Chương 90: Chapter 84- Returning the Favor

"- and Tia thought that no one would notice the whole tray going missing, but with a snout covered in bacon grease she wasn't fooling anyone. I swear Coop is a saint for putting up with her." Vael laughed and wiped a tear from one eye, " Oh that little wyvern is such a treasure! Even if she wasn't such an excellent choice for a bond, she would be worth it on entertainment value alone."

They had been walking along the shore for at least a couple hours at this point, but the timeless nature of the space they were in made it difficult for Elias to tell how much time had passed. He was pleasantly surprised that Vael was so easy to talk to, although I probably shouldn't be, given how he was able to set me at ease the first time we met.

Talking someone off the edge from a violent death and rebirth after they caught a glimpse of your true nature as an ineffable cosmic horror had to take some serious skill. It does help that he seems genuinely invested in the conversation and my well being." I have to say Vael I am surprised that you are interested in all this anyways. I don't mean to be rude, but I'm not even really sure what you are.

I am guessing that whatever it is, you've been around for quite a while and I can't imagine that my and Tia's shenanigans are all that interesting comparatively." Vael shrugged brushing some dust off his shoulder that had not been there a moment ago and had clearly been conjured simply for the visual effect, " Well I may be a dusty old relic, but I can still enjoy the little things, and it has been a very long time since I had a chance to chat like this."

"This is more unique and interesting to me than I imagine you would suspect." Vael smirked, " You know most people who catch a glimpse of my true form and start bleeding from all their orifices typically won't drink the tea afterwards." He barked out a laugh before shaking his head and glancing at Eli, " No, very few would be able to have such a casual conversation with me even if they might be willing.

Unlimited cosmic power tends to inspire wails of terror and bouts of incontinence rather than the sharing amusing anecdotes." His smile grew as Eli snorted in amusement, " Frankly, it is rather refreshing that you are open with me, if more than a little unusual." Eli shrugged, " Eh, we're all people in the end, we all put our pants on one leg at time, no point in making a big deal out of it." Vael laughed, " I mean I put your pants on with a snap of a finger, and you saw me do it, but if you say so."

Vael gave Eli a curious glance, "I was a little vague with you when we started out, was I not? Given all you had gone through I assumed simplicity was best." He turned to give Eli his full attention, " So to answer your question, yes."" I am an immortal, and as I am sure the System has already told you I am a deity. Specifically I am one of a few associated with this small corner of existence.""

What I told you before was true, I have been away for a very long time, several millenia in fact, and I would like to check in on a few things if possible." Eli paused for a moment to process the statement, while he had long suspected this was the case, it was one thing to suspect you were talking to a god and another to know. As he turned over the thought in his mind he realized in the end it didn't matter much.

Anything he thought he knew about gods, reality, or the cosmos was clearly wrong anyways and just an assumption. I mean Mira is already so much stronger than me that she could kill me in the blink of an eye, so is Vael being able to snap his fingers and do the same thing really all that different? If I can be friends with her there is no reason I can not be friends with him either." Wild…" Eli shrugged, " I suspected as much, good to know, thanks for letting me know."

Vael snorted, " Takes more than that to phase you, eh?" Eli smirked, " I mean I'm friends with a dragon. How much weirder can my life get at this point?" Vael erupted in laughter before giving him a sly grin, " Oh far more than you know, my dear boy!" Eli turned to continue walking, " So no mind reading? What about omniscience? How did you become a god anyways?" Vael shook his head, " Sorry, but some things are not to be shared, at least not until you have some more time to grow.

There are some rules to these things, and some truths can stunt your growth."" No mind reading, your thoughts are your own as I said before, and while the limits can be complicated I can sense quite a bit as long as it is in my domain and my domain is VAST." As he spoke the final word, Elias once more caught a glimpse of the power behind the form next to him, like a vague sense of a massive storm brewing in the air.

A colossal vortex of swirling currents, winds strong enough to scour a world clean, yet gentle enough to softly stir grass in a meadow. The immense ocean of power converged into a single point in the comparatively small form of the elven man in front of him, but from the man a barely visible cloak of power and energy swept outwards. A tapestry woven of a tempest wild and unchained sweeping throughout the space in a torrent so vast that reality groaned and shuddered under the weight of it.

In a flash the overwhelming aura of unfathomable power was gone, and all that remained was the slightly uncanny but unassuming slim elven man from before. Eli ran his fingers through his hair to brush it back as it had been blown into his face by the gust of air, and made eye contact with a grinning Vael. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Eli rolled his eyes as Vael gave him a smug smile spreading his arms wide, " I know. I am very impressive. Feel free to applaud."

As the pair turned to continue their walk Eli snorted out a laugh after noticing that Vael had changed part of the shirt he was wearing. Across the back it now read in broad yellow letters 'It's not the size of the gust, but how you blow it.'

The pair had continued chatting for a while until they ended up back at the break in the dunes, where Eli walked Vael down to Vivian's house and showed him around. Elias was consistently surprised by the things that Vael found interesting. Most of the normal conveniences were brushed off, but Vael found the amount of similar devices for some things endlessly amusing for some reason."

