Time Waits for No One

Endyr woke up on a soft bed in an unfamiliar wooden room. The soft sunlight unique to morning shone through a nearby window, and birds could be heard chirping. The world was peaceful and serene, nothing like when she had left it.

Sitting up, she realised that she was back in her Human form, meaning the quest had indeed ended. Her memory of said ending was hazy however, as the last thing she could confidently confirm happening was sticking the Abomination's eye inside her socket. Everything after that was covered by a thick mental fog that left only vague emotions visible such as euphoria, boredom, happiness...and a deep sense of fear she could neither shake nor place.

[Ding! Rewards for completing the Quest with {Satisfactory} have been determined! Please stand by while rewards are transfered....ERROR, INTERFERENCE DETECTED]

The System fell silent while Endyr patiently waited for it to sort itself out. She knew that the System would struggle since the majority of its functions were severed in Orvonia, si this wasn't much of a shock. After several minutes, the System came back online.

[Ding! Thank you for your patience Host. Your rewards are now ready to be distributed.]

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● 20,000 EXP (After deducting penalties)

● Eye of Infinity

● Historical Knowledge (Already Received)

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[You have Levelled up!]

[You have Levelled Up!]

[You have Levelled Up!]

[You have Levelled Up!]

[You have Levelled Up!]

[You have Levelled Up!]

[Congratulations on reaching Level 20 Host! New aspects of your Tier can now be utilised. Please continue to work hard and grow!]

.....

Endyr frowned as she took in her rewards, sweeping a lock of silver hair behind her ear. The EXP was a nice amount, but the deductions for "System assistance" left her slightly bitter. The System stated it would not cost Authority Points to use its functions, but said nothing about the EXP drain. In other words, she had been scammed!

But she would file a complaint at a later date. Right now, the other rewards required her full attention. The "Historical Knowledge" was likely the Fragment of Time mentioned in the Quest preview. She had indeed already acquired that, and it was quite the nice reward. Such knowledge was likely impossible to come across unless you join specific organizations, and the secrets they held also expanded her worldview.

What drew the most attention was thus the "Eye of Infinity" given to her. Putting a finger to her face, Endyr felt nothing different about herself, and her vision stayed the same too. Unable to find anything out by herself, she turned to her trusty Analysis for help.

[Eye of Infinity (EX): The severed eye of the first 3rd Generation Abomination in Orvonia, gouged out by an ancient Deity in the far-flung past.]

[Ability 1: Grants the user a deeper connection to Abomination and Infinity, allowing the user to suffer less hostility from the former and reduced damage from the latter.]

[Ability 2: Allows the user to peer through illusions and identify Mana more clearly.]

[Negative Effects: Grafts the Fate of the user with the Abomination's, making them more likely to encounter scenarios involving Infinity and incurring the wrath of Orvonia]

Reading the description of the Eye, Endyr let out a sigh of defeat. She automatically dismissed the second Ability since it would at most boost her current Mana Sight (which was already one of the strongest in the world) but the first Ability was nothing to scoff at. Everything in the world, if not the Universe, was weak to Infinity and Endyr was no exception with her Human side. The resistance would certainly reduce the risk of her own Skills killing her. Reduced hostility would also be useful if she ever met an Abomination...and Endyr had the feeling she would be sooner rather than later if the System had its way. And that brought them to the downside of the Eye.

As an Irregular and Outlier, Endyr was already hated or at least hunted by the majority of factions in Orvonia, so this negative effect was just stomping on her corpse. From this point onwards, she would have to live in constant fear of a lightning bolt or Mana Storm falling on her head. The grafting of Fate phased her remarkably less: everything she did seemed to just drag her deeper down the path of an Abomination, and with Fallacy lurking in her shadow, there was little she could do at the moment to resist.

'I suppose I can call "Him" Zephaniah instead now that I know "His" name, hehe' Endyr chuckled at the thought before freezing as a gaze heavy enough to crush her like a bug fell on her. Acting without thinking, she activated Archaic Dialect and shouted a word.

