“Teldrin!” his mother reprimanded.

“Oh, he is fine. Some confusion is expected.” She gave a wink at his mom, causing her to blush before she returned to giving Teldrin her full attention. “It’s not as much of a gift as you think it is.”

“But my slots! My perk!” he whispered in panic.

“Is needed to survive. You have a hard task ahead of you, one that’ll require every ounce of preparation and luck. I do not demand anything from you, for this is my apology. If you still feel like you must give in return, then all I ask is do as I say?”

Teldrin nodded furiously, so much so that I was afraid I’d hear a crack from the whiplash. “Anything!”

She leaned forward and whispered into his ear. Teldrin stilled and he slowly nodded. 

“Promise me?”

“I promise!”

“Good!” Ysanna clapped her hands and stepped back. “Unfortunately, while this sort of occasion deserves to be celebrated, there is not much time. I understand that you have already said your goodbyes, but go now and hug your family. It will be a while before you see again. Take the time to imprint the feeling of their warmth.”

Teldrin’s parents were obviously hesitant despite the goddess’s word’s but not his sister. She too, had grown, not by much, but she looked a little taller. Her arms were the first to crush Teldrin’s side after running to him and the two embraced as his sister started peppering him with questions. At the sibling’s cuteness, his parents followed swiftly and they were soon a ball of limbs and crying.

Sereza patted my shoulder. “Just so you know, some people lost bets.”

I snorted. “Out of all the lessons to learn from Broken Tower, I don’t think an addiction to betting is the one they wanted to impart.”

“Maybe,” she said with a shrug. “It did, however, make me five gold richer!”

“Wait, you bet on me accepting the boy?”

“Yep. Khrem thought you’d say no, while I said you’re knack for picking up strays would prevail.”

“That is untrue,” Khrem said, head still bowed. “I merely said that the probability of Cyrus denying young Teldrin’s request is higher than not. Only by ten percent.”

Ysanna cocked her head. “You may all rise. You know I never enjoyed the prolonged bowing. Leave that to the desperate gods seeking validation.”

“My, Lady.”

Khrem rose, as did Aimon and Zillasa. Callen stayed for half a minute longer before finally standing. His expression was serious as he watched Teldrin separate himself from his family. The two met eyes and Teldrin saluted with two fingers up, touching his chest. Callen returned the gesture and smiled as he held out his hand.

“And a gift from me, young man.”

With a pop, a spear appeared. It was on the shorter side, with a curved tip for a blade. The shaft was made of bone, while the head glistened as a dark-blue crystal. It was simple in design, but I could see an intricately carved wave pattern along the side. 

Teldrin looked ready to protest, but he shook himself and stepped forward to receive the weapon. When he grabbed it, Callen ruffled the kid's hair and pulled him in for a hug. 

“Sir, Callen!” Teldrin protested.

Callen squeezed the boy, then pushed him away. “Take care of that thing. I know what Ventus taught you, and Sir Gilber.”

“It’s too much! I was going to ask for a training spear, not–”

“Nonscene!” Callen scolded. “You, young man. You have trained every day and night. I’ve seen more determination out of you than some of my loyalist troops. You’ll be going into danger, and while I hope they can protect you, it’s more realistic to prepare for the eventuality when they can’t. Now chin up! Square those shoulders and wield it with pride!”

“Yes, sir!”

Teldrin almost dropped the spear in a rush to salute, but he shifted it to his free arm without bumbling around. When Callen nodded, it was when Aimon snuck behind the boy. 

“Sir?” Teldrin asked.

Aimon held out his hand and waited until the confused boy held out his palm. What dropped into his hand was a dull band the size of a quarter. It radiated mana and when I scanned through it, I got the same feeling as whenever Chomperz opened his jaw.

“While it may be redundant with your leader’s storage capabilities, take this anyway. It’s only the size of a small closet, but it’ll help keep your weapon stored and allow you to take supplies with you in case you are ever separated,” Aimon said as he patted the boy’s shoulder.

Teldrin bowed deeply. “Thank you!”

“I’m sorry, but there is no more time to waste. Are you ready?” Ysanna said.

Teldrin glanced at his family and ignored the tear-streaked faces with dignity. “I am, my lady!”

Ysanna chuckled. “I’m glad you are, child. But I was actually asking Cyrus.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

Teldrin’s cheeks turned red, but I wasn’t about to tease him. I met Poltor’s gaze and lifted my mask.

“I’ll do what I can to bring him back to you,” I said.

“That is good enough. I know you cannot promise more,” Poltor said.

I turned to Ysanna and nodded. “I’m ready.”

She plunged her hands through the air and grabbed at something beyond. Reality shifted like a curtain being drawn back as a portal of rippling water stretched outward, revealing a shifting ocean on the otherside.

