Chương 86: Chapter 85- A Prophecy of Destruction

After a few minutes of chasing Elias around the firepit, Vael chucked the branding iron into the dunes with a laugh, and they sat down to talk more seriously about the mark. Ultimately, since Eli didn't care much about the design as long as it was concealable and they settled on just using Vael's personal mark. The swirling pattern emulated a gust of wind placed on the upper side of Elias's left pectoral in a faint whorl that only showed a slight green tinge tinting his skin.

Vael coached Eli on how to channel mana through the mark, which would trigger the communication effect, causing it to glow a shimmering pale green and would allow him to send a message to Vael for a negligible mana cost. Vael could of course trigger the effect remotely and initiate messages himself, but went to great lengths to reassure Eli that he would only do so if it was important and the need was dire.

Eli was starting to suspect that the being, for all of his weighty power, may very well just be a little starved for social interaction and promised himself he would try to chat with the man on occasion if at all possible. Elias was surprised since he was expecting to see some System window showing the effect of the mark once it was placed. Vael let him know that most notifications were suppressed in the spiritual space that the tier ascensions took place in, and that Eli would see everything when he awoke.

As Eli put his shirt back on Vael nodded to the fenced lot out back." Now that we have an agreement in place, I am able to give you some advice if you would like it. Do you want to show me what you picked?" Eli shrugged and waved for Vael to follow him, " Sure." As they approached the lot Eli stepped through the gate, but Vael stopped on the threshold as Eli stopped and looked back at him, " Are you coming?" Vael shook his head, " This is a protected space Eli.

You have to explicitly give me permission to enter, since ascension choices are reflections of various facets of your inner self." He arched a brow in Eli's direction, " A glimpse by an enemy could easily be used against you." Eli frowned slightly for a moment before shrugging, " I guess that makes sense, although anyone who can get taken out so easily sounds pretty soft."

Vael laughed as Eli continued, " I would think you should assume that your enemy already knows everything about you, and can't get caught out that way. Well I explicitly invite you to come take a look inside Vael." Vael's lips quivered a bit in a slight smile, " Interesting point of view. Expecting the worst is an excellent choice for most situations, but you should take care and be diligent all the same, the right information is powerful after all."

As they stepped through the gate Vael stopped to examine a couple of the statues, " Excellent work! Is this truly representative of the usual quality of your sister's artwork?" Eli smiled, " Pretty close, although she usually has much better subject matter to work with." Vael chuckled as he looked around, " Aye, it is a little one note. Quite the wide selection of class choices for one so young, is it not?"

Elias rubbed the back of his neck for a moment in chagrin, " Yeah the system avatar gave me a little crap for it too, told me I should specialize a bit more." Vael snorted, " I imagine that was more your sister's personality bleeding through from your memories. It is rare for the System to truly care more than the general duty it shows to us all." He gestured, " Please, show which one you chose."

Elias beckoned him onwards, and the pair wove through the dense forest of statues, Vael making the occasional comment at one or another, as Eli explained the various choices he had been shown. Vael took most of the choices in stride, but his brow rose when Eli told him that he had skipped over the last two rare choices." I am surprised you did not go with one of those, they were both fine choices, and the System could have supplied a variant if you were looking for a specific affinity.

Well as long as you qualify for it." Eli grinned, " Well that's part of the reason I skipped them, there was a specific affinity I wanted. This way." As they came around the corner to the final statue in the back, Vael snorted in amusement before muttering under his breath, " Of course." before leaning forward to inspect the statue with a low whistle, " Spatial affinity at this tier is incredibly rare, you pretty much only have the option since I built your form in the void. Oh that is an absolutely terrible name."

He tapped the statue before scoffing and giving Elias a withering look, " Do not tell me you chose this one, really?" Eli shrugged sheepishly, " This world is a dangerous place. I need power and this one gives me the most out of my choices, it even broke the rule for the stat limit." Vael scoffed while circling the statue and tapping it in a few places with a wry grin on his face, " Yes it did, most likely because there was a decent amount of essence left over with the Skill offerings being so condensed."

He squinted as he poked it again, " And a little more since it looks like they cut the pattern buffer in half on the movement skill with an axe." He went silent as he inspected the statue, tapped a spot on a shoulder blade a couple times and snickered to himself, frowned in concern at whatever he saw after rapping a hip with a knuckle, and actually chuckled out loud after rubbing at the palm for a moment.

He sighed for a moment before turning back to Eli with a grin, " This is going to be great, I take back what I said, I can not wait to see how this turns out." Eli looked back warily, " Okay… What do you mean by that?" Vael's grin widened once more into uncanny territory for a moment before settling back into a normal smile, " Oh trust me, you will either be a force to be reckoned with, or die in a rather explosive fashion, but either will be wildly entertaining"" And I can not wait to find out which!"

He cackled with laughter for a moment before calming himself, " Just watching you train alone will be thrilling I assure you." He smirked, "Well. At least for me it will be." He stood upright, and straightened out his clothes for a moment as the mirth faded and he fixed Eli with a serious look, " The System warned you of the danger?" The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Eli nodded, " Yes, any advice?" Vael nodded, " Sure.

Do not use the Skills if you are low on mana, but I am sure that you were already told that. I assume you are going to use the palm skill for the repulsive effect instead of deflection?" Eli smirked, " That was the plan." Vael grinned, " That's my boy, good plan. Once you get some practice and a little refinement that will be an excellent mainstay for your build. The blade enhancement is powerful but is going to be expensive, but until you have the mana pool to keep it running, you will have to be precise."

He sighed, " Now the movement skill. Once you gain some power and more mana it will be useful, but it will take a lot of practice to master and the lessons will be painful. Focus on aim and formation time, the faster you can initiate the effect the better." He shrugged, " There is very little information I can tell you since it is a very new class. You probably will not get many skills, and there is a good chance you may not even get a full set before the next evolution."

