Chapter 5 (2 of 2) Galaxy noodles.
Infinityphoenix
Fantasizer
- Location
- Australia
"Verdilast and youngling Skulker are here to show in visitor Lucille Goldcroft."
After he said that, she could hear the slow sliding of snake coils unwinding, and a pulsating indigo eye the size of a doorway appeared. The same mottled blue, black, purple, and green pattern she could see on the other Truth-Seizing snakes was apparent on this snake too.
"Come in, girl," an older female voice sounded out, the intensity of it reverberating inside Lucy's head.
"See you, Lucy! I'll get a human form quickly!"
She waved goodbye to the father-son pair and entered the large cavern. She blinked to accustom her left eye to the darkness, as she knew her perception field needed to be shrunk or she'll be overloaded by the sheer quantity of mana escaping the beast in front of her.
Coiled up to the top of the several hundred-metre-tall cavern was a stunning serpent with scales glowing and dimming constantly. Each one of the window-sized scales switched through a cycle of black, purple, dark blue, cyan, indigo, and violet, occasionally letting off light before changing colour. The body of the snake was as wide as a manor at its thickest, while the size of the snake's head was as big as a house. Like its other kin, the serpent had an arrangement of horns leading from the front of its forehead up to its brow ridges on either side forming an upside-down arrow shape, these glowing constantly. The pulsating indigo eyes of the snake flickered with flecks of violet and gold, and its pitch-black pupils were as tall as Lucy. The gorgeous snake gazed at her carefully.
This was the almighty ancestor of the Truth-Seizing Serpent clan and was also her best friend's great-grandmother.
She knelt on one knee and dipped her head. "Lucille Goldcroft greets the Supreme Ancestral Matriarch of the Truth-Seizing Serpent Clan, one at the pinnacle of all realms."
"Raise your head, girl," the ancient snake replied. "It has been several decades since one of your kind has stood before me and- "
"Yeah, yeah, you're old and strong. Great. Now put me down please."
Lucy couldn't help it. She scowled as she saw the familiar creature. Currently dangling between the two eyes of the Supreme Ancestral Matriarch was a small snake the length of her arm, his tail coiled around the nose horn of the larger serpent. He was currently swaying in impatience as the matriarch went cross-eyed trying to spot the brat on her forehead. Lucy figured this edition of 'having friends in high places' was taking it a bit too far.
"Why in the realms are you up there?!" came the shocked and slightly mortified voice of the matriarch as she quickly moved to place him down, proving that this wasn't some elaborate scheme set by the two of them.
"Your scales don't have any sense of touch when you're this strong. It's easy to sneak up there," said the mischievous sound of a young boy from the thin squiggle Lucy usually called a friend. Like most days with him, she was wondering if she needed to change that status.
On his slightly raised stone pillar at the edge of the room, the Truth-Seizing snakeling turned to Lucy. "You took too long. In the 3 months you spent in your world, I had to spend 15 months in Systemless agony!"
She narrowed her eyes at him. "You just wanted access to the Obelisks to entertain yourself."
"Yep," came the unabashed response from the snake. Lucille shook her head while the Matriarch sighed, sounding like she was used to this. She turned to Lucy.
"This one's name is Jouten'garde. It has been revealed to me that you intend to bond with this young snake." Lucy nodded, making Jouten'garde dip her head in apology. "I am sorry for your loss."
Lucille shook her head wryly while the young snake in question raised himself higher on his podium in mock outrage, scales lit up like a Christmas tree. "How could anyone bonding with me suffer a loss?! This one's wonderous existence brings all of creation enlightenment when in my presence!"
Lucy just gave him a flat look. "Sure thing, Glimmer."
He wilted, glowing scales fading. "My dark past has returned…"
Jouten'garde looked between the two of them and shook her head with bemusement. "I am aware of Glimmer's change of sorts 15 months ago, but he firmly refuses to tell us anything until his 'future bond' arrives. He also said something along the lines of not being the same as you," she said, gesturing with her tail at Lucy, "Remember, so we 'need to prepare to be suitably shocked and awed'."
Lucy raised an eyebrow at the littler snake, but he gave nothing away. She turned to Jouten'garde. "He just wants to keep you in suspense."
"That is what we were led to believe, yes."
"Hey, it's not all about the suspense," he argued. "Part of it is so I could have someone to deal with the difficult questions instead of me."
Jouten'garde tilted her head, puzzled, while Lucy rolled her eyes in exasperation. Rubbing her nose a bit in thought, she looked up to the snake matriarch. "I'm sure you can see that while not that great of an improvement, 'Glimmer' has matured more than you would have any reason to expect he would."
Jouten'garde nodded while 'Glimmer' glared at her for the 'not that great of an improvement' bit.
"Due to bonding binding the souls of two creatures tighter together, in some situations, attack, buffs or effects can apply to them both, particularly those directed at the soul." She rubbed her head as she thought about how to phrase her next sentence. "Because there was a future where both 'Glimmer' and I had been bonded before we died when an effect that sent the soul back to the past of another timeline was applied to us in that timeline, we both got sent back and now have memories of that 'future'."
Jouten'garde stared at her silently, switched her gaze to 'Glimmer', and then switched it back to Lucille after a while. "I'm confused," was all she stated.
"Because we used to be bonded in the future, we both got sent to the past, and because now that past is our present, and the past past was our future, we now have memories of a future that never existed and never will because we now know of that future in the present which was the past." 'Glimmer' nodded sagely, like all of that just made perfect sense.
Jouten'garde stared at them both. "I'm still confused," was all she said after a moment, not surprisingly as it was 'Glimmer' speaking.
Magic beasts as a rule typically did not do too well when it came to the finer details of magic, magic theory, and whatever the hell Lucy and 'Glimmer' had happened to them. There were exceptions, but the usage of instinctual magic didn't really provide the environment for deeper consideration of the less material side of the realms.
She sighed. An example would be better for the ancient serpent. "'Glimmer' and I have about two centuries worth of memories about events and situations that could happen from this point onward. These memories are static, and so the contained information won't change even if the actual events occur differently, so they will be reliable for the first couple of years at least. It's like we get an entire book about how our life could go if we make specific decisions, but it doesn't tell us what will happen if we make other decisions."
