Wizardly Dude
patreon
[TEA] (206) 4.48. Unfathomable
🕑 Added 2026-01-19 17:00:17 +0000 UTCAs Moxy so helpfully pointed out, Asher did in fact have a solid couple of hours to go over his gains from their surprise fight against the Headâs team of Knuckles. He was still trying to figure out whether or not to start thinking about the Knuckles as simply the Head themselves, seeing as they were nothing more than a skill, but he figured that wasnât too important. If they were really lucky, the Knuckles were a skill that required a significant amount of time and energy in order to resummon. While they tended to be stronger than the fifteen base skills, blended skills often came with some form of drawback to being used. Asher didnât have too many examples just yet, but he figured something as powerful as ten different elite shadow assassins had to have some sort of heavy cost.
While holding on tightly to Samanthaâs back as they flew, Asher finally went over the results of the chaotic battle. It was a shame that none of the Knuckles actually dropped any shards, but he was already filthy rich, he supposed.
Astral Dip - Lvl 32
Personal Rift - Lvl 31
Spatial Lock - Lvl 27
Spatial Lock - Lvl 28
Recall - Lvl 17
Comprehend - Lvl 30
Eternal Regeneration - Lvl 35
Complete Resilience - Lvl 34
Sever the Thread - Lvl 22
Sever the Thread - Lvl 23
He had to physically stop himself from whistling directly into Samanthaâs ear mid-flight when he saw the sheer number of skill improvements heâd managed to earn. Having already evolved so many of his skills, seeing some of them level not only once, but twice from one battle, was always extra exciting.
He found the level up from Recall particularly entertaining, as heâd used the skill only a single time, and barely to travel a hundred feet to come to Samanthaâs aid. It just went to show how much more skills seemed to improve when used in the heat of battle, or for creative new purposes, such as the plan B he and Samantha had discussed ahead of time.
After theyâd successfully saved Laura and her father from the bandits that had dared to attack Brantâs caravan on their way from Whikoga to Dormaul, the two of them had decided the combo of Asher Recalling to an arrow heâd marked being fired toward an enemy was too powerful not to keep in mind for future occasions. Seeing as heâd originally come up with the idea to stop the bandits, theyâd dubbed it plan B, in honor of them.
Brian had tried to convince them it should actually be a âBâ for Brian, seeing as he was the one who had made the original shot, but Samantha put her foot down. She wasnât a big fan of one of their prepared tactics that would probably result in someone dying being named after her little brother, and Brian had finally conceded when Samantha promised him he could come up with his own emergency tactic to use when all else failed.
Asher prayed the day never came when they needed to utilize plan C.
âSoâŚâ Samantha said, startling him out of his inner thoughts as they flew across the kingdom. Theyâd been flying for a few hours now, and still had a few more to go. Furora was located in a vast plains region of the kingdom, rather far from the central capital. ââŚdo you want to talk about whatever it is youâre not telling me?â
Asher didnât even try to play dumb. Samantha knew him far too well at this point, and it wasnât like he was keeping it from her entirely on purpose. Instead, he tightened his grip around her, careful not to accidentally choke her as they flew.
âHonestly⌠no? But I will if you want me to.â
Samantha was silent for a minute as they flew. Her emerald-green wings flapped powerfully through the air, strong enough to put any ordinary bird to shame. Asher couldnât see her face while he was on her back like this, but he didnât have to in order to picture the contemplative expression on her face. Heâd seen the same one when she was trying to figure out what to do about Brian being in danger, or when she couldnât decide what color yarn to use for her latest crochet project.
âI get that we donât need to tell each other everything,â she started, laughing softly as she shook her head. âTrust me, after raising Brian from the age of four, I know itâs easier to just not talk about certain things. But whatever this is, I can tell itâs bothering you. Basically, itâs your call. I wonât bring it up again if you donât want to talk about it, but I wanted to let you know the offer is on the table.â
âHave I ever told you how much I love you?â Asher asked, feeling Samantha giggle under him as they flew.