"SILENCE!"

Space crackled as a dark spot appeared in the River of Fate, shielding Endyr from all gazes and senses. Becoming stiller than a rock, Endyr felt the gaze move over and then past her before retracting when it found nothing. Once she was sure it was gone, Endyr fell back into the bed in a sweat.

'I didn't even say "His" name out loud yet Fallacy managed to sense me?! With such power, "He" must be incredibly close to reaching the Greater God stage, maybe the furthest than any other God with the possible exception of Seraphic.'

The Lord of Light was credited as the strongest individual amongst the Gods, but "His" lack of rationality and tendency towards psychotic rages left "Him" easily deceived and trapped, as the Orthodox Gods proved at the end of the Dark Era until today.

If Fallacy was approaching Greater Godhood, then that would explain why "He" held the most authority in Astoria and no other God dared to cross "Him" lightly. It would also explain why Jester and Daemon were allowed so much leeway for "Their" acts if Fallacy was protecting "Them" from retribution. Otherwise, troublemakers like "Them" would have been dealt with centuries ago. As Endyr ruminated over the political landscape of Orvonia's Gods, she reacted a beat late to the bedroom door opening. 

Turning her head, she saw the pink-haired Aryll standing there, a smile upon her face when she saw Endyr was awake. Behind her, Kulkiri stood with his causal countenance, hands deep in his pockets and face obscured by a white mask. His olive-orange eyes twinkled with a permanent mischievous streak, and he was looking at her with unusual fondness for someone who was basically a stranger. Seeing that Endyr had noticed them, Aryll walked into the room and closed the door after Kulkiri followed her in.

"How are you feeling, Endyr?" Aryll asked gently, dragging a stool over the her bedside. Kulkiri stood leaning against the wall. 

"I feel...fine, actually. How long have I been out?"

"Slightly less than a day" Kulkiri answered lazily. "After you and I killed that Vampire, you blacked out from the trauma and Mana Exhaustion. After dropping you off someplace safe, the rest of us carried on and completed the mission. Well, partially at least. Kismet escaped with several of his men, and any records of what they were doing was either taken with them or destroyed in the fight. It was some sort of ritual for sure, but the contents elude us even now. Ah, that reminds me: your reward is waiting to be collected at the Guild desk."

At the brief and not-too-informative run down of what happened after she blacked out, Endyr frowned and scratched the are between her brows. "So we failed the eliminate the main target?" she pressed.

"But we successfully ruined the Blood Coven's plans and drove them out of the city" Aryll softly interceded. "Besides, Kismet was only Viscount, an Epic Tier. His death wouldn't have set back the Blood Coven much beyond finding a regional replacement."

"The number of Epics and Legendaries the Vampires possess is beyond your imagination" Kulkiri added from the side. "All Races are more or less equal in the amount of Demigods they own, but the Vampires are in the lead for Mortal and Transcendent Ascenders. Ascenders like Kismet are a dime a dozen for them. In fact, I dare say letting him escape will do more harm for the Bats that killing him."

"What do you mean?" Endyr asked with a frown, unsure of Kulkiri's words. By her side, Aryll spoke up. "The Vampires, or rather Navruavati, detest failure and weakness. Under "His" reign, failures are punished with either torture of execution. As Kismet was driven from the city, he will be disgraced and possibly disowned by his Clan, as the rules demand. But not every Vampire will want to follow those rules. There will likely be infighting as Kismet's allies attempt to defend him from the other Vampires. While something as ludicrous as a civil war is obviously impossible, it will slow down the Coven's growth in the region for a while."

"It's a very common occurrence that the Bats constantly fail to learn from because they are either too pompous, or the blood in their brains has rotted from following Navruavati" Kulkiri said snidely added.

Seeing Endyr fall silent, Aryll exchanged looks with Kulkiri and leaned forward. "Would you like a more in-depth explanation of what happened after you lost consciousness?"