Chương 45: Chapter 44 - A Divine Pact

Elias's POV My hand squeezes my cup in a deathgrip, and the surety of what they said and my recent experiences rushes over me, with a strained frown I look up and ask, "What do you mean by that, how much do you know about what happened to me? Also how do you know?" Vael sits back with a chuckle, " Well that's the question isn't it?""

The inviolability of the mind is pretty well known, even when stripped of the body and down to a bare soulform, normally being able to glean anything is incredibly difficult, but with the condition you were in well… Let's just say you couldn't have put up much of a defense if you wanted too.

Also while I would normally be loath to sift memories from a mind given the damage that can come from such an act, if I wanted to safely pull you from the river and repair you I needed to know what happened to you and what form to give you."" I estimated it would be better to ask for forgiveness for rifling through your memories without permission, with the condolence that the knowledge obtained would be required to aid you."

My frown deepened at their admission of the violation of my mind, but they are clearly a god or some being so advanced and powerful they might as well be, so it's not like complaining would be helpful. A little grace towards my savior seemed to be in order, " I guess the past is in the past, does this mean you know what happened?" Vael settles into a neutral expression as they look me straight in the eyes.

"Well that's pretty simple Elias, you died." I feel a sense of vertigo as if my place in the universe has become unmoored and my stomach drops, as my face drops to my hands and I lift one from the cup flexing my fingers to remind myself that, in this moment at least, I exist. I think back to the void, the struggle I went through, and remind myself that I already had a pretty good guess of what happened, and with my struggle in the river that I have no intention of guttering out like a tea light in a windstorm.

I grit my teeth and harden my resolve. Who cares if I died, I'm not dead now, I think therefore I am afterall. All I can do is move forward… wait, I glance up at Vael with a fierce expression, "Well am I dead now?"

They study me for a moment, and with a slow grin answer, " No, I don't suppose you are." What an interesting response."" Although, how much longer that is the case depends on your choices." Warily I ask, " What do you mean by that?" They take a sip and rest their cup on the arm of their chair, cocks their head, " Well human beings aren't native to outer space, so you're going to have to decide where I send you, or the situation will resolve itself, you do have a few choices.""

I'll be honest the way you died was decidedly unfair in my opinion, I don't know who is in charge over that way but the power scaling seems wildly unfair if you ask me. The silver lining of being smote into oblivion with such overwhelming force is that it detached you from your local dimensional envelope and sent drifting the currents of the Great River in my direction.""

The reason this is a boon is that I am somewhat famous locally for my love of second chances and betting on a dark horse, and my oh my, are you a fighter!" They lean back in their chair and laugh heartily, "Awakening your source and rebuilding your internal structure as nothing more than an amorphous blob of a soul in the rapids of Samsara."" Well that means you have some serious fire in you little one, and that can take you farther than you would imagine."

I smile a little at their clearly good mood and the unexpected compliment, but squint a bit in suspicion, " I appreciate the flattery, but what do you mean you like to gamble, I'm not sure I like the sound of that." Vael settles back in their chair and smirks, " I'm confident you don't, but I intend to give you three options, despite being fairly confident of what you will choose.

In situations like these where a soul is removed from Samsara and the cycle there are only two options: I can drop you back in where you can ride the flow to its end wherever your destined end is to be." Leaning forwards giving me a serious look " And no I both can not and will not supply any hints don't ask."" The second is you can be reborn on the nearest inhabitable world, in the most compatible body to your soul shape. Start over fresh, with an intact soul, but no memories or lingering entanglements."

I grimace, "They're both pretty shit honestly, what's door number three?" Vael chuckles and leans forward, " How not surprising, well the third option is a bit of a play on number two and it requires a substantial downpayment on my part, but I can send you to the closest suitable location, keep your current body and memories."

"There is a catch." I arch my eyebrow, " I'm not sure I necessarily like the sound of that, pretty sure I've heard this story, what's the catch?"" I need to sacrifice my firstborn child to you, or you need me to start a cult to open a gateway for an invasion of eldritch horrors?" Vael recoils with a startled expression on their face and after a moment of sputtering breaking out into laughter before catching their breath and wiping a tear from their eye.

"I have to admit it has been quite a while since I interacted with a mortal, and frankly you have to be the first in my memory who would have the audacity to say such a thing to me." A small smile returns to their face, " No, nothing like that, and despite the terrifying magnificence of the glimpse you captured of a corner of my true form, I am most definitely not some cranky abyssal herald of ruin." You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Vael smirks at me with a mischievous spark in their eye as they waggled their eyebrows at me, " Doesn't mean I wouldn't turn down a sacrifice or two." Snorting out a laugh at the expression on my face, " I jest. While it is a practice that is more common than you would think, I don't care much for such things." Flicking a dismissive gesture, " It's nothing very onerous, a small thing really, I just want you to accept a mark."

My eyebrows furrow, " I'm the first to admit I'm a little lost here, what exactly does that mean?"" Well to start with, in order to preserve your being as it passes through the veil requires a not insubstantial amount of power on my part, and while I'm charitable I'm not overloaded with phenomenal cosmic power that I can grant such a gift to everyone I come across.""

On the other hand, the connection between the region you are going to and the greater expanse can be a little tenuous at times and it's been ages since I've checked up on the place."" Frankly I'm a little nostalgic and would like to know how some of the inhabitants are doing."" In the short term the mark would facilitate this allowing us to communicate from time to time, and in the long term it will allow me to share some of my power with you in return for this or other acts of service."