Teldrin gave his family one last hug before shuffling over with the spear held tightly against his chest. The ring from Aimon had already been resized, adjusting its band to fit snugly on his pinky. He awkwardly saluted us before Sereza grabbed his shoulders and pushed him along.

When I entered the portal, a film of static coated my front that drilled deep into my bones and down my ribcage. The feeling ended as the wind hit my front, ruffling my collar. I shifted away from the portal, trusting the water to hold me up while the others entered.

Sereza and Zog were entirely unaffected fbythe transition of stone to what felt like hardened air. The same could not be said for Khrem and Teldrin, who took a second to stabilize. Once they did, I felt the surge of mana before the others and looked upward. 

Ysanna towered over us like a giantess, her form easily reaching more than fifteen meters in length. She sat upon her coral throne.

“I will be sending you away now. I can only reach as far as Solunaria cities, so keep that in mind,” she said, her voice hanging in the air like a remnant wind.

“Sedetra. We’ll be meeting our ride there,” I said.

“Very well. Safe travels.”

Another portal formed as two titanic waves crashed together. The water churned and stretched, forming a gate. Before the others could begin heading for the portal, seafoam bubbled around their feet. It stretched and lifted them upward into the portal. 

Everyone except me.

I looked to my righ,t and Ysanna was there, no longer in her blown-up form. 

“Is there something you wanted?”

Her hair sparkled in the sunlight of her realm, her face catching the reflection from the waves that made her positively glowing. 

“Don’t worry about the others, I’ve adjusted the dilation here to give us some time.”

“Some time for what?”

She prodded my chest again, but this time a gale crashed into us from the side, spraying me with seafoam. In the same second, something solid smacked my hip and I instinctively stabbed my tail toward the attacker only to find a shiny, orange ball impaled by the tip.

“What the?”

“It’s a pastry, completely harmless,” Ysanna said with a smirk.

“Why did you salt me and assault me with a pastry?” I asked after taking a bite from the orange ball. It tasted like a salty cookie mixed with cream cheese. After swallowing I held up the remaining piece. “That can’t be why you rushed the others out of here.”

“No, it’s not,” she admitted. “In truth, my form is a little unstable after conjuring the space in the physical world. While the others could survive some of my presence leaking out, the boy would not. Better to keep them out before I accidentally cripple his soul.”

Now that I was looking closely, her robes were sparking in places. Up above, storm clouds gathered and dispersed while the water around us churned more than the last time I was here.

“So?”

Ysanna sighed and held up another pastry, this one bright blue. “Before I let you go, there’s something I need to adjust. Frankly, it’s bothering me and it’s creating a negative feedback loop. It’s almost like an annoying bug that occasionally buzzes by. Rather vexing, really.”

“I have no idea what you are talking about.”

She tapped my chest and held up her pastry. “You were attacked by a projectile. It was within your mortal limits and should have been detected.”

“There’s no mana inside of it, it’s not a skill,” I countered.

“Not the point. You were hit by a projectile while surrounded by wind.”

What is she going on about?

“You control the wind… Wait, you mean my perk?”

“Exactly!” Ysanna said, smacking her fist into her palm. “You’re suppressing the perk that is tied to me, and it’s annoying me. Please stop.”

“I didn’t even know I was doing that.”

“Ugh, I assume it’s from your passive. From what I know from Eraztis, your aura is rather authoritative. That and your soul was recently damaged.”

“I’m sorry? I’ll try to stop suppressing, but I didn’t mean to. I’m still not entirely sure how I am, considering my aura isn’t active right now. You would know, things turn kind of grey.”

“I can help fix it and some of the remaining damage left over. It’ll just about empty me considering you are not really one of mine. Not that I would try, I saw what happened to Eraztis when he claimed you as his own. I do not believe I’d survive an encounter with Calstrax.”

I chuckled. “Probably. Not that I know how strong he really is. The bastard won’t even tell me his full domain…”

Ysanna stared blankly. “Again, I prefer existing now that I have my life back. I’m not going to throw it away because you are being nosy, brat.”

I shrugged. It was worth a try. In the end, I lowered my guard and found myself floating in a bubble as Ysanna conjured a carefully controlled burst of lightning from the sky. The plasma in the bolt solidified, joining a vial of swirling seawater that she quickly capped and shook around. 

When she popped the stopper, she splashed the contents into a bubble and the world went fuzzy. 

Then the itching started, followed by immense pain deep within my gut.

Damnit! Not again!

My cry was drowned out by the frothing crackle of the storm inside the bubble. Before I knew it, I felt myself moving, and looked up in time to see the portal approaching.

I tried to flip Ysanna off, but we were moving too fast. The last thing I felt from her presence was the rumbling laughter that filled the air behind me.