ALL NOVEL Crusade – Chapter 56: Decisions Overseen
Aperio dismissed the notifications with a thought before she set her eyes upon Caethya. Her first choice for someone to look over the dungeon was either her or Laelia, but she somehow doubted either of them would want to do so. Perhaps they shouldn't. She still liked the idea of watching them ascend to Godhood, something an appointment as Overseer for a dungeon would probably slow down.
Nonetheless, she sent a small thought to the one she had blessed. Aperio had hoped that, perhaps, the most recent change would have lessened the pain Caethya would feel upon her mental query, but the slight stagger and twisted face spoke of the opposite. After taking a moment to get her bearings again, Caethya gently shook her head and denied the offer as Aperio had already expected.
She had also briefly considered Maria for the position of Overseer, but that thought, too, had been quickly discarded. She is too young. And she has not reached out since I left their estate. The girl knew her name, could have prayed to Aperio to talk or make a request, but there had been only silence. Perhaps she is mad at me after all? She put visiting the Terenyk estate back on her mental to-do list. After I’ve sorted this. If she couldn't find a willing mortal, she could still simply assume the role herself. Now how to ask Laelia...
With that thought, Aperio focused on her aura, letting her senses fly upwards through the dungeon. She briefly noted that the monsters all seemed to be frozen in place, something the adventurers she saw gleefully took advantage of. The village on the fiftieth floor was filled with a flurry of activity, people preparing for something that would never come. Their frantic actions made Aperio question how they had perceived the death of the dungeon. For her it was a like a shudder had run through reality itself, but something in the back of her mind told her that the mortals would not perceive it like she did. How could they? Her connection to the universe was vastly different from theirs, after all.
She let her senses expand past the village and the rest of the dungeon, finding the [Grandmaster] in the office of the local guildmaster. Focusing on the pair caused her to hear their voices, a faint whisper that Aperio knew she could pull on to find out more. It was something she would have considered if the [Grandmaster] hadn't whipped her head around and stared in her direction. There was a brief moment of confusion before she turned back to the guildmaster to continue their talk, seemingly unconcerned that Aperio could be listening in. Does she even know it was me?
With a shake of her head, the winged Goddess directed her attention towards the house of healing her paladin resided in. She knew she could stretch her senses even further, that her aura's reach was not limited to the town or even the continent, and yet she did not want to see all there was through her mana's touch. She might have begun to truly accept what she was, but that did not mean she would immediately become Magistrate of all that there was. Aperio wanted to discover what she had made, see it with her own eyes. Perhaps find something that offers a challenge.
Finding Laelia was a simple task. Her paladin was a proverbial beacon of mana when compared to those surrounding her. Aperio was certain that there was more mana than before in the Human's body. Even if the increase wasn't that much, it was still there. Very carefully, she nudged her mana towards the woman, trying to convey her thoughts as gently as she could.
Laelia tensed up as soon as the mana touched her, reaching for the sword at her hip before she realised who was invading her mind. Instead of drawing her weapon, she lowered herself to her knees and directed her gaze towards the ceiling, a motion Aperio found highly amusing and wholly unnecessary. She told Laelia as much, the words of her Goddess causing the paladin to jump to her feet and start a flurry of mental apologies.
Aperio dismissed her concern, instead offering her the position as Overseer over the newly re-created dungeon and, perhaps more importantly, asking why she was not showing any signs of pain. Laelia was quick to deny the offer, stating that she would rather follow her Goddess more closely, but only replied with the mental equivalent of a shrug to the question of feeling pain. According to Laelia, getting a headache was a small price to pay to talk to her Goddess, a mentality Aperio was not quite sure she shared.
Having eliminated her paladin from the list of Overseer candidates, Aperio turned to face the two people the now-dead core had summoned. As no-one else was accepting the opportunity, she wanted to extend the offer to them. As a test, perhaps. Neither of them had behaved improperly, simply doing what they were asked — or possibly forced — to do.
They shrunk under her gaze, seemingly intimidated by her imposing stature and the wisps of silver and blue that still floated around her. And probably because I killed the thing that summoned them. She felt no remorse for her actions, however; the core had withheld something it had no right to. It had also forced hapless Souls into its service, something that would change once she had appointed a replacement.
Or, perhaps, they could feel the massive amounts of mana that she had drawn from her well and that still coursed through her body. She did not want to stop at the moment, the feeling of power flowing through her a sensation she had not really known she had missed. Neither did she need to, as Ferio was not asking her to cease her actions, nor was she drawing from her well in anger. Right now she did so simply because she enjoyed it, much like some people would perhaps enjoy a fine wine. Just that this is actually useful. Drinking wine would probably not make one stronger.
She took a step towards the pair, the fissures that formed under her feet glowing and crackling with her mana. Both of them tried to make themselves even smaller at her approach, tried to hide from the being that had destroyed a dungeon core for good. Aperio stopped just out of arm's reach of the scared duo. Not that I have to be close to reach anything.
"I have an offer for you," Aperio said, her voice sounding more ethereal than ever. Soon it sounds like I will whisper directly into their brain… Maybe they will stop wincing when I speak, then? Or will my voice go back to normal as soon as I stop drawing from my well? She doubted that would be the case. The changes brought by the mana she drew were permanent, after all.
