Reconjoined

Walking down the wooden steps, the Guild reception came into Endyr's view. She was wearing a light grey robe that hung tight to her body, something that had been left in the wardrobe with a note saying it was free of charge. She had also been assured that Sheva had carried her, so her modesty hadn't been comprised. Endyr couldn't really care less about something as silly as that, but she appreciated the sentimentality anyways. She was more body conscious as Altair than Endyr, a fact she found slightly weird. From everything she knew, a woman was more likely desire privacy than a man. 

Suzan was standing idlily at her desk, conversing with man wearing a brown robe with green stitches, the symbol of the Harvest Church visible. The sight of him caused Endyr to frown slightly, before she caught her expression and reverted it back to normal. She was mildly wary of the Harvest Church after she came to the possibility that the one she visited tipped of Fallacy of her location, but she didn't have actual proof. And besides, how would entering a church of the Earth Goddess attract the attention of the God of Horror? Unless the two were working together, or Fallacy had "tapped" Gaia's lines of information, such a thing shouldn't be possible. And Fallacy would sooner drop dead than cooperate with the Orthodox Gods, if the history records were anything to go off. 

'Though "He" is as much a master at deceit as Daemon, so such references can't be fully trusted in this scenario...'

Hearing her come down the stairs, the man and Suzan looked over. The receptionist make a pointed effort to remain calm, while the man watched her with thinly veiled curiosity. Endyr made her way to them, ignoring the man and speaking to Suzan. "I was told you have my share of the rewards for me?"

She nodded and reached under her desk, pulling back a bag that jingled. Her gold coins, no doubt. The man simply stood aside as she reached across the desk and took the pouch, hefting it and nodding in satisfaction. She had yet to see anything she wanted that required money, but she would be retarded to ignore the value of gold. She could hardly buy everything straight from the System, could she? Not with the way the prices were set anyways. Authority Points were countless times more valuable, and that was precisely why she desired gold. Much simple to spend, and to acquire. 

Giving the man a side glance, she took in his features with a keen eye. Sandy brown hair that stopped just before his ears, sea green eyes, a bone structure that was entirely boring, and a clean cut of brown hair forming a beard. He looked to be in his early thirties, and Endyr pegged him at late Master. Just an average, common man all things considered. His senses seemed to be a bit sharp though, since he caught Endyr looking and flashed a smile. "Nios Tangaran" he introduced himself respectfully. "Endyr Syndrine" she responded with equal courtesy. This man respected her higher Tier despite being a fair bit older, something Endyr automatically bumped up his image for. 

Clearing his throat gently, he gestured to an empty table. "Excuse me Miss, but do you have a moment to talk?" he asked politely. Endyr hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement, making her way over to the nearest bench. Once they were seated, Nios clasped his hands together, and his aura underwent a noticeable change. He was still warm and amiable, but know he adopted a more scholarly and authoritive nature. "Allow me to properly introduce myself. I am Nios Tangaran, a clergyman of the Harvest Church and a servant of the Sky Cross government, of which Le'garde is the head. I am here for two reasons: the first is to ask for a report on what occurred during your last quest, as well as ask you to swear a vow of secrecy to not inform anyone unqualified about what happened. This is something all your partners were asked as well. The second request is more personal: Sky Cross has no records of your existence in this city before yesterday, and neither do we have proof of you entering the city, at least via legal means. As the group tasked with maintaining civil order, we ask for an explanation and proof of identification from you. Failure to produce either will result in you being detained temporarily until something can be figured out."

Endyr's expression froze as she realised that she was in danger of being arrested. The thought of being seen as an illegal visitor did not cross her mind, and looking back it was an obvious oversight. The Guild claimed to accept people from all walks of life, but they obviously meant law-abiding, registered citizens. Of which Endyr was neither. 'Fucking goddamnit!' she cursed internally as she looked at Nios with a calm and steady gaze.

'It's alright Endyr, you've been through way worse before. This little thing is really just nothing in comparison. Yes, just give the man a reasonable excuse to buy yourself time for now., You're going to join back with Altair after this anyways...'

