Paradise (Chapter Six)
part: 6/? Summary: Shaundre gets some answers, albeit not satisfying answers. A/N: Mr.Exposition arrives? I feel like I should write down at some point what stories occur in what times, if that makes sense. Like, this one occurs this many years before this one… or whatever. I should do that…
I yawned quietly, trying to keep it down. It’s probably way too early to be awake so why should I be loud enough to wake them?
I wondered how long this training will last. If it even is training. It still confused me on what happened yesterday, but surely Aeregele will tell me today.
“You’re awake,” Aeregele said, walking up from behind me.
“I am,” I yawned again, glancing at him over my shoulder before looking back at the coffee machine in front of me.
“You don’t like tea?” Aeregele chuckled, walking over to sit on the counter beside me while I stood.
“No, I do,” I said, “but it’s more like I woke up so early I won’t go to sleep, so I might as well have some coffee.”
Aeregele huffed and slid off the counter. He didn’t really make much of an effort seeing as how tall he was he was still touching the ground with his feet when sitting up on the counter. His height is sort of freaky.
“So what was about yesterday that had you end the session?” I asked, “what happened?”
“I had to discuss with my partner on what occurred and I had planned on telling you when he woke up,” he blinked, “I wasn’t expecting you to be up so early.”
“Can you… still tell me now,” I asked, taking out my coffee when it finished.
“Of course,” he nodded. “I have noticed your responses every time I approach. You seem deep in thought, yet your thoughts continue to confuse you. But your thoughts run so fast it could’ve taken a whole thirty minutes to even speak out your observations. At first that doesn’t seem too suspicious until we get on to how you blocked. You have no idea of your power or strength, or the magic you hold within. When you blocked my blade I was surprised that your shield did not break as most magic isn’t strong enough for the coating of Antralore.”
“Antralore…” I mumbled. Having listened fully, I have never heard Antra and Lore in the same word before, especially in the context of a name. I know I’m not very fluent in the ancient language or even the language derived from it, but I’m aware most words (especially those two) are difficult to combine to make sense. Even then a literal translation would be more like Venom History but it doesn’t make sense… maybe that’s not what it means? Was I just hearing wrong?
“Specifically,” he said, “I haven’t sensed a magic like yours before. Not in a long while. In fact, it’s been so long I don’t think I remember where I first encountered it.”
“I wouldn’t know what most magic feels like,” I said, “I’m more into logic than I am in a divine power.”
“And that makes sense, especially for a detective I’m not surprised. But…” he paused, “not everything can be solved by thinking logically.”
“What are you saying?”
“Because of your divine power I believe you can approach certain circumstances through a third perspective.”
“What circumstances would those be?” I asked, walking over to the living room and sitting on the sofa. Aeregele stayed put before slowly walking towards me.
“It depends,” he said.
“On what?” I turned to him while he sat on the arm of the armchair beside the sofa.
His right ear twitched slightly. “I believe on what you are. Certain gods only have a certain event they’re able to overcome. If that makes sense I believe if we find out what you are you’ll be able to understand not only more about yourself but also more about what you can do and when and where.”
“When can I return to my wife?” I asked.
“When we are finished.”
“How long will that take?” I frowned.
“It…” he shrugged, “depends.”
I took a sip from my coffee, not really understanding what he wanted. “What… what have you and your partner concluded from what happened yesterday?” I asked, hoping he’d give me at least something more.
“I… most gods under the universal status can’t block blood-infused weapons like Antralore or Artbenlore.”
“So—”
“So that would mean you might possibly be part of the Universals.”
“H-How would something like that be determined fairly, just by a test of whether or not you can block a blade?”
“I have slain many gods who thought their status was determined illy. Antralore isn’t a blade you should mess with. Even then I understand how it can be confused like that as this test won’t be the only one. But I am able to determine many things about you just by how quick you can react to certain movements and how well you can determine movements despite how obscured such movements are.”
“Like…”
“I noticed that you could see movements underneath my wings despite not being visible. How so?” He asked.
“Th-those are wings?” I stuttered.
He nodded. “Answer my question, Shaundre.”
“I… it must be a sense of mine, I guess. All I can think of is I might have stronger eyesight than most people.”
He sat and watched me, not really saying anything.
“Is it a magic sense?” I asked.
“You tell me.”
“I… I don’t know really. If it was a magic sense I would’ve expected to know that by now.” I sighed. I don’t see what he wants me to understand. If it has something to do with magic… was I able to see with magic this whole time? Is that why my work was so easy to finish? Was that why when I was a hunter it was so easy to understand a monster’s movement, or where they were at all times or… “so it is magic? Because if I didn’t have my magic, whatever it is, I wouldn’t be here or where I am in life, huh?”