âYou could spare to say it more often.â
âIâll try and remember that.â Taking a deep breath, Asher let it all out, wondering how to even start. âSo⌠sometimes when I die, itâs not just a snap of the fingers and Iâm alive again. Twice now, Iâve found myself transported to some sort of eternal void of nothingness. Nothingness except for some sort of⌠God, is the best way I can describe it. I have no idea why it happens sometimes and not others, as Iâve died seven times now and only experienced it twice, but itâs freaky on a level I canât even begin to explain.â
âAlright, I can see how thatâs a bit tough to talk about,â Samantha admitted. âDo you stay there long?â
âNo. Yes? Itâs hard to judge. The darkness is devoid of basically everything, and I donât know how I know this, but I think itâs devoid of time as well. It doesnât feel like Iâm there for long, but I donât know if that just means itâs only a few seconds, or itâs actually a few years and I just canât comprehend the time passing. Sorry, I know this probably doesnât make any sense.â
âHey, Iâm just happy youâre willing to talk about it,â Samantha said, doing her best to turn her head and give him a smile. âSo this God⌠do you chat with them? Talk about the secrets of the universe while you wait to be brought back to life?â
âThankfully, no,â he chuckled. âI think that might drive me insane. The first time I felt the being, I somehow picked up on the fact that it was curious about my existence. This second time, I felt that same curiosity, but there was something else as well. It almost felt like the being recognized me, which scares me more than anything Iâve ever experienced. Itâs like⌠knowing that this being, this all-powerful entity, cared enough to remember me of all things⌠The best way I can think to describe it is like you or I seeing a speck of dust, and then a hundred thousand years later, we look down and recognize the identical speck of dust. That speck should be utterly and completely beneath us, but sure enough, there it is.â
âSo youâve drawn the attention of a deity,â Samantha said, humming to herself as she thought. âAt least, thatâs what it sounds like. I donât know a lot about deities, but it probably wouldnât be a bad idea to do some research into this. Maybe talk to a priest or two.â
âHold on, these are actual things?â Asher asked, staring at the back of Samanthaâs head in shock. This was the first he was hearing about anything of the sort, which was surprising, seeing as heâd scoured Whikogaâs library for general knowledge of this world.
âThatâs up for debate,â Samantha admitted. âLike I said, I donât know a lot about them, but my dad believed in the deity of the forest. His grandfather came to the Noala Kingdom from another country, and he brought the belief with him. From what I understand, there are people who believe that there is a deity for every element. My dad always promised heâd tell me more after I got my origin element, but thenâŚâ
âI know,â Asher said, not wanting Samantha to have to live through old wounds.
Both her parents had died shortly after Samantha had been given her origin element, so her father had never gotten the chance to introduce her to his apparent religion.