"Unfortunately, I lost all my identification papers in a recent bandit attack, of which all my comrades were killed...So I'm afraid I have nothing to give you" she lied through her teeth with a friendly smile, proud of her excuse and quick thinking. Bandit attacks would obviously be common in an uncivilised world like Orvonia, where security was focused on large settlements and the countryside was abandoned to farmers and ruffians. That was usually the case in worlds like these at least, but it seemed she had chosen her words wrong today.

"Bandit attack huh? Well Miss, I'm sorry for your loss but Sky Cross hasn't had a bandit attack in over fifty years. Teams of Ascenders regularly patrol the local area and deal with any criminals. In fact, our surroundings are some of the safest in the Gaia Continent, since Le'garde himself personally funds the soldiers. So...I am really going to need to see your papers. Ah, only if you have them of course."

Endyr nearly slammed her hands on the table in frustration, but caught herself when her palms were several centimetres of the wood. Her smile shook and threatened to break as she scrambled for a better excuse, cursing the public security of Sky Cross. "Ah I'm, sorry, I seem to be misremembering. Yes, I actually was homeless for a while and didn't have any real connection to the outside world. I was too busy on surviving, you see. Haha ha..." she began to sweat as she fumbled out an excuse. 'What the hell is going on?! Why am I so bothered in front of this guy? Is he using some sort of mental Skill, or the issue me? Hey System, answer me here!'

[Host is currently suffering from a second lapse Severe Mana Exhaustion, of which the symptoms include paranoia, mood swings, chronic fatigue, insomnia, audible/visual hallucinations, infrequent Tourette's and memory loss. However since Host mostly recovered already, they are just slightly mentally challenged.]

'Did you just call me autistic?!'

[No]

"Excuse me Miss?" Nios coughed into his fist as Endyr stared into space for over a minute. Mana Exhaustion also seemed to include the symptoms of dyschronometria it seemed. Taking to a deep breath to gather herself, Endyr flashed Nios a pained smile and rubbed her forehead. "I'm very sorry Sir, but I seem to still be under the weather, and depleting my Mana so extensively has also left me quite...strained. I can't seem to remember where I placed my ID, and I do not think I am in any condition to go searching for it. In fact, I think I should be going back to bed" she excused herself with a sorry look, flashing Nios puppy eyes and using her remnant childishness to its full extent. Faced with such a sad look, on such a beautiful face, Nios gave her a probing look but stepped back. 

"In that case, I understand what you're going through Miss. Mana Depletion is a nasty thing to face, and it's also quite insidious. I don't know if you've faced it before, but it is impossible to get use to Mana Depletion. Since it rises in Rank and Tier alongside the Ascender, you will experience excruciating pain regardless of your status each and every time. I am not so insensitive that I would press a young lady like yourself currently suffering from it. Besides, we have already confirmed you have no ill-intentions with Sky Cross, so getting your papers can wait another day or two. Ah, you are planning to stay in the City, yes?"

Endyr nodded in a daze, her attention caught by something Nios had causally said. "You've already gauged my intentions while in the City?" she asked doubtfully. Nios nodded with a slight chuckle, looking across the Guild. "Every time someone registers as an Adventurer, a special Ritual is preformed on them, one that reads their Mana Signature and Karma. If you are a serious criminal, or have a problematic record of your Signature, the authorities will be alerted. This is how we detect followers of Evil Gods and the like."

"You can detect Karma?" Endyr asked with some scepticism. Such a thing was naturally possible, in the Main Universe, but it was incredibly difficult since it required tapping the Laws of the Universe to do so. The concept of law and morals differed from one culture to the next after all, so the casters were forced to rely on the System itself as an impartial judge of the target's life. If the Tiers were the same between Universes, then it would require a Sacred or multiple Supremes to pull of the spell once. And every Guild has it in place?

Nios sighed, lowering his head and tone. "To tell you the truth, such magic isn't belonging to any of the Orthodox Gods" he whispered, having dropped his voice. "It's a unique sorcery belonging to the followers of Jester: the Wandering Circus. "He" helped create the Guild all those centuries ago, and the Karma Scan was one of "His" contributions. Of course, some people are worried the Wandering Circus made themselves immune to the scan, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Say what you want about Jester's fickleness, but "He" respects the rules of "His" own games more than anyone else."

