Chapter 672: – Chance encounter |
Percy doubted that Zurvanai’s senses were half as sharp as his, but he wasn’t exactly flying over the forest in a subtle manner, so the short woman didn’t take long to notice him.
She was carrying a basket full of leaves. While Percy didn’t bother to count them, he could tell that she had collected more than his host, meaning that she was either already done acquiring the Decree, or about to get there.
‘Good for her. It would be a pity for her to miss her next match. Unlike us, she actually stands a decent chance of earning her second core this year.’
Percy could have left her be, since he and the time mage didn’t exactly have much to talk about. They had barely interacted since the start of the tournament, and Zurvanai just didn’t seem like an overly social person. However, Percy decided to approach her, to ensure that she understood the dangers associated with the prize she had selected.
“Hey! You do know that acquiring multiple mental-type Decrees can fry your brain, right?” he asked upon reaching her, conveniently leaving out the fact that he was trying to do the very thing he was warning her about.
“I’m not an idiot,” Zurvanai replied, rolling her eyes. “Our mental-type Decree can be discarded. I already got rid of it before coming here.”
Percy couldn’t help but frown. He had suspected something of the sort, but he was surprised that she had chosen to replace one of her existing Decrees instead of acquiring a new one. Unlike him, she could probably obtain all of the tournament’s free-type Decrees, and she clearly hadn’t participated in the competition too many times in the past, so there should be plenty of more urgent prizes for her to pick.
‘Maybe her pride got wounded after losing in both events, and she decided to prioritize addressing her shortcomings,’ Micky speculated.
‘Could be,’ Percy replied with a mental shrug, though he wasn’t going to pry in the Denyte’s matters.
“You won’t make it in time,” Zurvanai said. There was no mockery, pity, or any other emotion in her voice – just a statement of fact. However, it soon became clear that she wasn’t entirely heartless. “Here. You can have mine. I’ve already obtained the Decree a few minutes ago.”
She tossed the basket up in the air, letting the leaves scatter in the wind.
“Will second-hand leaves even work?” Percy asked, aiming the question at the Maradorian attendants.
Nawko shrugged. “My briefing only mentioned the part about the leaves having to fall off the trees naturally. There was no information about sharing.”
“I’ve accompanied contestants to this planet a couple of times before, so I’m a little more familiar with the rules,” the other Maradorian – a man with indigo-coloured skin and a Blue core – said. “It should be fine.”
“If sharing leaves is allowed, why doesn’t the alliance just store some in a warehouse for participants to borrow when they come here?” Nawko asked.
“They rot away pretty quickly, and trying to magically preserve them messes with the process of acquiring the Decree. There’s probably a way around it, but nobody thought that it was worth the hassle,” her kinsman patiently explained.
Percy nodded, using his willpower to gather up about half of the scattered leaves. He wasn’t sure how many he had collected exactly, but there should be more than enough to complete the requirement. If it didn’t work, he would just destroy them so that he didn’t find them again by accident later, and resume the search from where he’d left off.
The moment the stack of leaves landed in his host’s arms, the sun seemed to grow brighter. It also shifted colours from its original golden hue to a pale white with a faint hint of purple. This had to be some kind of local illusion, since Percy couldn’t see the Decree affecting the whole star on a whim.
Either way, the corners of his host’s lips curled up as a thick column of light enveloped them, the sun’s rays warm but gentle.
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‘It looks a bit like Falanor’s mana,’ Micky pointed out.
‘I think you’re right,’ Percy agreed. ‘It’s almost exactly the same, minus a slight red hue. Any god in the Elemental Acquisition stage can theoretically master both the light affinity and its associated concepts, which includes the one related to cleansing infestations. I suppose that this augmented form of light mana is what Ningirima fused with her mind mana to cast this Decree.’
A few seconds later, the beam died down and the sun returned to its previous colour, at least from Percy’s perspective. Much like the previous times he had obtained a new mental-type Decree, an inert seed took root in a corner of his mind, feeling like a second Status that he could open at will.
[Congratulations! You have acquired a new Decree: Ningirima’s Decree!]
‘Okay. Our domain and senses haven’t been affected yet,’ Micky noted. ‘We should be able to hold the Decree like this until after the match.’