Jouten'garde seemed to consider this for a moment, before nodding slowly. "So, you are currently like those of the Timeless Sands Sphinx clan, who gain bloodline memories of an alternative life when they become a superior beast?"
Lucille smiled and nodded, pleased the giant serpent could understand the concept, if not its ramifications.
The serpent looked between the two of them again. "And you both have memories where you know each other?" she asked.
They both nodded.
She pulled back her head to look at the two. "Well, I suppose that makes more sense than whatever the rot Glimmer spewed at me earlier was. But that leads us to the second question. What is this 'amazing surprise' this young snake has in mind for us?"
They both turned to 'Glimmer', sitting on his waist-high podium. He raised his head arrogantly as he looked at them both. "In consideration of my memories, I decided not to abandon my other bloodline, and decided to absorb it instead."
'Glimmer' was only half Truth-Seizing Serpent, and the other half unknown.
"However," he said, sounding a bit sheepish as he turned to Jouten'garde, "I had to hide my changes from all my clan-kin, and to do that I needed some scales of yours to use the temporary essence within to paint an illusion over me."
"I see….." Jouten'garde remarked dryly.
It was true that using her scales was one of the few ways to avoid having your illusions pierced through by the matriarch with her truth-seeing eyes, and therefore her kin, but those scales were used by the older Truth-Seizing snakes to absorb more of her bloodline essence and were valuable for the enclave. It was a bit like eating your parent's favourite food they were saving.
"But it will be worth it! You will be amazed! Shocked! Stunned!"
"Just get on with it," Lucille stated bluntly. The snake sniggered but kicked up a storm of mana as the illusion on him was slowly removed.
"Behold!" he proclaimed as the last of the illusion disappeared. "For I have emerged like a butterfly from its cocoon, an immortal after ascending their tribulation, and a god after achieving divinity! Just as the realms will now submit at my feet, bask in the splendour of my sheer glory, mortals, and weep!" And he spread his wings with pride.
For the metre-long snake indeed had wings now. White-gold as they were, the things spread out on either side of him the length of her arm span. Only slightly tinted with darker gold colours, it would be hard to say they were from a living creature if it were not for the rustling sound and movement in the wind every time the snake shifted. Replacing the hypnotic pattern of a Truth-Seizing Serpent's scales, his scales were instead a brilliant silver with a glossy sheen, looking for all the world like burnished metal.
Matching his other plumage was a crown of the same white gold feathers on his head, beginning at his brow ridges and forming a line of feathers that ended where his metallic wings began. In a form like that of the stronger Truth-Seizing Serpents, he had horns forming that same upside-down arrow pattern pointing at his nose, these silver. His black-slitted pupils sat within golden irises that flickered and shifted with the light. Rather than a magical beast, he seemed like the life's work of a master metalworker. And there is no way in hell Lucy was going to be telling him that.
"This is… certainly a surprise," announced Jouten'garde after a few moments. She seemed like she didn't know what to think of his change.
Lucille was slightly less phased. "Quetzalcoatl?" she asked 'Glimmer'.
"Nah," he responded. "Amphiptere. I don't have the tail or beak for it."
Lucy nodded. All beasts had an instinctual understanding of what their sub-race is called, or in 'Glimmer's' case, his hybridisation, so it wouldn't be wrong. She considered his colouration. "Correct me if I'm wrong," she began, "But do you have access to light magic now? It's that or metal, and that's more common in draconic bloodlines."
"Yup. I get to do fancy tricks with light. Maybe shoot a few laser beams or two."
"You said in consideration of your memories," she continued. "That means you eventually worked out what your other bloodline was and are willing to use it this time around. When were you going to tell me what it was before this?"
He shrugged. He looked happy he could do that now, utilising the wings to mimic it. "By the time I found it out, I had completely removed it, so it was useless to know. But it's strong, even better than our Truth-Seizing bloodline."
"And so, what is the bloodline?" Jouten'garde asked him. They both turned to hear his answer.
For some reason though, 'Glimmer' was staring down at the ground, avoiding eye contact with either of them. "…..drius," he muttered.
"What?"
Jouten'garde wasn't close enough and so didn't hear him, but Lucy, who was closer and had a small perception field surrounding her, heard him and made a strange expression.
He said it again for the matriarch. "It's the Sanctity Caladrius bloodline."
There was a long pause. It was…. unexpected.
It's not like there was anything wrong with a Caladrius, or the Sanctity Caladrius bloodline. If the phoenixes were considered the emperor race of all magical bird-type beasts, then Caladrius were a major noble bloodline underneath. In Earth's mythology, they were known for purifying the sickness of royals by flying away with it. The Sanctity Caladrius bloodline was at the very top of the Caladrius hierarchy and was indeed quite a bit stronger than the Truth-Seizing Serpent bloodline. It explained his colouration, as the Sanctity Caladrius were known as the bird beasts with the strongest light magic. The Caladrius of the Beast Realm also grew several pairs of wings, with their current ancestor having four pairs of wings. It was one of the better bloodlines.
There was only one itty bitty problem.
"Don't Caladrius…. eat snakes…?" Lucy asked, sharing an awkward look with Jouten'garde.
Jouten'garde slowly dipped her head in acknowledgement. "The low-ranked beasts of their kind do indeed… eat snakes as their main food source. Higher ranked Caladrius don't do that obviously, but our baser instincts mean there is no love lost between the Caladrius and the serpent bloodlines."
They both turned back to 'Glimmer', unsure what to make of the situation.
"Your parents had weird taste," Lucy told him. The snake glared at her. It wasn't even like his parents could have no idea what kind of beast the other was. Magic beasts all had an instinctual recognition ability to know which race the other beast was, regardless of whether they were in human form or not.
Lucy turned to Jouten'garde. "And am I right in saying that if the central serpent clans or even the Caladrius discovered this, it would be a major diplomatic issue?"