So you have the one device that heats food based on vibrating water, a second with radiant elements in a box, a third with a flat surface for pans, a fourth to do the same as the second just smaller and on the countertop, and this fifth device is just for toasting bread?"" Really?" Vael gave him a befuddled look, " And there was a firepit outside and a hearth inside, do you really need so many implements just for applying heat to food?" Eli chuckled, " I'm sure she has a waffle iron in here somewhere too."

Vael gave him a flat look, " You are telling me that you have four different devices simply for heating different varieties of bread?"" And this is considered normal?" Vael scoffed, " And you say Caelwyn is full of monsters." Eli snickered, " Yeah at a certain point all the big stuff had been figured out and people were just coming up with stuff." After the tour of the house they had drifted back outside and were seated on the patio surrounded by a variety of drinks and snacks.

Vael had mostly passed on the beer and wine other than to comment on the quality as they were somewhat common, but had been very enthusiastic about the variety of soft drinks. He encouraged Eli to try and replicate them in Caelwyn as he suspected that they would be fairly popular. Vael took a long swig of a ginger ale before sitting back in his chair with a sigh, " Well this has been absolutely delightful Elias, truly.

It has been a long while since I spent time as a mortal would, and this has been entertaining, but we should probably get to the crux of what brought me here today." He fixed Eli with a steady gaze, " I mentioned before that I was willing to pay up front, and provide the investment required to reconstitute your body and send you to Caelwyn. Specifically with the assumption that you would most likely be willing to return the favor later on."

He held up a forestalling hand at the startled look on Eli's face, " The price is not so costly that I can not afford the expenditure, but neither was it a small investment either. Now that you have experienced some of what this world has to offer I am sure you can understand the value of my portion of the trade?" Eli nodded, " Absolutely, like I said before, I am very grateful you did so, I just don't know what I could offer in return?"

Vael smirked, " Probably more than you know, but what I wish to ask is not so onerous."" There are fundamental rules to existence, and while the line between the mortal and immortal realms is more permissive than an absolute inseparable barrier, the separation exists for a reason and it would be a very poor idea to flout these rules without a very good reason."" As such, if I would like to experience some parts of the realm, or influence those within it, I would need an agent to act on my behalf."

He twirled a hand, " As such I would need to place a mark on you, it can take whatever form you wish, even be invisible from the naked eye, but it would allow for a few things."" First, while I can observe most things in my domain it can sometimes have a cost to do so, this would create a connection between you and I that would reduce the cost to nothing."" Second, this connection would allow me to share a bit of power with you."

Vael studied Eli as he sat back in his chair, his gaze drifting lower as if he could see through Elias's abdomen in a way that Eli couldn't himself." The soul is the true seat of power and while the System does an admirable job of assisting in processing and expansion it is vanishingly rare that a being is able to fulfil their maximum potential at any given time. It is even beyond my power to assist one in doing so."

He leaned forward and gave Eli a wink, " That all said however, I will be able to sneak in a little boost for my favorite otherworlder. Something to give you an edge. It will not be much at first, but as you grow in power, the mark will grow with you, and the power it grants will grow as well."" The final and honestly most important effect is that it will allow us to communicate more freely, offer advice and direction when relevant.

I will be able to meet in places such as these from time to time, and even speak to you in the waking world albeit somewhat infrequently to begin with as there is a cost associated with piercing the veil." Eli let out a low whistle as his brows shot up to his hairline, " I imagine with your wealth of experience that would be amazing." Vael scoffed before giving him a smirk, " Yes, I imagine it would." He shook a finger at Eli, " There are some rules though!

I am not here to coddle you and hold your hand through your struggles, such an act would be neither in my benefit nor yours. The strongest steel is forged in the hottest fires, and I would be doing you no favors if I removed obstacles for you, if I even could." Something tells me you would forge ahead anyways so I am not very worried." Eli waved his concern off, " I'm sure you know by now I live for the challenge, but considering I know so little about the world I'll take all the help I can get.

What do you need from me in return?" Vael shrugged, " Nothing major, at least that you would not already do anyways." He fixed Eli with a serious look, " I will not ask you to proclaim your devotion from the rooftops, or other such drivel, and I will place a concealment effect on the mark. Those with the eyes to see who may detect the mark however will assume that you are my representative for good or ill. I would just ask that you not be an asshole."

He shrugged with a laugh and a grin, " Or do, that could be fun too."" In all seriousness I desire a more comprehensive view for how Caelwyn and her people are faring, and a mortal perspective will assist in that. When possible on occasion I might have you meet a few people and pass on a message or two."

Vael sat back in his seat with a smirk, " You will find that freedom is a very important value for me, and I will never ask you to do something you are uncomfortable with, and if you do not want to do something you can just tell me to fuck off." The smirk turned into a grimace, " Honestly, the past few centuries have been so dreadfully boring it is almost worth the cost on the entertainment value alone." He gave Eli a grin and stuck his hand out, " Deal?"

Eli gave Vael a dubious look for a moment before chuckling and sticking out his hand, " Sure, why not. What can go wrong?" Vael snorted a laugh while shaking his hand, " Seriously, Eli you really need to not tempt Fate like that." Vael clapped his hands, " All right my boy!"

He leaned over and as he reached under his chair, his grin growing ever wider, Vael pulled a branding iron from under his seat, the tip of the iron implement red hot, shedding waves of heat rippling from through the air as he cackled wildly at Elias, " So, where do you want it?"