“You would, possibly,” he said, “but you certainly made more progress than others.”
“But magic can be apart of anything,” I said, “it doesn’t have a true meaning or purpose, does it?”
“No. There’s a possibility that magic derived from certain sources. Yours was awakened when you came into contact with stardust.”
“Stardust? Really?”
“Stardust is a magic-imbued material. It can be liquidized, it can be solid almost like fabric, or even as what we see in our universe in the expanse of space,” he explained, “When you dipped your arms in liquidized stardust you awakened some sort of power. That power has always been within you, but instead was intensified. The ability to conjure a shield the way you did in that specific area was just because of that. Yet it has always been there, only noticeable when you came into contact with a magic-imbued material.”
“I hadn’t realized what I felt was really something that powerful.”
“Why do you think wizards wear armor and clothing imbued with magic? That is Stardust.” he said blankly, “but it’s even more than that. Stardust is extremely difficult to acquire. The only few gods I know able to acquire such a material were my Universals. At least… my first Universals.”
I nodded. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“How did you come into contact with it?”
“I… I was very young. I think before I started hunting. I hadn’t even reached my 700th then.”
“It was a blessing?” He asked.
“I… I’m not sure. It wasn’t something I remember well. All I remember is the appearance of the substance as well as the feeling afterwards.”
Aeregele nodded. “It’s a powerful feeling. Powerful enough to remember it through 700 years.”
“This is Crimson,” Aeregele said, putting a hand on the shoulder of the man I had met yesterday when he sat down in the armchair that Aeregele sat on the arm of. I watched him while he wrapped his white hair around his large horns. “He’ll discuss with you any questions you have before we move on.” I nodded. Aeregele stood from his spot and said, “meanwhile I have to go. I have other matters to attend to.”
“Sure you do,” Crimson muttered, receiving a quick glare from Aeregele before he disappeared and leaving bright blue and white flurries.
“So… what kind of questions am I supposed to ask?” I asked, leaning over from the couch.
“Whatever comes to mind,” he said.
“Like… what did you mean, talking about my father.”
“I met your father a long, long time ago,” he said.
“Childhood friends?”
“Not really,” he shrugged, “more of his mentor.”
“I… how old was he?”
“When I started he recently reached his 700th.” He chuckled when I stayed silent, watching him. “Yes, I’m that old. And even then I was still much older than him.”
“H-How…”
He shrugged. “First gen god. We live long.”
“So you’re the beginning of the Fallan line?”
He nodded.
“Is that why…”
“So you’ve heard?” He chuckled. “I’m sure it’s the only reason Aeregele allowed me to stay with the mortals I was with.”
“I heard from Alpha. His and Misty’s mothers were the only two you ever stayed with,” I smirked.
“Yeah, because the others were just one night stands. I don’t understand what you were expecting of me.”
“I just don’t think I’ve ever met a man like you who gets around so much.”
“I…” he paused, keeping his mouth shut before sighing. “I mean I can’t really now. It’s gotten risky already. Besides I don’t think Aeregele will want me going around like that anymore now that we’re together.”
“I didn’t know it was like that,” I squinted.
He leaned closer with a frown. “Is he calling me his partner?” I nodded. “God…damned. I knew it.”
I laughed lightly. “To… to get more serious. What is a Nithian?”
“A demon-like creature origination from that… one island in the center of… whatever people call the main continent nowadays.”
“Helpful.”
“Sorry it’s been a while,” he chuckled tiredly. “ Although Nithian doesn’t translate to demon or creature I’m sure that’s what they are. I think they’re mainly land creatures who only come through the lake surrounding their habitat every… ten years?”
“So what we found was just of luck?”
“Most likely,” he said, “most prey are dragged into the lake and drowned. The one you found must’ve been a Nithian who had gotten lost, most likely just a young one, and started feasting on whatever came near.”
“Are you sure?”
“There’s also a possibility it’s an animal, possibly a dragon, being conjured by dark magic. But I know Aeregele or I would’ve known by now if that were happening.”
“What if it was and you two just didn’t realize?”
“Then they would be in an area we wouldn’t be able to sense,” he said, “ Like Mai-Jayle, the middle island, or possibly another plane of existence that we are unaware of. But only a select few can create their own marbles.”
“Sounds like somebody lost theirs,” I snorted, having to cover my mouth to quiet myself when Crimson glared at me. “So… What can I achieve with what Aeregele is trying to teach me?”
“I believe he’s trying to clear our suspicions.”
“Elaborate.”
“I cannot say. I apologize,” he closed his eyes. “That is something we cannot discuss with you until you’ve finished.”
“But… you two have told me so much already.”
“Yes but I believe that was because we believed you were ready for that information.”