Ascended Characteristics

Eventually the awkward atmosphere passed. It really helped that Michael managed to find a stuffed blanket, which he placed on Veronica's still unmoving body.

When everything was finally hidden from sight, he pulled over a chair and sat next to Veronica's head. He then recounted everything that had happened after she passed out.

He spoke about how she saved her life and about the strange Islander named Hu. Hearing that quickly piqued Veronica's interest. She had never met an Islander before, but she heard the stories about their jovial attitude and kind demeanor.

She didn't say anything about it though and just listened as Michael continued the explanation.

After her vitals were okay he sent a police officer to the Unbroken HQ –where she was currently– and they sent a carriage to bring Veronica back. Interestingly enough, Billie was the one who helped get her here.

She was also the one who cleaned her off since her whole body was covered in blood, especially her face and chest. When he finished with that part the story finally reached the point she was most curious about.

"As you already know I stayed at the crime scene and looted everything off of Floyd." He stared at Veronica while dropping the name. His eyes weren't accusatory, but he did seem quite curious about Floyd's identity and why he tried to kill her.

With no reason to lie, Veronica recounted her own story about Floyd Hawkins. She told him about how they ran into each other a few times while working as a barmaid, then she talked about the attempted kidnapping just before she tried to ascend.

"...I'm still not quite sure why he tried to do it." She lied. Her mind was fuzzy and she felt the memories slowly eroding, it was like every few moments a new wave came and washed away a new part of what Floyd talked about.

Strangely enough her mind seemed more free. She felt a small amount of will and control over what memory stayed and what disappeared. She still remembered the weird 'Him' Floyd talked about and that He had some plan for her.

It was scary and she would definitely think more on it later. For now she still needed to know about the items Floyd had. She also hoped to find something that would help her learn more about the unknown man.

Floyd had a strange mix of terror and awe while speaking about him. It was like he struggled between loyalty and morality...

It was also clear that whoever the person was, He wanted to acquire the Theater, which was something she couldn't let happen. She had a terrifying feeling that if He got hold of it, then something really bad would happen. This feeling originated from her heart, which she currently trusted more than anything.

"Anyway, Miss Robbins said you gave me all the loot!" She said while grinning from ear-to-ear. Michael chuckled at her ridiculous expression, she looked like a little girl getting her present on Winter Equinox.

"Yes I did. I will have to thank Billie for ruining my gift!" He said while looking at something behind Veronica's head. On her face the grin disappeared like it never existed and an emotional expression took its place.

"Thank you for saving me... And sorry for putting you in danger..." She said while looking towards the back of the sofa, away from Michael.

"Yeah well you saved me as well if I remember correctly. And it wasn't like you knew you would be attacked... Or maybe you did. Maybe you are omniscient!" She didn't laugh at his attempt at a joke.

Her head was still turned away as her eyes glistened. She still remembered that feeling when the knife was pressed against her throat, when all those memories played, she especially remembered the last one.

Then there was another much more painful moment, when Michael was pressed against the wall and was slowly suffocating. That memory somehow was the most excruciating, out of everything she remembered. Just recalling it caused her heart to ache.

A very calloused hand gently touched her face and slowly turned her until she was staring at Michael's concerned expression.

"What's wrong?" He asked with a gentle voice. Veronica just sighed and tried to look away again, but he held firmly.

"It's nothing, just something I remembered... I tell you about it some other time..." Michael didn't believe her, but he dropped the topic since it was obvious Veronica wouldn't talk about it.

His hand lingered on her face and she didn't say anything about it. They stared at one another for a few more seconds, before Michael retracted his hand and turned back towards the items. He had a tiny blush on his face, which was really cute in Veronica's opinion.

"So yeah... The items... There weren't much on Floyd. He had a wallet with his ID and a few gelt worth of money. Other than that he had that knife he stabbed you with, the ascended characteristic from his death, and lastly... he had an envelope." Michael's eyes looked both curious and scared when he told her about the last item.

"What's in the envelope?" She asked, her tone turned the same as Michael's, but she didn't expect his answer.

"I don't know. I didn't want to open it since it wasn't addressed to me!" As he spoke, he reached out of Veronica's view and brought out a pink envelope. There was an untouched seal on it.

The seal depicted a strange line with a squiggle going up around it. The mark seemed oddly familiar to Veronica, like she had seen it a million times over her life, but she couldn't recall any of them.

Suddenly Michael turned the envelope around showing what was written on its back.

There were two words written there, a name... 'Veronica Navarro'.

"Its addressed to you. I could open it and read it if you say so, but I wanted to ask for permission first."

"You don't have to. When I can finally move, I will read it myself." Her curiosity was through the roof, but she hid it expertly.

"There is also some small item in the envelope, but if you don't want to, then we won't open it now." He spoke with a smile, which was reflected on Veronica's face.

He knew this was a mistake, and he should read whatever was inside there, but he also had a feeling that there was a lot Veronica wasn't telling him. If the message inside the envelope was related to that, then it probably wouldn't even make sense to him.

Instead of trying to snoop at other people's property, he decided to gain Veronica's trust and wait until she opens up herself. It's not like he didn't plan on spending more time with her. He wanted quite the opposite, but he had to do everything slowly to not come across as a creep.

He placed back the envelope and carefully lifted the knife. He brought it into Veronica's view slowly, holding it as non-threateningly as possible.

The low gaslight of the room reflected on the rainbow blade beautifully.

"Billie had already divined its properties. I wasn't easy and we needed to use another Item since it has strong anti-divination. Its name is Last Whisper, and its a very powerful Ethereal Weapon, made with a 6th Order ascended characteristic." This information dump gave Veronica a headache.

Michael was about to continue describing the knife's properties, but seeing her confused look he stopped.

"What is an ascended characteristic?" She asked, at which Michael just sighed.

"Did nobody teach you about them? Your teacher most be either stupid or just really lazy!" He said it as a joke, but Veronica was not at all amused.

"I hope you know that Suze taught me about the supernatural world." Michael previous smirk quickly turned into a pale, nervous expression.

"Uhm... Could you perhaps not tell her what I said?" He wasn't afraid of Suze... she wasn't scary at all... not even a little bit! What he was really worried about is that he literally called Veronica's mother dumb and lazy.

"I will think about it." She said with narrowed eyes, which caused Michael's anxiety to spike.

"So... ascended characteristics... They are very special indeed..." He tried to change subjects, while struggling with his nerves.

"When an ascended dies, all those main ingredients they use for ascension gets ejected in a clump. These are what we call ascended characteristics, they can be used as main ingredients for someone else's ascension, or they can be made into an Item by someone from the Cultivator path. Also, they have to be kept inside a Material Box, or they will form an item with properties related to the ascended characteristic's path and order."

While he spoke, he reached behind Veronica's head again and brought out a small box. It was like the ones people used for rings, but with the markings of a Material Box.

He gently flipped open the top. Inside a small pink gemstone rested. It had a tiny ethereal glow to it, and it gave Veronica a feeling of familiarity. This time it didn't come from her heart. Instead it originated from her mind. She knew instantly what order and path this was from, but she still had to ask for conformation.

"What was Floyd's path and order?" She asked curiously, her eyes never leaving the small gemstone.

Michael laughed a bit and said with a gleeful voice.

"It's your lucky day Miss Navarro! Congratulations on acquiring the next step in your ascendency. This is the ascended characteristic of non other than the 7th Order of the Dancer Path... Flexible Warrior!"