Jouten'garde let out a groan. "Indeed. I've also been facing pressure from them to let my enclave take a more active role in the expansion and politics of the central regions, and this would make it even worse. Our enclave could be considered a noble serpent clan if we wanted. I just want us to be left alone."
In the end, that was the true reason why nobody knew more about these giant snakes. Their natural habitat was very specific, even if their abilities made it so they could be a very strong and unique faction within the Beast Realm, and so they preferred to stay in their frontier region, living out their own lives. Occasionally they may leave, but among the trillions of inhabitants in the realms, they were a minority, and so generally stayed unknown.
'Glimmer' flapped his wings, annoyed. "Come on, you're focusing on the wrong thing. How come you're acting more astonished at this rather than my beautiful splendour?! I'm now a flying snake!"
"What!??! Glimmer can fly now?!"
They all jerked slightly at the exclamation and looked around until they spotted the source. A vent used for airflow was at the base of one of the cavern's side walls, where a forked tongue and scaled nose were peeking out of it, trying, and failing to remain hidden.
"I believe we have an eavesdropper," Lucy remarked wryly.
Jouten'garde rolled her door-sized eyes. "Yes, I do believe we do. Come out Skulker, we know you're there."
A mottled snake sheepishly slithered out, his head lowered as he looked between the Matriarch and Lucy. Then he spotted 'Glimmer' and his purple eyes widened, and he rushed over. He skittishly tasted the air near the winged snake and inspected 'Glimmer's' metallic wings. "Wow! You have wings now! Is this a rare mutation? Will I get wings too?"
"What's with the new fascination for wings, Skulk?" responded 'Glimmer', a bit bemused at the attention he was receiving from the bigger snake as Skulker's large head nudged him.
"That would probably be my fault. I used a glider I had bought a few days ago to enter the enclave, and now he thinks it's what all humans do," Lucy said with amusement.
It was a bit of a sight to see the once-was cocky feathered snake be pushed around by the 10-metre-long, 12-year-old serpent. 'Glimmer' did not gain any major size increase until his bloodline reached advanced in the past, meaning he was an outlier for his enclave, and was tiny in comparison to the rest of them.
Jouten'garde sighed. "Unfortunately, Skulker, this is unique to Glimmer, so you will not get wings as your bloodline strength increases. My great-grandson's form comes with a few issues, and so will need to be kept secret in the meantime. The important members of the enclave will know though. In fact, why don't you go find your father and bring him here?"
"He'll kill me!" responded the horrified snake. It was obvious he sneaked in there without his father's knowledge.
"Then consider that your punishment for sneaking into the Supreme Matriarch's abode," responded Jouten'garde, unamused. "Whatever punishment he gives you will be far nicer than the official charges for illegally hiding in here. Off you go."
And so, the troublesome snake tearfully crawled out of the cavern entranceway to find his soon-to-be irate father. Jouten'garde turned to them both.
"Verdilast is the current general of my War-Borne. Considering his son knows as well, he'll be one of the few outside of us to know of Glimmer's hybridisation. It seems taking him out of here as a bond would be the best for the long term. Please don't reveal his origins before you've reached sufficient strength."
"Then should we bond now?" Lucy asked 'Glimmer'.
Bonding was relatively simple. Requiring a name for the beast, a few lines of lyric or similar, and a gesture from the human, it bound them through the System, forming a link between their minds to communicate without speech. It became a skill, and the stronger the bond, the deeper the level of communication. They could also swap abilities and skills depending on the type of bond. To protect their members from a life of servitude, the first bond only lasted 5 years with a year's break between the first and second bond, and then they could decide to make it more permanent.
She glanced at 'Glimmer's colouration again. "Last time the name I picked matched your scales, but now that you look different, do you want a name matching your current form?"
'Glimmer' scoffed. "I am not going to spend over 200 years of my life with one name, only to switch it. Keep it the same."
She shrugged. "I, Lucille Goldcroft, would like to initiate a binding contract with the Magical Beast in front of me, for the standard period of 5 years, where I will release him so he may search for his path."
She felt the immaterial machine-like limbs of the System grasp onto her spiritual energy and mana, before twisting the mental energies of them together. Now she needed a saying and a gesture. She made eye contact with the shiny snake. He was too late in realising what she was about to do.
"Scytale, I choose you!" she proclaimed, hand on hip and finger pointing at the silvery amphiptere.
Scytale was horrified.
"Nooo! Argh, how could you reduce my glorious ceremonial rite to such a piece of mundane, innocuous mortal fiction! Where were the bowing, the magical light announcing my coming, and my grand reveal! Where were the hundred lines of reverent poetry! Why have I been reduced to a lowly Pokémon?!?!?"
Jouten'garde looked very confused by the sudden outburst, and why the winged snake launched himself at Lucy to pretend to strangle her. Lucy doubted the old serpent would understand even if she explained.
The invisible manipulation of the System intertwined their spiritual energy until suddenly, an intangible line of thread was linking them both. Able to feel the edges of Scytale's mind rubbing against hers, she decided to take it further. Instead of accepting the skill as it was, she wrapped her threads of spiritual energy around it, braiding the strand into more and more complex structures until it was as thick as a rope. She nodded, pleased, when she could feel his thoughts and emotions with actual clarity. She had probably skipped about twenty years of strained life-or-death situations to reach a bond of this strength. A notification popped up.
[Available Primary Skill: Half-Beast Assimilation (Altered)]
Desc: This is a customised version of the typical Beast bonding ability given by the System. Almost a brand-new skill, this one skips years of relationship trials to tightly bind a willing beast to yourself with a far thicker bond than most can achieve in decades.
Info: Accepting this main skill occupies one primary skill slot, and gives you the Morph, Unity, and Perfect Harmonisation subskills]
She swiped the notification away, uninterested. She wasn't a physical fighter.
'Woah. What is with your spiritual energy? I was expecting it to be around my level still, not this.' The mental voice of Scytale come through the bond after she had made it stronger. She also gained access to his emotions, senses, and memories if she wanted, but she blocked those out as it was disorientating.
Do you even remember how much I had?
Scytale looked at her for a second.
'Actually, we need to talk about that later. I don't have as many memories as I would expect for someone over 200.'