Vael leans in closer with a smirk, " You won't be able to handle much at first, but I'm betting that won't be for very long." My eyebrows raise, " What, so you're willing to share some of that phenomenal cosmic power as long as I send you a book report on local political structures or something?"" Sorry but that doesn't seem very equitable to me, is there a reason that you are willing to go to such lengths for a stranger?"

I sigh, look at my cup and then look up and then wave in the direction of my general surroundings, "Not too long ago I would never have imagined finding myself in a place like this" gesturing in the direction of the enigmatic being seated across from me " Or speaking with whatever you are beyond obviously not human, and while I'm grateful for your assistance, I'm not sure that it entirely in my best interest to trust you.

Hell, I just met you, and from my most recent experiences this sounds like something pretty invasive." Although I doubt I would have much choice if they wanted to force the issue, I think to myself. With a click of their tongue "Tssk, well you do have me there, and I don't very well blame you. Life can be a frail and fraught thing, here one minute and brutally gone the next, with just a thought." Vael acknowledges his point with a snap of their fingers.

"The good part in all this is that you don't have to take just my word for it, I can provide you with a sworn oath from a third party arbiter, one you are not familiar with just yet, but will come to find is a very trustworthy guarantor, one with the ability to bind oaths, even beings such as myself." I raised my eyebrow, " I can't say that wouldn't help, but given I'm unfamiliar with literally all of this I have a hard time imagining that there would be anything that could provide that level of insurance."

A sly grin spread over Vael's face, " Well I did say you aren't familiar with it just yet, but I'll do you one better… I would like to think I am a very good judge of character, and unless you have greatly deceived me on a frankly unparalleled level, I believe you will make good on your end of the bargain."" I'll fulfill my end up front without a binding oath to accept a mark on your word that you will accept in time once you better understand the conditions."" After all, it will be in your interest to do so."

Their grin fades into a rueful grimace, " After all in the greater picture you've had a rough go of things, and honestly I was not expecting that returning to your prior state would be quite so agonizing, your final moments must have been quite traumatic to have recurred even when restored."" Consider it a recompense for putting you through that again." I look down at my hands in my lap and flex them again, this seems incredibly risky, but another chance?

A chance to live, to explore a life and reality far greater than I ever thought could exist? If this kind of power exists, what kind of wonders are waiting for me out there, what kind of even grander vistas and thrills could await me? To feel that rush again, to feel my veins thrum with excitement, to feel the depths of passion that the river tried to crush and freeze out of my very being. Oh yes, that seems like a chance worth risking anything.

I look up at Vael gazing deep into their silvery platinum eyes as they slowly shift to a burnished gold before shifting into a shimmering pearl. I try to gauge if I could trust this enigmatic individual. As my gaze lingers I feel the faintest slightest brush against my mind, if the river I was pulled from was a calm gentle stream, this was more like a rushing wind, a drifting breeze belying a greater storm, indescribably vast.

If the river was a stream, this gentle breeze felt like an outrider to a storm larger and deeper than any ocean, a raging endless torrent that felt like it could extinguish my soul like a flickering candle before a hurricane. However, for all the raging power on the other end of the connection it felt warm and comforting as a summer breeze, and Vael's face brightened into a wide grin, " Well, it seems I have my answer, door number three it is!"

I chuckle, " I guess you got me there, you're right that it's a hard deal to pass up, and you seem like a good sort. Please don't make me regret it though, I really don't want to end up as some weird blood cultist or something." Vael throws back their head and belts out with laughter, and after getting a handle on themselves and wiping a few tears from their eyes."

Ahhhh I missed mortals quite a bit, you're quite the brazen one to make such requests, in the past, many would have given much for my favor, but don't worry blood sacrifices fell out of favor ages ago! You'll find any requests I have to be quite reasonable." I smirk, " Well do you have any advice you would give to help me get my feet under me? Where are you sending me? Will I be able to find any other intelligent beings, will I even be able to speak their language?"

Vael smiles a bit, " I know you have many questions, and I would love to answer them, but there are rules that even I must abide by, and one of the most ironclad rules is no sneak peeks."" You'll have your answers in time, while I'm not a fan of sending you in blind, I do promise that next time we meet you'll have many of those answers already and I should be free to provide you with more. Until then we'll need to wipe the slate clean of a few things, just be patient and you will have your answers in due time.""

You have my word on this." I stiffened in shock, " What?!"" Really?"" You can't tell me anything?"" And what do you mean 'wipe a few things'?

"Vael leans forward," Nothing, but that until we meet again I wish you fair winds and following seas."

"BOOP!" And they tap me on the nose, and for a second time I feel the distinctly unsettling feeling of my being unravelling and dispersing into the void.

Vael leans back in their chair and smirks while taking a sip of their tea, " Well I'm not going to lie, I always love that part just a little bit." A feminine voice fills the void surrounding the being, " I haven't seen you invest in a mortal in a very long time, do you really think so highly of this one?" Vael sighs and leans their head back, " I really don't know enough to say much one way or the other, but I do have a feeling, one I've learned to trust."" Oh really now?

And what flavor did you find drifting along the swells?" Vael cracks a small smile, " Just a little whiff of something I haven't seen in a long while, let's just say I can smell a hint of the winds of fate on the breeze."