After saying this, Nios stood up and pressed down on his chest, bowing slightly in farewell. "Well, I must be going now. The Church will send someone around in one or two days to gather your papers. It may be me, if my schedule is free. I hope you have a smooth recovery, Miss Syndrine." With a final nod, the Priest turned and walked out the Guild walls, vanishing into the bustling crowds within seconds. Endyr watched him go before standing up, a stern expression on her face. 'How the hell am I going to get identification papers? Hmm...should I ask Kulkiri? Or Erich and Johan?' Those three almost certainly know a few people that can help. Of course, Aryll might as well. Eh, I'll think about that later. Right now I need to get back to the Academy.'

Looking out the windows, she measured how hours of daylight were left, and leaned back in the chair. She had a few hours to kill, so she opened up the System shop and began browsing. 'Hey System, where are my rewards for completing the Quest?' 

She had already received the gold, but that was a reward in the real world. Her System Quest was an entirely different thing. 

[Note: Host completed both Mandatory Tasks but failed in the three Optional Tasks: they did not kill Kismet, did not discover why he was in Sky Cross and did not kill half the Grandmasters. As such, Host will only receive 25 Authority Points. The Technique section of the System is still locked, and Host has lost their chance to open it early. Now, Host can only access it after reaching Epic Tier.]

Endyr frowned at the System's words, but 25 AP was still a great bounty. She wasn't too concerned with Techniques yet either, since she could mimic almost any Skill using Mana Manipulation, and House Atrazark and Sky Cross Academy would definitely give her (or rather, Altair) soon in the future. And since Techniques had limits on who could use them, the superior Techniques that would be in the shop were likely impossible for her to actually use right now. However...

'If I had killed Kismet, would I have been able to use the Abomination's Eye in a different format?'

[Host would have been able to materialise the Eye whenever Host wished allowing it, and its' abilities, to be transferred to someone else. As it is now, {Altair Atrazark} cannot use the Skill even if Host was to reconnect with him. With that Task failed though, Host has lost the opportunity. For now at least.]

Clicking her tongue in annoyance, Endyr went back to scanning the shop. With her new AP, several new options revealed themselves to her, some of which caught her eye...

......

Altair lay in bed, listening to the soft snoring of Sia in the other room. Jace was currently out, attending some sort of faculty meeting, so it was just him and his sister. Staring at the ceiling and unable to sleep for some reason, he turned on his side and groaned. Outside his window, soft moonlight shone down and intertwined with starlight to form a beautiful radiance. The sight reminded him of an interesting titbit of how Nyx was said to possess the Authority of the moon, but the silver satellite was Chanteur's symbol. The Goddess of Darkness seemed to only hold the title symbolically, while Chanteur held active influence over the object, if the legends of "Him" causing eclipses and disrupting moon cycles were to be believed. 

Suddenly, Altair became of another presence, both in the real world...and within his mind. He tensed for a moment as dark energy surrounded his body, but relaxed a second later as the approaching presence became clearer. As he watched, a shadowy lump squirmed itself under the window and into his room, rising up and expanding into a female figure with long silver hair and purple eyes, were ear tips slightly extended and pointy. Endyr Syndrine, his Split Double and Denizen side.

Hopping out of bed, he approached her curiously with a hint of apprehension. The two had not yet shared information via their link, so Altair did not know what had happened to his clone while she was gone, and whether she had been compromised in any fashion. The System would have warned him in that case, but he preferred to err on the side of caution,. Orvonia's Gods were stranger than most he had encountered, so nothing was guaranteed. Sensing nothing wrong though, he relaxed fully and raised his hand, Endyr doing the same. The two pressed their palms against each other, and Altair mentally cut her support. With a whoosh, Endyr vanished into black and purple particles, shooting into his body and disappearing. 

Grimacing at the strange feeling of his soul expanding, Altair sat back down on the bed and tucked himself in. Everything Endyr had experienced would be automatically explained to him in his dreams, so he would have digested everything once he woke up. Stifling a yawn, he closed his eyes and snuggled in deeper.

From now on, he was just Altair Atrazark.