Somewhat confused, she sent back an affirmation and turned to Jouten'garde. Conversing with their thoughts was exceptionally quick, even with Scytale lacking the mental stats to speed it up, so they weren't out of tune with the outside world for any longer than a few seconds.
"Yes, I can feel the bond working. We'll need to go to an Obelisk to finalise anything, however."
Jouten'garde nodded, and at that moment Verdilast and Skulker came in.
"Skulker told me Glimmer had… changed….." Verdilast slowed as he came to see the little silver snake sitting next to Lucy and the matriarch. Lucy watched him do a double take.
Scytale flapped his white-gold plumage smugly.
Verdilast looked down at the larger mottled snake next to him. "You failed to mention this," he said to Skulker, sounding annoyed.
Jouten'garde spoke to him, "My great-grandson has been named Scytale by his new bond, Lucille. However, there are…. other factors to do with his second bloodline I must discuss with you."
Jouten'garde got Verdilast up to speed on Scytale's bloodline while Skulker took advantage of the opportunity to ask Lucille more questions about the realms, during which Scytale teased him about not going with them. Before the mottled snake could get too incensed at the silver one, Verdilast and Jouten'garde came back over.
"I feel like the new generation is only composed of troublemakers," Verdilast said to them, looking weary.
Jouten'garde nodded in agreement. She turned to Lucy and the silver amphiptere. "It would probably be best for the pair of you to leave soon. But before that, Lucille, do you have any plans for the near future?"
Lucy thought for a bit and shook her head. "Not for a while. I want to leave time for the Inheritance Event in a month though."
Jouten'garde nodded. "It would be best to be in an Ascendant city by that point in time so you could use the Obelisks for teleportation, yes. Well then, I'm sure the rest of the enclave would love to meet our first honorary member and find out the new name of my great-grandson during this time. You will be our guest. Although we may need to ask for specifics when suiting your needs. This time, Scytale, let me apply the illusion, instead of wastefully using another one of my scales."
"So that's why they seemed to be disappearing…" Verdilast muttered.
After Scytale had his illusion reapplied, they said goodbye to the matriarch. Leaving the caves to come back out into the lively third layer, the sun was a welcome sight.
Lucy had a thought.
You know… your name kind of suits your new form too.
Scytale was confused.
'How?'
Because you have wings, so 'Sky' and you're all tail.
Scytale did not deign to respond.
...
They had a peaceful time during the following weeks. Skulker introduced her to all his friends, asking her to show them her glider, and she demonstrated it from the tops of the cliffs. The matriarch had a meeting with all her direct subordinates and trusted elders to tell them about Scytale and revealed her decision to have Scytale be Lucille's bond to gain strength in the outside world. And Lucille revealed the reason why she got along well with the snakes: her illusion magic.
If her ability to manipulate the soul and spiritual energy came first, then her knowledge of the System came second, and her ability to use illusion magic third. Her interest originally stemmed from her introduction to the System. Wondering if the Status screens were a type of illusion in the past, she went on to make that her class: an illusionist. When she discovered the relationship between the senses and the soul, that became her other focus. The manipulation of the soul eventually led her into seeing its connection with the System, and she therefore returned to the beginning with her studies. Trying to make her illusions more realistic, she learnt spiritual energy manipulation techniques and developed her abilities into a unique new subset of illusion magic.
Her current Status limitations meant she couldn't use her full spell repertoire without drawing some attention from the elder snakes, but that wasn't needed to show off for the younger ones. She even explained a bit about illusion magic and its limitations for the Truth-Seizing Serpent bloodline. There were some questions on why she was so weak, why she hadn't reached level 10, why she hadn't done the first stages yet, but she managed to use the excuse that it means she was not monster bait to deflect them.
In all honesty, it was more the fact that levels or stages weren't useful to her plans at the current stage. The first part of her entry into the System was always going to be busy and packed, and while she could focus on gaining strength, she believed that with her ideas for a new 'class', then she may do better by going about it a different way. With her plans to gain lots of resources and access to information to study, she hoped to find a way to form something that will break the limitations of the System. She was supposed to be 'Archetype' after all.
Lucille and Scytale just spent time with his family and friends, enjoying the peace of the enclave. Neither of them approached the topic of their pasts or plans, relaxing with the little time they had before it would be hectic for the two of them. The System aimed to keep every realm in an ever-advancing state, and that included shaking up the status quo everywhere, even when the inhabitants themselves did not like change.
Lucy knew that the Truth-Seizing Serpent enclave would eventually have to respond to the requests of the central regions and involve themselves in the political turmoil that was constant over there. When that happened, she will be happy to aid them as the family of her bond, but that required both her and Scytale to be prepared to face the issues that will occur when her bond's form is revealed. She could tell Scytale didn't like it, but he knew that the best way for him to aid his family was to leave.
At the end of the month, they both said their goodbyes.
"I'll give this glider to your dad for when you gain a human form. In exchange, no telling anyone about what Scytale looks like. Understood?" Lucy told the tearfully nodding 10-metre-long Skulker, who had gotten quite attached to her during the month.
"We'll look forward to your return. I suggest you reach Rank-3 before revealing your new bloodline," said Verdilast to Lucy's bond. He nodded sombrely, before flapping his wings with obnoxious arrogance.
"Who do you think I am? I'll be Rank-4 by the time I'm back!"
Everyone rolled their eyes and shook their head but smiled. Verdilast nodded to them both.
"The matriarch sends her good wishes too. Her size doesn't let her come out easily, but she can see you with her perception from down in the cavern. Look out for her great-grandson and prevent him from getting into trouble, because she'll probably come to kill you after killing her great-grandson for the anguish he caused her."
Lucy smiled wryly but nodded. Stepping back a step, she gave a deep bow.
"I thank the Supreme clan for their hospitality and blessing me with the honour of a visit to their ancestral home. I take with me one of your clan-kin as a partner and guide for the trials of the future and will release him to you with good sentiments in our hearts when we say our goodbyes. I bid you farewell, and may you see future horizons."