He gestured at the statue, " That is the tradeoff for a class like this, you will have a significant amount of striking power but far less variability." He gave Eli a sly grin, " Your lady friend and her master are quite skilled at spellwork, they should be able to show you a few spellforms to tide you over and fill the gaps." He waggled his brows at Eli, " I am certain you will be able to find a way to convince them to give you a few 'extracurricular' lessons?"

Eli rolled his eyes as he chuckled, " Please, I'm sure I don't need to butter up Astra to get some lessons on how to blow shit up, she would be dying to teach me just for the fun of it. Good to know it's an option." He waved in the direction of the statue, " Any other advice?" Vael sighed and shook his head, " Not right now, not at least until I can see the skills in action.

Give all three a good once over, flex them to the limits, and if I see something you are missing I will send you a message to point you in the right direction." Vael gave the statue another look over, " A more inspired choice than I initially expected. I had figured you for something a little simpler, any questions before we go?" Elias thought for a moment, " Looking at the differences between my old world and this new one, there is so much more danger out there.

You mentioned that the danger helps people grow in power, and I got a taste of it myself, but is it really necessary?" He waved his hand in Vael's general direction, " Could you and the, presumed, other gods not work towards making the world a safer place?" The smirk dropped from Vael's face as he took a seat on a nearby statue for a moment before speaking, " The honest truth, at least what parts that I can tell you, is that we have a lot less power than you think Eli.""

We have some power, true, and much more than most mortals, but we still have our own limitations."" In the far, far distant past we may have been able to have a greater effect, but for reasons I can not share we were weakened far before the shattering and have not had that kind of power for a long time." He gave a deep sigh and shook his head sadly, " Afterwards we have had even less, and are still barely recovering."

Vael gave Eli a sharp look, " I care for the people of the realm, I truly do, I wish for them to be free in a way I doubt you would quite understand, nor that I can explain. I want to change the situation though, and what better way to change a static system than to introduce an outside variable."

He gave Eli another smirk, " I hope that you can be a part of that change dear Elias, a little something from the beyond to shake things up a bit, to maybe be a catalyst, a first gust to stir the winds to gather into a greater tempest." A grim line crossed his face, " As for the other question, well the future may bring many things, and if the people of my world are to stand firm in the face of them, they will need not just power but the will to weather a hurricane.""

I am forbidden to tell you when it is coming or the form it will take, but a storm is coming." An unseen breeze stirred Vael's hair as it drifted gently in the air, the sky darkened and thunder rolled in the distance before the unseen wind burst forth swirling around him in a frenzy as he fixed Eli with a serious glare that was startling giving the normal jovial nature of the man." Heed my words Elias Mercer."" I can not tell you, but the storm will come.""

Whether in one year or a thousand it will come nonetheless and it will rage across the realm. If beings of this world do not stand ready, all life will be scoured from the land, the seas will boil, and the bones of the worlds will be sundered once more." A flash of lightning cracked across the sky, a brilliant white glow poured forth Vael's irises beaming out of the vortex of wind like twin lighthouses on a dark stormy night.

When they pinned Elias in place a chill ran down his spine and gooseflesh prickled his skin." THE —— ————— ————— COMES AGAIN." Eli blinked as a system message appeared. Ding [ERR: TRANSLATION_FAILED] What the fuck. The thunder receded, the wind slowed, and the glow faded from Vael's eyes. Vael winced as he heaved a deep sigh, frowning slightly at Eli." Do not be afraid. Heed my warning as best you can, for it is all I can give you on that matter."

Elias nodded before swallowing thickly and responding, " Sure, message received. I don't think the others know the situation is this serious, so I will be sure to pass it along. Anything else?" Vael sighed and gave Eli a sad smile, " I am sorry to worry you so, my young friend, but these are worrisome times. Yes, I do have one more piece of unfortunate news to impart." He combed his hair back and settled his clothes back from their previous disarray.

Eli, realizing the affectation for what it was, an attempt to set his mind at ease when Vael could just fix his hair with the snap of his fingers, found that it returned a small smile to his lips. Vael nodded, " I am glad we could spend a little time together in this place because, whether you would like to admit it or not, I knew that you could use the break. Your first few weeks in this world have been difficult, and the next few days are not going to be any easier."

He gave another deep sigh, " I hate to end our time on a sour note, but when you leave here I have a message for you to deliver to your young lady friend. Tell her that her suspicions are correct, and that she is running out of time." He fixed Elias with a deadly serious gaze, " From the time you awake you both will have 3 days to reach the location that she suspects and stop the ritual that all those poor souls are fueling."

He sighs deeply, " I am deeply sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I would be a poor patron and a worse friend if I did not warn you, you might discover the plot too late after all. Normally providing direct guidance would only be possible at great cost, if at all. However, the group she is investigating is delving into a very treacherous magic and if successful they will cause grievous harm to both the world and possibly no small amount to the system itself."

Vael grimaced as a rumble of thunder echoed in the distance, " There are very few fuels as potent as lifeblood and the harvest of innocents, and only the greatest and most terrible of workings would require such a macabre source. A task such as disrupting some of the strongest constructs of the Ancient's System would fall under this umbrella."" Tell her that if you both fail to halt this working, a breach will open that will make the one outside the Emberholdt ramparts look like a pothole."

Vael gave Eli a gentle smile, " I know it is ill news for parting, but time is short and for what it is worth, I still wish you the best Eli. Be well."" Until we meet again, may you have fair winds and following seas." He reached forward to tap him on the nose, " Boop". An unseen force descended, pressing down upon him before it gripped Elias by his back and with a disorientating surge of momentum he was flung skyward, rocketing back up into the deep blue sky.