âAnyway, like I said, dad believed in the deity of the forest. He used to like leaving out small offerings of nuts and stuff, which were always picked up by squirrels and birds. Heâd tell me because they were creatures of the forest, that was the deity thanking him for his donation,â Samantha said, laughing softly at the memory. âMom always thought he was full of it, but he didnât go trying to push his beliefs on anyone else, and she thought it was sweet more than anything.â
âHe sounds like a fun guy.â
âHe really was,â Samantha said, taking a shaky breath. âAnyway, I donât think the Noala Kingdom is really into all that. At least, nobody else from my village was. I donât know where my great-grandfather was originally from, but my dad used to tell me how he used to have priest as his class before he ended up leaving his home, so I imagine wherever it was, most of the people there believe in the deities.â
âThere are thousands of different elements out there,â Asher said, trying to even wrap his head around the concept. âThe thought of a few thousand different beings like the one I found myself floating in front of⌠Thatâs not exactly all that comforting.â
âI asked my dad what the deity of the forest looked like, and he told me it wasnât a person so much as the forest itself,â Samantha said, struggling to find the right words. âIf thatâs the case for all of them, maybe you witnessed the deity of eternity? I donât know what that would look like, but based on what you described, it sounds sort of fitting.â
âIt does, doesnât it,â Asher muttered, thinking back to the impossible void of nothing that stretched on forever in every direction. âOkay, as weird as that sounds, thatâs something of a reassuring theory. Part of me was scared I was being teleported to the void realm. After everything Iâd read about that, I was freaking out about drawing the attention of whatever being might be powerful enough to live in there.â
âActually, if it is the deity of eternity youâre drifting in front of, that would explain why you managed to capture its attention,â Samantha pointed out, sounding excited. âYouâre the first person to ever gain the element of Eternity! Maybe the deity didnât even exist before you absorbed the element!â
âThatâs a scary thought for a whole different reason⌠But it would explain the weird sense of familiarity I picked up from it,â he admitted, wondering how much trouble he might be in if the deity ended up not being a very friendly one. âJust to confirm, you said the Noala Kingdom doesnât really believe in this stuff? So this is all just theory, right?â
âMy dad said certain people supposedly used to have the ability to reach out to these deities long, long ago, but the art has been lost to us over the years. When I was younger, I asked him for proof, and he said the proof was in our hearts,â Samantha shrugged. âI loved my dad, and the deity of the forest made him happy, so I never pressed him on it. But yeah, thatâs not exactly a lot of proof.â
âStill, this is all good to know,â Asher said. âIâm definitely being seen by something while drifting around in that endless void, thereâs no question about that. Maybe when we finally finish off the lich in this kingdom and take out the Head of the Assassinâs Guild, we could try figuring out where your grandfatherâs from and pay the country a visit.â
âI have a feeling when we actually finish this lich off, weâre going to have thirteen other, quite angry liches hot on our heels,â Samantha pointed out. âBut sure, I was always curious where my fatherâs side came from. Count me in! Think Moxy and Rulfar will decide to come with?â
âLetâs focus on actually finding Rulfar before worrying about that,â Asher chuckled, nestling against Samanthaâs back and settling in for the next few minutes. Sheâd have to touch down to replenish her energy soon enough, but he had a feeling theyâd be in Furora before they knew it.
Comments
Stephen Swanson
Love the theories!
Stephen Swanson
You are absolutely correct! Two main reasons that I suppose I probably should have actually explained in story haha (I'll probably add this for the final version). The biggest one is that Asher's scattering of Eternal Marks and the knowledge of precisely where they are relative to him at all times, combined with the maps of the kingdom he has Incorporated in his head, allow him to handle navigation like a magical GPS. Samantha can fly, but unless she'd flying specifically over forest she's already mapped, she has no idea where she is/where she's going. The other reason is that they simply enjoy being together and its much more fun flying with a buddy rather than flying alone for hours on end.
Kaladin
Having ten basically clones that can simultaneously operate across the world is insanely powerful. Not just got combat but for information gathering as well. Having 10 of you more powerful than fingers able to operate independently and remotely... Shadow and duplicity elements? I'm hopeful for how strong his new skills could be: eternal knowledge, eternal space, spacial knowledge. Maybe permanent portals between locations, being able to learn anything that occurred or happened at any point in time, and the knowledge realms or learning of locations to be able to recall once learned (see a map or painting and teleport there).
vuduman78
My question is why is he riding on her? It undoubtedly slows her down. Heâs got a mark on her she could fly there, prick her finger and then him teleport moxy and himself to her. It feels like it would shave a lot of time off the whole trip.
Stephen Swanson
I'll probably add a note about her slowing down haha
InLucidReverie
That was an awfully calm conversation for one happening hundreds of meters above the ground with wind whipping at them. Mayne they slow down, or use the sending stones to communicate clearly
InLucidReverie
Finally using recall offensively will have made quite a difference to his gains for that skill
Black Rose
Tftc