With Scytale above her head and his body coiled on top of her pack, they set off back through the Violet Luminosity Jungle, heading to the Supreme Serpent's Silent City.
After he said that, she could hear the slow sliding of snake coils unwinding, and a pulsating indigo eye the size of a doorway appeared. The same mottled blue, black, purple, and green pattern she could see on the other Truth-Seizing snakes was apparent on this snake too.
"Come in, girl," an older female voice sounded out, the intensity of it reverberating inside Lucy's head.
"See you, Lucy! I'll get a human form quickly!"
She waved goodbye to the father-son pair and entered the large cavern. She blinked to accustom her left eye to the darkness, as she knew her perception field needed to be shrunk or she'll be overloaded by the sheer quantity of mana escaping the beast in front of her.
Coiled up to the top of the several hundred-metre-tall cavern was a stunning serpent with scales glowing and dimming constantly. Each one of the window-sized scales switched through a cycle of black, purple, dark blue, cyan, indigo, and violet, occasionally letting off light before changing colour. The body of the snake was as wide as a manor at its thickest, while the size of the snake's head was as big as a house. Like its other kin, the serpent had an arrangement of horns leading from the front of its forehead up to its brow ridges on either side forming an upside-down arrow shape, these glowing constantly. The pulsating indigo eyes of the snake flickered with flecks of violet and gold, and its pitch-black pupils were as tall as Lucy. The gorgeous snake gazed at her carefully.
This was the almighty ancestor of the Truth-Seizing Serpent clan and was also her best friend's great-grandmother.
She knelt on one knee and dipped her head. "Lucille Goldcroft greets the Supreme Ancestral Matriarch of the Truth-Seizing Serpent Clan, one at the pinnacle of all realms."
"Raise your head, girl," the ancient snake replied. "It has been several decades since one of your kind has stood before me and- "
"Yeah, yeah, you're old and strong. Great. Now put me down please."
Lucy couldn't help it. She scowled as she saw the familiar creature. Currently dangling between the two eyes of the Supreme Ancestral Matriarch was a small snake the length of her arm, his tail coiled around the nose horn of the larger serpent. He was currently swaying in impatience as the matriarch went cross-eyed trying to spot the brat on her forehead. Lucy figured this edition of 'having friends in high places' was taking it a bit too far.
"Why in the realms are you up there?!" came the shocked and slightly mortified voice of the matriarch as she quickly moved to place him down, proving that this wasn't some elaborate scheme set by the two of them.
"Your scales don't have any sense of touch when you're this strong. It's easy to sneak up there," said the mischievous sound of a young boy from the thin squiggle Lucy usually called a friend. Like most days with him, she was wondering if she needed to change that status.
On his slightly raised stone pillar at the edge of the room, the Truth-Seizing snakeling turned to Lucy. "You took too long. In the 3 months you spent in your world, I had to spend 15 months in Systemless agony!"
She narrowed her eyes at him. "You just wanted access to the Obelisks to entertain yourself."
"Yep," came the unabashed response from the snake. Lucille shook her head while the Matriarch sighed, sounding like she was used to this. She turned to Lucy.
"This one's name is Jouten'garde. It has been revealed to me that you intend to bond with this young snake." Lucy nodded, making Jouten'garde dip her head in apology. "I am sorry for your loss."
Lucille shook her head wryly while the young snake in question raised himself higher on his podium in mock outrage, scales lit up like a Christmas tree. "How could anyone bonding with me suffer a loss?! This one's wonderous existence brings all of creation enlightenment when in my presence!"
Lucy just gave him a flat look. "Sure thing, Glimmer."
He wilted, glowing scales fading. "My dark past has returned…"
Jouten'garde looked between the two of them and shook her head with bemusement. "I am aware of Glimmer's change of sorts 15 months ago, but he firmly refuses to tell us anything until his 'future bond' arrives. He also said something along the lines of not being the same as you," she said, gesturing with her tail at Lucy, "Remember, so we 'need to prepare to be suitably shocked and awed'."
Lucy raised an eyebrow at the littler snake, but he gave nothing away. She turned to Jouten'garde. "He just wants to keep you in suspense."
"That is what we were led to believe, yes."
"Hey, it's not all about the suspense," he argued. "Part of it is so I could have someone to deal with the difficult questions instead of me."
Jouten'garde tilted her head, puzzled, while Lucy rolled her eyes in exasperation. Rubbing her nose a bit in thought, she looked up to the snake matriarch. "I'm sure you can see that while not that great of an improvement, 'Glimmer' has matured more than you would have any reason to expect he would."
Jouten'garde nodded while 'Glimmer' glared at her for the 'not that great of an improvement' bit.
"Due to bonding binding the souls of two creatures tighter together, in some situations, attack, buffs or effects can apply to them both, particularly those directed at the soul." She rubbed her head as she thought about how to phrase her next sentence. "Because there was a future where both 'Glimmer' and I had been bonded before we died when an effect that sent the soul back to the past of another timeline was applied to us in that timeline, we both got sent back and now have memories of that 'future'."
Jouten'garde stared at her silently, switched her gaze to 'Glimmer', and then switched it back to Lucille after a while. "I'm confused," was all she stated.
"Because we used to be bonded in the future, we both got sent to the past, and because now that past is our present, and the past past was our future, we now have memories of a future that never existed and never will because we now know of that future in the present which was the past." 'Glimmer' nodded sagely, like all of that just made perfect sense.
Jouten'garde stared at them both. "I'm still confused," was all she said after a moment, not surprisingly as it was 'Glimmer' speaking.
Magic beasts as a rule typically did not do too well when it came to the finer details of magic, magic theory, and whatever the hell Lucy and 'Glimmer' had happened to them. There were exceptions, but the usage of instinctual magic didn't really provide the environment for deeper consideration of the less material side of the realms.
She sighed. An example would be better for the ancient serpent. "'Glimmer' and I have about two centuries worth of memories about events and situations that could happen from this point onward. These memories are static, and so the contained information won't change even if the actual events occur differently, so they will be reliable for the first couple of years at least. It's like we get an entire book about how our life could go if we make specific decisions, but it doesn't tell us what will happen if we make other decisions."
