Truth

Rethys stared in a daze as the corpse of the pale man fell to the ground.

Things happened too suddenly, and though he had a lot to say, it didn't at all feel like it was his place to say them.

The man was beyond twisted, but Rethys was hard pressed to come up with a punishment worse than the limbo that Levantros must have lived in. He also most probably had possessed knowledge of all sorts of things.

He got answers out of the damnable man, but not nearly enough to satisfy him, and his mind couldn't help but wander over all the mysteries of this place that could've been revealed to him.

After a while, he began to feel the ambient ether around him be freed from the cultist leader's influence and resuming its natural flow. A sense of elation overtook him as he sensed the gales of ether blow by him. It felt right.

He also felt all around him some subtle changes in magical installations and enchantments, it seemed that Levantros' death had triggered something.

"We need to move." Sevi spoke, snapping the young man of his pondering. "It is not a guarantee that the high cultists will recover at the same rate as their lesser peers, we must find their binding circles and dismantle them as quickly as possible. We will then search this place for the lexicon as well as anything useful before moving on, we have already spent too much time here."

Faced with the Blood mage's cold detachment, he didn't know how to proceed or what to say. Only after puzzling over it for a while did he realize he was coddling her too much.

He needed answers, his very soul was on the line.

"We need to talk."

"Talk would not change a thing." Sevi snapped. "But if you so insist, we will converse as we work. Now start searching, there is much to rifle through."

"Are you sure he didn't have any knowledge we might've needed?" He asked, not budging from his position. "If he is the main cause of what happened here, he might've given us some valuable information."

"I am sure of it." She responded.

"I'm sure his death triggered someth-"

"Pay it no heed."

"Gods damn it Sevi! I need answers!" Rethys snapped. "I'm not asking for much I just want some damned truth. You can't just pretend that man didn't tell me this and that. I've told you everything about me, and you can't just keep feeding me lies."

He then sighed and calmed himself, opting for a softer approach.

"Okay, let's start simple, I, for one, want to get out of this place. What about you Sevi, what do you really want?"

"To be free of this... DAMNED ROCK!!" She screamed. "To regain my... myself..."

Silence hung as the Blood mage's desperate throes echoed in the emptiness of the halls.

"I will get you out of this place, as promised, but you must first help me find a way to release myself from this accursed soulstone. We will search the city for anything helpful, and once we are done, we will leave."

"There, wasn't so hard, was it?" Rethys sighed inwardly before heading down towards the closest workbench.

"Any... any knowledge that wretch might have had is outdated by more than eight hundred years. Until you unlocked it, this entire area was sealed, no method of scrying could have been able to peer outwards or inwards from it. His death cost us nothing." Sevi revealed.

"I see." Rethys replied, deciding not to push her further.

Descending from the elevated platform, he looked around the large circular room, the innermost station of the cultists, taking in the entirety of his surroundings.

Just like the workshops in the outer section of the ritual wing, this one was also generously equipped and heavily enchanted, well, what was left of it at least.

Every single item was made from visibly valuable magical materials, and any item above a certain size had enchantments on it. Even with his inexperienced eyes, Rethys could tell that this room was the most amount of wealth he had ever seen in any single place in his entire life.

"Now where's that runic lexicon?" He sighed.

"Start searching the worktables' drawers, their contents should still be intact, and it should be somewhere there." Sevi instructed.

And so, he began doing just that. He went through drawers and hidden compartments in the intricately crafted workbenches the high cultists used, finding mostly paperwork, but occasionally also magic items of all sorts.

It felt strange to just instantly go back to doing things as normal after the revelations and then following tension. The awkwardness hanging in the air was so thick you could cut it with a knife, or stab it with a bloodstone dagger in the duo's case.

But eventually, the silence became unbearable, and he felt that he deserved more answers, more truths to maybe cover the plethora of lies and tricks that she had given him thus far.

"Hey." He began. "I know you're still not in the mood for talking, but you still have to explain things to me, properly this time. We'd cooperate easier the more I knew, no?"

"Very well." The Blood mage sighed. "Go ahead then, ask."

"Okay. So, what was that about the eldritch, the Mother of Grace, and what does it imply for our... cohabitation. You said before that you turned me into a host for the sword's power, what did you actually do?" He asked while skimming through papers and notes. "Just give me the whole truth, I can take it."