It would still be a good idea to activate the seed before returning to Remior, since this was what Percy had done on Atlantis and Gallimus. He didn’t know whether that was a necessary step for the assimilation, or whether he would be able to carry the seed back in its current state and only fuse it into his Status after reuniting with his main body, but he saw no reason to mess with a tried and proven process.
‘I got it too,’ Kassorith confirmed.
‘Great. That means we won’t have to start over,’ Percy replied with a mental sigh.
He had been open to the possibility, but he hadn’t expected the spectacle, since the last two Decrees he had acquired from the Void Hand hadn’t produced any obvious phenomena.
Percy wasn’t sure what exactly Nawko and the other bystanders had witnessed, but he now understood that he would have struggled to convince his guide that the acquisition had failed and that they would have needed to spend another three days in the forest.
“Thank you,” he told Zurvanai. “I’ll make it to my next match because of you.”
“Don’t mention it. I had no further use for the leaves anyway,” the Denyte said, gesturing that it wasn’t a big deal. “It’s an interesting Decree, isn’t it? I hope that I won’t be as useless the next time I come across a demonic infestation.”
“Useless? That’s not the word I would choose.” Percy smiled. “Sure, you didn’t win, but didn’t you rank third in that event?”
“You know what I mean,” she replied with a scoff. “I was only able to do well due to sheer killing speed and the fact that I could purge the negative thoughts a little faster through my affinity. No matter how you slice it, I was ill-equipped for that type of contest. That’s why I plan to start practicing runecrafting as well.”
Percy’s smile widened. “You’re being too hard on yourself. We each have our own advantages – you, more than most people.”
Zurvanai shook her head. “You’re not wrong, but fighting against the corruption is an important skill for everyone to hone. I’m glad that I identified this weakness in a controlled environment rather than out there, on a genuinely hostile planet. No excuses would have saved me then.”
Percy considered offering her some polite words of consolation but ultimately decided against it. He didn’t really disagree with the Denyte’s assessment, as he also thought along the same lines. If she wanted to channel her defeat positively, he wasn’t going to dissuade her.
“I look forward to that,” he said. “Maybe we’ll even get the chance to work together one day.”
The short woman sighed. “I wish more people felt that way. This is what we should all be striving towards instead of killing each other.”
Percy frowned, not quite sure where that had come from. Zurvanai wasn’t wrong, but he didn’t want to discuss Void Hand politics with a stranger, and a member of a founding faction to boot.
“I know that the alliance isn’t without its issues, but the tournament is proof that we can cooperate peacefully in some areas, isn’t it?” he asked in an attempt to steer the conversation away from the topic.
Zurvanai creased her brow. “I’m not just talking about the Void Hand. If only we could come to an understanding with the Moirai and the divine beasts, we would be able to reach much greater heights. I just feel that presenting a joint front against the Cardinal Devils makes more sense than squabbling over who gets to keep which Elemental Source.”
The Denyte’s words rattled Percy to his core, causing him to see her in a new light. He sure hadn’t expected to hear such talk from anyone in the alliance – not after what Kassorith had told him about the people of Zath’maan.
The time mage appeared to mistake his silence for something else, however, as a hint of red quickly rose to her cheeks. “I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have spouted such nonsense! The Moirai and Sixiang are our hated enemies and thinking of them as anything else is treason.”
Percy stared at her deeply for several seconds before speaking. “Did you mean what you said? If you were in charge of the alliance, would you do things differently?”
Zurvanai clenched her fists until they paled, probably realizing that it was too late to take her words back. “It doesn’t matter. I’m not in charge,” she muttered, her voice growing quieter. “Not yet, at least.”
Percy nodded as the woman turned around to leave, her attendant following right behind her. He stared at the ground for a minute or two, replaying the brief conversation in his mind over and over again. He knew that Zurvanai had meant everything she’d said. She had no reason to lie to him, and he hadn’t missed the sincerity in her soul.
‘Maybe it’ll be okay if it’s her…’
He glanced up, realizing that the woman had already left his line of sight. He could still see her clearly through his Sage’s Pond, and he knew that she was well within earshot.
“Wait!” he shouted. Zurvanai didn’t reply, but she must’ve heard him, because she halted her steps. “Let’s meet up after your next match! I have a proposal for you!” he continued.
The Denyte resumed walking, but only after nodding faintly.