Jouten'garde seemed to consider this for a moment, before nodding slowly. "So, you are currently like those of the Timeless Sands Sphinx clan, who gain bloodline memories of an alternative life when they become a superior beast?"
Lucille smiled and nodded, pleased the giant serpent could understand the concept, if not its ramifications.
The serpent looked between the two of them again. "And you both have memories where you know each other?" she asked.
They both nodded.
She pulled back her head to look at the two. "Well, I suppose that makes more sense than whatever the rot Glimmer spewed at me earlier was. But that leads us to the second question. What is this 'amazing surprise' this young snake has in mind for us?"
They both turned to 'Glimmer', sitting on his waist-high podium. He raised his head arrogantly as he looked at them both. "In consideration of my memories, I decided not to abandon my other bloodline, and decided to absorb it instead."
'Glimmer' was only half Truth-Seizing Serpent, and the other half unknown.
"However," he said, sounding a bit sheepish as he turned to Jouten'garde, "I had to hide my changes from all my clan-kin, and to do that I needed some scales of yours to use the temporary essence within to paint an illusion over me."
"I see….." Jouten'garde remarked dryly.
It was true that using her scales was one of the few ways to avoid having your illusions pierced through by the matriarch with her truth-seeing eyes, and therefore her kin, but those scales were used by the older Truth-Seizing snakes to absorb more of her bloodline essence and were valuable for the enclave. It was a bit like eating your parent's favourite food they were saving.
"But it will be worth it! You will be amazed! Shocked! Stunned!"
"Just get on with it," Lucille stated bluntly. The snake sniggered but kicked up a storm of mana as the illusion on him was slowly removed.
"Behold!" he proclaimed as the last of the illusion disappeared. "For I have emerged like a butterfly from its cocoon, an immortal after ascending their tribulation, and a god after achieving divinity! Just as the realms will now submit at my feet, bask in the splendour of my sheer glory, mortals, and weep!" And he spread his wings with pride.
For the metre-long snake indeed had wings now. White-gold as they were, the things spread out on either side of him the length of her arm span. Only slightly tinted with darker gold colours, it would be hard to say they were from a living creature if it were not for the rustling sound and movement in the wind every time the snake shifted. Replacing the hypnotic pattern of a Truth-Seizing Serpent's scales, his scales were instead a brilliant silver with a glossy sheen, looking for all the world like burnished metal.
Matching his other plumage was a crown of the same white gold feathers on his head, beginning at his brow ridges and forming a line of feathers that ended where his metallic wings began. In a form like that of the stronger Truth-Seizing Serpents, he had horns forming that same upside-down arrow pattern pointing at his nose, these silver. His black-slitted pupils sat within golden irises that flickered and shifted with the light. Rather than a magical beast, he seemed like the life's work of a master metalworker. And there is no way in hell Lucy was going to be telling him that.
"This is… certainly a surprise," announced Jouten'garde after a few moments. She seemed like she didn't know what to think of his change.
Lucille was slightly less phased. "Quetzalcoatl?" she asked 'Glimmer'.
"Nah," he responded. "Amphiptere. I don't have the tail or beak for it."
Lucy nodded. All beasts had an instinctual understanding of what their sub-race is called, or in 'Glimmer's' case, his hybridisation, so it wouldn't be wrong. She considered his colouration. "Correct me if I'm wrong," she began, "But do you have access to light magic now? It's that or metal, and that's more common in draconic bloodlines."
"Yup. I get to do fancy tricks with light. Maybe shoot a few laser beams or two."
"You said in consideration of your memories," she continued. "That means you eventually worked out what your other bloodline was and are willing to use it this time around. When were you going to tell me what it was before this?"
He shrugged. He looked happy he could do that now, utilising the wings to mimic it. "By the time I found it out, I had completely removed it, so it was useless to know. But it's strong, even better than our Truth-Seizing bloodline."
"And so, what is the bloodline?" Jouten'garde asked him. They both turned to hear his answer.
For some reason though, 'Glimmer' was staring down at the ground, avoiding eye contact with either of them. "…..drius," he muttered.
"What?"
Jouten'garde wasn't close enough and so didn't hear him, but Lucy, who was closer and had a small perception field surrounding her, heard him and made a strange expression.
He said it again for the matriarch. "It's the Sanctity Caladrius bloodline."
There was a long pause. It was…. unexpected.
It's not like there was anything wrong with a Caladrius, or the Sanctity Caladrius bloodline. If the phoenixes were considered the emperor race of all magical bird-type beasts, then Caladrius were a major noble bloodline underneath. In Earth's mythology, they were known for purifying the sickness of royals by flying away with it. The Sanctity Caladrius bloodline was at the very top of the Caladrius hierarchy and was indeed quite a bit stronger than the Truth-Seizing Serpent bloodline. It explained his colouration, as the Sanctity Caladrius were known as the bird beasts with the strongest light magic. The Caladrius of the Beast Realm also grew several pairs of wings, with their current ancestor having four pairs of wings. It was one of the better bloodlines.
There was only one itty bitty problem.
"Don't Caladrius…. eat snakes…?" Lucy asked, sharing an awkward look with Jouten'garde.
Jouten'garde slowly dipped her head in acknowledgement. "The low-ranked beasts of their kind do indeed… eat snakes as their main food source. Higher ranked Caladrius don't do that obviously, but our baser instincts mean there is no love lost between the Caladrius and the serpent bloodlines."
They both turned back to 'Glimmer', unsure what to make of the situation.
"Your parents had weird taste," Lucy told him. The snake glared at her. It wasn't even like his parents could have no idea what kind of beast the other was. Magic beasts all had an instinctual recognition ability to know which race the other beast was, regardless of whether they were in human form or not.
Lucy turned to Jouten'garde. "And am I right in saying that if the central serpent clans or even the Caladrius discovered this, it would be a major diplomatic issue?"
Jouten'garde let out a groan. "Indeed. I've also been facing pressure from them to let my enclave take a more active role in the expansion and politics of the central regions, and this would make it even worse. Our enclave could be considered a noble serpent clan if we wanted. I just want us to be left alone."