"The whole truth... is that I do not know." Sevi simply stated.

"You don't know?"

"Yes. For you see, the powers I inherited from the Mother of Grace did not arrive with a manual describing exactly how I am supposed to use the ineffable powers of some eldritch thing lying beyond the veils of reality. My hundreds of years in that room gave me time to experiment, but..." Sevi sighed gravely. "I will not bore you with the details. Simply know that just as I acted as its host before, you now act as mine."

"What does that mean for me?"

"That you are no longer human." Sevi declared.

"Huh?" Rethys froze.

"Before you go delving into your misunderstandings, know first that every single mage that undergoes core evolution technically ceases to be human. The process involved is more akin to unnatural change than simple innate improvement, and even mere awakened mages are technically a different race than mundane humans. The human path of 'evolution' ends at the Ascended stage, at which point the process turns the mage into a pseudo-elemental.

"And therein lies its truth, that it is a simple manipulable process, not some universal law. Some push the ascension to become full on elementals, and others abandon the human path using different powers from different sources. It is also entirely possible for those sufficiently skilled to work their way back down to becoming mortal once again." The Blood mage explained.

"Oh, so it's not that bad?" Rethys asked. "Is that what you're saying?"

"No, it is much worse actually. You are now following a different path than humans, and a particularly dubious one. If any mage worth their salt encounters you, they are liable to attack on sight on suspicions of you being a daemon host. This will only get worse the more of my Blood magic I use on you, for it is not just simple enhancement, rather technically your patron deity imparting more of its power upon you. But-"

"What?!" He jolted, sending papers flying and small curios tumbling to the floor.

"I was not finished with that document."

Picking up the papers lying on the floor, he again set them neatly on the table.

"Continue..." He sighed.

"As I was saying, that is what would happen if neither of us were unconventional existences." Sevi explained. "I am not the eldritch Mother of Grace. That... thing... is dead, and I am but a humble human utilizing its powers and changed by them, or rather what is left of them. And you yourself are a living breathing magical enigma, and I doubt even an eldritch's powers would affect you irrevocably.

"My educated guess is that you would become your own sort of subspecies due to your element's influence, which is not at all uncommon to the especially gifted, dedicated, or simply unlucky. Rest assured however, that with time and research, we will both be able to regain an acceptable degree of our humanity, enough to be mages rather than monsters."

"How does any of this make sense? And how are you planning on doing all of that?" Rethys asked as he reached to another table.

"This is no time for such a complicated lesson of etherical study, I have told you all that is relevant about your state. But know that it is with your element that we shall accomplish this. Its abilities go deeper than simple dispersion and disruption, and it shall be the key to saving our souls. All of this, however, comes after we are freed.

"Oh, and empty that box, if you will."

Unpacking a box full of highly enchanted, slightly concerning items wrapped in foreboding enchanted cloth, Rethys let out a heavy, tired sigh.

"So that's the whole truth? Not going to try and hide something so we can have a whole new ordeal over it in the future?" He asked

"No, this is the whole truth you have wanted for so long!" Sevi retorted. "That we are both extreme anomalies that if found, would be chased to the ends of Tevohs! I do not know why you press me so, and for knowledge that would only dishearten you, no less. There, are you satisfied?"

"Yes, yes I am." Rethys declared with a frown. "After everything you put me through, I deserve some answers, some peace of mind. And don't give me that sad little spiel about how bad we're having it. We are going to find whatever you want to look for in the city, then we'll leave this gods-forsaken place, and then we'll make it work, end of the story! I'd rather I turn into a demon or monster or whatever than end up as some wretch's meal.

"Just stop tiptoeing around the truth. I know you're a decent person at heart, so just for gods' sake trust me a bit for a change."

"Very well... And it is daemon, not demon, you silly thing..." Sevi sighed tiredly. "You will not hear the end of it if someone hears you say 'demon' with a straight face..."

"I don't care what some- Woah..." Rethys froze, looking at one of the wrapped items emitting a strangely comforting aura. "What is this..."

Undoing the cloth binding the magical item, he found what seemed like a stone dagger, with a pitch-black etherstone socketed on its fuller, and its surface covered entirely in small and intricate glowing magical circles.