There was no reply, at least not a verbal one. The two of them just looked at her before quickly averting their gaze again. Do I look scary to them? Aperio did not think that would be the case, she wasn't angry and the tiny wisps and arcs of mana that darted around her looked more otherworldly than scary. Or do they think they are not worthy to lay their eyes upon a Goddess?
To her that was a silly notion but then, she also was a Goddess. The Goddess. With a shake of her head, she continued her one-sided conversation. "If you wish to oversee this dungeon, I am willing to offer you two a chance to prove that you are more than the mouthpiece of an abomination."
Both of their heads turned ever so slowly in her direction, this time maintaining their gaze after a moment had passed. Neither of them seemed to really believe what she had said, their suspicion clear on their face as well as practically flowing off of them. Aperio tilted her head at the sensation. She did not share a bond with them like she did with Caethya or Maria and had not expected to gain the same insight into someone's feelings. Is it because of the influx of mana, or because I retrieved some of my memories? With every moment that passed, what she had reclaimed from the core became clearer in her head, new — Old? — information surfacing in her mind. That some of those memories would influence her subconscious and her perception of the world and its people was only to be expected.
"Y-You are offering us control over this dungeon?" the horned butler asked, seemingly not quite believing his ears.
"Yes."
"How?" Aperio had not expected the Dragon-Elf to speak, as she had not made any move to do so before. In response to her question, Aperio focused on the feeling at the back of her mind she knew to be the System. Its request for her to designate an Overseer for the dungeon was still there and, with a thought, Aperio directed it at the pair in front of her. She could see the notifications form in front of them, how the threads of reality changed ever so slightly.
Both of them looked at the window that had appeared before them, reading through the rather extensive list that had presented itself. Aperio, too, took a look at it through her aura but quickly lost interest. It was simply a collection of the functions they would have access to if they accepted the title of 'Dungeon Master', none of which was of much interest to the winged Goddess.
She had no desire to create a new monster or change how the dungeon looked, neither did she care about what the reward for beating it would be. The only things of note to her were a pair of warnings. One informed them that they could still die and that whoever killed them could assume their role or destroy the dungeon, while the other stated that Aperio may change whatever she wished at any time. Why is that even in there? Isn't that true for all that exists?
There was no answer to her unspoken question, neither her memory or the System providing anything that would hint as to why this disclaimer was there. With a slight sigh, Aperio turned around and approached her daughter again, letting the Dragon-Elf and horned butler decide their future in peace.
Ferio looked at her mother with a slight smile on her face, obviously happy that she had regained at least a part of her memories. Aperio herself was not quite sure what she actually wanted to do now. She still had to take care of the other deities that had dared to go against her but, right now, all the All-Mother wanted to do was spend time with her daughter. But, what should we do?
Aperio couldn't claim to know what families were supposed to do. The Emperor's family spent most of their time scheming against one another, something she would hope Ferio would not do. The winged Goddess herself wanted to explore the world she had made and had spent most of her life on. Perhaps even other worlds. But she did not know if Ferio could so simply leave this plane of existence, or even if she had any desire to do so. Are the other worlds even on another plane?
With a slight shake of her head, she pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind. For now she would have to find a way to deal with Vigil, Inanis, and whoever they had managed to turn against her. She had an idea where she might find an inspirational hint towards infiltrating the Dominions of Vigil and Inanis. It was perhaps a silly idea, but in Aperio's mind there had to be a reason why the two deities were connected to the moons. To know if her initial idea was useless, all she needed was to pose a simple question.
"Do you know where your Dominion is, Ferio?" The mention of her daughter's name caused the maybe-overseers to jerk their heads away from the System-provided window to look at the pair of Goddesses. Aperio chose to ignore them, focusing on Ferio instead.
Her daughter seemed surprised at the question, tilting her head slightly to the side. Did she get that from me? "I don't really know? I never really thought about where it would be because I had always assumed it would be in another realm like your Void. Or are you telling me that that is not the case?"
"I simply had an idea that would perhaps help with finding a way into Vigil's Dominion," Aperio replied. "I had hoped you could provide a bit more insight, but it would appear I will have to go myself to see if it will work."
"I'm sorry," Ferio mumbled, lowering her head slightly.
"For what? You do not have to know everything." I have to.
"I just want to be able to help you; be useful."
Aperio cocked her head to the side at the statement. "You have already done more for me than anyone else, it is not your duty to solve my problems."
The only reply the winged Goddess got was an incoherent mumble as Ferio continued to stare at her feet. Did I do something wrong? She stretched out her arm and gently brushed her hand over her daughter's hair, a motion she hoped would soothe Ferio. Aperio did not know if it would, but it simply felt like the right thing to do.
Through her aura she saw Caethya's eyes darting between herself and Ferio and the two summoned people, a confused look on her face. It was clear that she wanted to say something, perhaps ask why Aperio was talking about rather private matters in front of strangers. Aperio chose to ignore her much like she did the other two in the room. Her attention's current focus was on figuring out what exactly was wrong with her daughter.
Ferio had not behaved like this since their reunion and neither could she find anything in her newly reacquired memory that would help. Then, a new notification materialized in front of her.
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A'ryein and Den'kelter have accepted the position of 'Overseer' over the dungeon designated 'Principle of Creation'. In accordance with established rules as set forth by the Creator, the assigned Overseers will be elevated to match the current strongest monster residing in the designated area. |