In the end, that was the true reason why nobody knew more about these giant snakes. Their natural habitat was very specific, even if their abilities made it so they could be a very strong and unique faction within the Beast Realm, and so they preferred to stay in their frontier region, living out their own lives. Occasionally they may leave, but among the trillions of inhabitants in the realms, they were a minority, and so generally stayed unknown.
'Glimmer' flapped his wings, annoyed. "Come on, you're focusing on the wrong thing. How come you're acting more astonished at this rather than my beautiful splendour?! I'm now a flying snake!"
"What!??! Glimmer can fly now?!"
They all jerked slightly at the exclamation and looked around until they spotted the source. A vent used for airflow was at the base of one of the cavern's side walls, where a forked tongue and scaled nose were peeking out of it, trying, and failing to remain hidden.
"I believe we have an eavesdropper," Lucy remarked wryly.
Jouten'garde rolled her door-sized eyes. "Yes, I do believe we do. Come out Skulker, we know you're there."
A mottled snake sheepishly slithered out, his head lowered as he looked between the Matriarch and Lucy. Then he spotted 'Glimmer' and his purple eyes widened, and he rushed over. He skittishly tasted the air near the winged snake and inspected 'Glimmer's' metallic wings. "Wow! You have wings now! Is this a rare mutation? Will I get wings too?"
"What's with the new fascination for wings, Skulk?" responded 'Glimmer', a bit bemused at the attention he was receiving from the bigger snake as Skulker's large head nudged him.
"That would probably be my fault. I used a glider I had bought a few days ago to enter the enclave, and now he thinks it's what all humans do," Lucy said with amusement.
It was a bit of a sight to see the once-was cocky feathered snake be pushed around by the 10-metre-long, 12-year-old serpent. 'Glimmer' did not gain any major size increase until his bloodline reached advanced in the past, meaning he was an outlier for his enclave, and was tiny in comparison to the rest of them.
Jouten'garde sighed. "Unfortunately, Skulker, this is unique to Glimmer, so you will not get wings as your bloodline strength increases. My great-grandson's form comes with a few issues, and so will need to be kept secret in the meantime. The important members of the enclave will know though. In fact, why don't you go find your father and bring him here?"
"He'll kill me!" responded the horrified snake. It was obvious he sneaked in there without his father's knowledge.
"Then consider that your punishment for sneaking into the Supreme Matriarch's abode," responded Jouten'garde, unamused. "Whatever punishment he gives you will be far nicer than the official charges for illegally hiding in here. Off you go."
And so, the troublesome snake tearfully crawled out of the cavern entranceway to find his soon-to-be irate father. Jouten'garde turned to them both.
"Verdilast is the current general of my War-Borne. Considering his son knows as well, he'll be one of the few outside of us to know of Glimmer's hybridisation. It seems taking him out of here as a bond would be the best for the long term. Please don't reveal his origins before you've reached sufficient strength."
"Then should we bond now?" Lucy asked 'Glimmer'.
Bonding was relatively simple. Requiring a name for the beast, a few lines of lyric or similar, and a gesture from the human, it bound them through the System, forming a link between their minds to communicate without speech. It became a skill, and the stronger the bond, the deeper the level of communication. They could also swap abilities and skills depending on the type of bond. To protect their members from a life of servitude, the first bond only lasted 5 years with a year's break between the first and second bond, and then they could decide to make it more permanent.
She glanced at 'Glimmer's colouration again. "Last time the name I picked matched your scales, but now that you look different, do you want a name matching your current form?"
'Glimmer' scoffed. "I am not going to spend over 200 years of my life with one name, only to switch it. Keep it the same."
She shrugged. "I, Lucille Goldcroft, would like to initiate a binding contract with the Magical Beast in front of me, for the standard period of 5 years, where I will release him so he may search for his path."
She felt the immaterial machine-like limbs of the System grasp onto her spiritual energy and mana, before twisting the mental energies of them together. Now she needed a saying and a gesture. She made eye contact with the shiny snake. He was too late in realising what she was about to do.
"Scytale, I choose you!" she proclaimed, hand on hip and finger pointing at the silvery amphiptere.
Scytale was horrified.
"Nooo! Argh, how could you reduce my glorious ceremonial rite to such a piece of mundane, innocuous mortal fiction! Where were the bowing, the magical light announcing my coming, and my grand reveal! Where were the hundred lines of reverent poetry! Why have I been reduced to a lowly Pokémon?!?!?"
Jouten'garde looked very confused by the sudden outburst, and why the winged snake launched himself at Lucy to pretend to strangle her. Lucy doubted the old serpent would understand even if she explained.
The invisible manipulation of the System intertwined their spiritual energy until suddenly, an intangible line of thread was linking them both. Able to feel the edges of Scytale's mind rubbing against hers, she decided to take it further. Instead of accepting the skill as it was, she wrapped her threads of spiritual energy around it, braiding the strand into more and more complex structures until it was as thick as a rope. She nodded, pleased, when she could feel his thoughts and emotions with actual clarity. She had probably skipped about twenty years of strained life-or-death situations to reach a bond of this strength. A notification popped up.
[Available Primary Skill: Half-Beast Assimilation (Altered)]
Desc: This is a customised version of the typical Beast bonding ability given by the System. Almost a brand-new skill, this one skips years of relationship trials to tightly bind a willing beast to yourself with a far thicker bond than most can achieve in decades.
Info: Accepting this main skill occupies one primary skill slot, and gives you the Morph, Unity, and Perfect Harmonisation subskills]
She swiped the notification away, uninterested. She wasn't a physical fighter.
'Woah. What is with your spiritual energy? I was expecting it to be around my level still, not this.' The mental voice of Scytale come through the bond after she had made it stronger. She also gained access to his emotions, senses, and memories if she wanted, but she blocked those out as it was disorientating.
Do you even remember how much I had?
Scytale looked at her for a second.
'Actually, we need to talk about that later. I don't have as many memories as I would expect for someone over 200.'