However, apart from its initial, completely understandable appearance, the rest of the item's properties made no sense. The circles glowed in dark black light that did not belong to either Darkness or Gravity, the two elements bearing that particular color. Its enchantments were also unfathomably intricate, being of impossibly small size and complexity, one rivaling the ones that once bound Sevi, or rather the Mother of Grace.

The magical stone embedded into the item was also unusual, it was neither an etherstone nor a spellstone, but rather something that most resembled a soul.

Rethys' senses also felt that the ether within the item was, to put it very bluntly, extremely persuasive. The more he looked at it, the more he felt his very soul drawn to the blade. It spoke of beautiful visions, of calming truth, of ultimate truth. It spoke of death.

He felt compelled by it and its powers to hold it, keep it, use it... it would be right, he felt. All would become right, he felt. It was release from the pain and stress of this place; it was what he wanted.

He then reached with his hands, trying to grab the dagger, trying to claim what was rightfully his.

Yet when he grabbed it, his eyes went wide as he realized what he was about to attempt.

'I don't want to die.' He repeated in his mind, struggling to let go of the dagger.

Before he could struggle further, a wave of magic ran through his hand, paralyzing it and causing the dagger to drop to the floor.

"Rethys?!" Sevi asked.

"No, it's fine. Gods that was close..." He sighed while rubbing his forehead.

He didn't need to guess twice to know what was becoming of him, nor of what the element before him was. It was probably Death or Rest or something along those lines, if his interpretation of what he sensed was anything to go by.

"You gave me a scare, holding that thing like you did." Sevi stated gravely. "It seems it is truly setting into you."

Rethys didn't need things to be spelled out for him. Levantros had mentioned it in passing, yet it wouldn't escape the young man's cold vigil.

And of course he'd have ethermania by now, half of his life in this place was nothing but listening to his senses and element. His whole being was constantly soaked in the ether, and the side effects of overusing his magic and senses were beginning to show.

"Refrain from using your magic as much as possible from now on. Preferably not even your passive senses, you need to give yourself time to rest." Sevi ordered.

"No, I need to get used to it. Don't worry about me." He answered.

He wasn't being controlled by his ether; he was being convinced by it. He figured that with enough time, he'd learn how to control and stifle it.

That and he couldn't bear the thought of returning to his mortal senses. He could tolerate not actively using his magic, yet his senses were essential in keeping him safe in this place. Danger lurked around every corner, and he couldn't stand the thought of stumbling around blindly.

Even now, with his senses deactivated for mere moments, he felt weak, exposed, and his very soul felt utterly naked. It all felt deeply wrong, and wholly unbearable.

"I will trust your element's uniqueness and your own resilience, but I will be keeping a closer eye on you." Sevi stated, unconvinced by Rethys' words.

Reactivating his senses, he felt the same exact aura emitted from the dagger, yet could now resist its siren call. And picking it up, he studied it closely.

"Something that has to do with death and rest?" He guessed.

"Indeed, your analysis is spot on. It is the element of Death, the will of eternal rest." Sevi revealed. "I do not know what the cultists would have needed this exceedingly rare element for, but it cannot be good. Put it back into its seal and let us take it with us; such power may prove useful. Now resume the search and pick up the pace, we still have not found the cultists' binding circles and the runic lexicon."

And so, the two resumed searching through the dozens of worktables, containers and cases, as well as the few cupboards and shelves that were still intact. They searched quickly, thoroughly, and in silence, saying only the bare minimum to accomplish their task of combing through both this room and the outer one full of lesser cultists.

In the end, they wrapped things up by using the stone dagger of Death to permanently get rid of all the cultists that were in this place; some thirty lesser ones in the outer room and the seven remaining high cultists in the inner room.

The artifact spared them the hassle of finding how the cultists bound their souls to their bodies, but in return hammered into Rethys' skull just how profoundly dangerous certain artifacts, and by extension magic itself, can be.

Rethys then assembled all their useful findings to muse over what to take and what to leave.

Among those findings were journals and notes that were useful for a change; some weapons; magical items of all sorts and functions; more than just a cartload of etherstones of all kinds; ancient artifacts neither of the two had any business handling; and finally, the runic lexicon.