Somewhat confused, she sent back an affirmation and turned to Jouten'garde. Conversing with their thoughts was exceptionally quick, even with Scytale lacking the mental stats to speed it up, so they weren't out of tune with the outside world for any longer than a few seconds.
"Yes, I can feel the bond working. We'll need to go to an Obelisk to finalise anything, however."
Jouten'garde nodded, and at that moment Verdilast and Skulker came in.
"Skulker told me Glimmer had… changed….." Verdilast slowed as he came to see the little silver snake sitting next to Lucy and the matriarch. Lucy watched him do a double take.
Scytale flapped his white-gold plumage smugly.
Verdilast looked down at the larger mottled snake next to him. "You failed to mention this," he said to Skulker, sounding annoyed.
Jouten'garde spoke to him, "My great-grandson has been named Scytale by his new bond, Lucille. However, there are…. other factors to do with his second bloodline I must discuss with you."
Jouten'garde got Verdilast up to speed on Scytale's bloodline while Skulker took advantage of the opportunity to ask Lucille more questions about the realms, during which Scytale teased him about not going with them. Before the mottled snake could get too incensed at the silver one, Verdilast and Jouten'garde came back over.
"I feel like the new generation is only composed of troublemakers," Verdilast said to them, looking weary.
Jouten'garde nodded in agreement. She turned to Lucy and the silver amphiptere. "It would probably be best for the pair of you to leave soon. But before that, Lucille, do you have any plans for the near future?"
Lucy thought for a bit and shook her head. "Not for a while. I want to leave time for the Inheritance Event in a month though."
Jouten'garde nodded. "It would be best to be in an Ascendant city by that point in time so you could use the Obelisks for teleportation, yes. Well then, I'm sure the rest of the enclave would love to meet our first honorary member and find out the new name of my great-grandson during this time. You will be our guest. Although we may need to ask for specifics when suiting your needs. This time, Scytale, let me apply the illusion, instead of wastefully using another one of my scales."
"So that's why they seemed to be disappearing…" Verdilast muttered.
After Scytale had his illusion reapplied, they said goodbye to the matriarch. Leaving the caves to come back out into the lively third layer, the sun was a welcome sight.
Lucy had a thought.
You know… your name kind of suits your new form too.
Scytale was confused.
'How?'
Because you have wings, so 'Sky' and you're all tail.
Scytale did not deign to respond.
...
They had a peaceful time during the following weeks. Skulker introduced her to all his friends, asking her to show them her glider, and she demonstrated it from the tops of the cliffs. The matriarch had a meeting with all her direct subordinates and trusted elders to tell them about Scytale and revealed her decision to have Scytale be Lucille's bond to gain strength in the outside world. And Lucille revealed the reason why she got along well with the snakes: her illusion magic.
If her ability to manipulate the soul and spiritual energy came first, then her knowledge of the System came second, and her ability to use illusion magic third. Her interest originally stemmed from her introduction to the System. Wondering if the Status screens were a type of illusion in the past, she went on to make that her class: an illusionist. When she discovered the relationship between the senses and the soul, that became her other focus. The manipulation of the soul eventually led her into seeing its connection with the System, and she therefore returned to the beginning with her studies. Trying to make her illusions more realistic, she learnt spiritual energy manipulation techniques and developed her abilities into a unique new subset of illusion magic.
Her current Status limitations meant she couldn't use her full spell repertoire without drawing some attention from the elder snakes, but that wasn't needed to show off for the younger ones. She even explained a bit about illusion magic and its limitations for the Truth-Seizing Serpent bloodline. There were some questions on why she was so weak, why she hadn't reached level 10, why she hadn't done the first stages yet, but she managed to use the excuse that it means she was not monster bait to deflect them.
In all honesty, it was more the fact that levels or stages weren't useful to her plans at the current stage. The first part of her entry into the System was always going to be busy and packed, and while she could focus on gaining strength, she believed that with her ideas for a new 'class', then she may do better by going about it a different way. With her plans to gain lots of resources and access to information to study, she hoped to find a way to form something that will break the limitations of the System. She was supposed to be 'Archetype' after all.
Lucille and Scytale just spent time with his family and friends, enjoying the peace of the enclave. Neither of them approached the topic of their pasts or plans, relaxing with the little time they had before it would be hectic for the two of them. The System aimed to keep every realm in an ever-advancing state, and that included shaking up the status quo everywhere, even when the inhabitants themselves did not like change.
Lucy knew that the Truth-Seizing Serpent enclave would eventually have to respond to the requests of the central regions and involve themselves in the political turmoil that was constant over there. When that happened, she will be happy to aid them as the family of her bond, but that required both her and Scytale to be prepared to face the issues that will occur when her bond's form is revealed. She could tell Scytale didn't like it, but he knew that the best way for him to aid his family was to leave.
At the end of the month, they both said their goodbyes.
"I'll give this glider to your dad for when you gain a human form. In exchange, no telling anyone about what Scytale looks like. Understood?" Lucy told the tearfully nodding 10-metre-long Skulker, who had gotten quite attached to her during the month.
"We'll look forward to your return. I suggest you reach Rank-3 before revealing your new bloodline," said Verdilast to Lucy's bond. He nodded sombrely, before flapping his wings with obnoxious arrogance.
"Who do you think I am? I'll be Rank-4 by the time I'm back!"
Everyone rolled their eyes and shook their head but smiled. Verdilast nodded to them both.
"The matriarch sends her good wishes too. Her size doesn't let her come out easily, but she can see you with her perception from down in the cavern. Look out for her great-grandson and prevent him from getting into trouble, because she'll probably come to kill you after killing her great-grandson for the anguish he caused her."
Lucy smiled wryly but nodded. Stepping back a step, she gave a deep bow.
"I thank the Supreme clan for their hospitality and blessing me with the honour of a visit to their ancestral home. I take with me one of your clan-kin as a partner and guide for the trials of the future and will release him to you with good sentiments in our hearts when we say our goodbyes. I bid you farewell, and may you see future horizons."
With Scytale above her head and his body coiled on top of her pack, they set off back through the Violet Luminosity Jungle, heading to the Supreme Serpent's Silent City.
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