Chapter 169 - Fundamental Shift

Author's note: Much as I love this story, there are bills to pay. Now, this might normally lead to the idea that an author's going to put the story on hiatus or slow the release schedule...

That's the opposite of what I plan to do.

There's a lot more content in this story I want to explore, but even if I can't get to all of it, I do want to get to the end of what I've got plotted out for Volume 3. And I want to get there as soon as possible. That means multiple chapters a day, as often as I can manage it.

It also means that I'll be holding a poll soon with the synopsis and elevator pitches of at least five other stories I intend to write at the same time.

The current contenders are:

Wyonna Calamity Everest, Demon Hunter Extrordanaire. (LitRPG, Buffy the vampire slayer meets Defiance of the Fall)

Over The Edge (LitRPG Cyberpunk. Kid ends up stumbling into a System that was created by absorbing three other Edgerunners experiences. Unlocks memories and skills in tandem, helps those left behind.)

Ark, Orphan to Archmage (Timeloop LitRPG with Rune System)

Legend of the Duskwalker (LitRPG System Rescue after Humans accidentally caused a portal apocalypse. MC is very anti-establishment, since the establishment is pretty awful)

Isekay-yay Motherfucker (LitRPG Isekai, Modern Day Cowboy from Northern British Columbia gets isekai'd to a ring world and has a xenophobic system)

There's also a regressor second chance isekai idea, a cultivation apocalypse idea and a OP MC system apoc idea I might add to the poll.

Anyway, that's all from me for now. On to today's chapter!

...MLI...

In a way, it was such a small thing, what we were doing. All Tamrie would need to do is lay down for a few minutes while the sarcophagus did all the real work.

Yet it was so much more, too.

If it was successful, she'd only be the first of hundreds of ensouled. A fundamental shift in the truth of Ro'an, where even a simple mage was one in a thousand.

A shift that felt right.

Outside, the last gasps of the final storm of the season played out, leaving blue sky in their wake. Already I could hear the Tethered talking excitedly, ready to take back their place in the sky.

We passed beneath it all, slipping from secret pool to secret pool until we emerged beneath the ocean.

Instead of descending immediately, Tamrie pulled at my hand pointing. The dome had been cracked open, the far side completely collapsing. Beyond, one of the leviathans I'd spied in the distance lurked, its eye focusing on us.

The eye alone felt bigger than the younger whales we'd seen, though that was simply because it was so close. While it resembled the one that’d been teaching the smaller ones, the glowing patterns and the shape of the white and black ridges over its eye made it easy to tell it was different than the one I'd witnessed guiding them.

As we stood there, gaping, the glowing red and green dots flashed in a pattern, then went dim for a time, before repeating.

Was it… attempting to communicate with us?

Tamrie was clutching my hand tight, practically vibrating in place as air bubbles escaped the Water Breathing spell I'd cast on her.

Smiling at her excitement, I considered what spells I had that I might be able to use to respond. None that were prepared, yet I did have one option. The very first way I'd touched magic on Ro'an.

With a gentle push, I sent out the multi-colored orb, lighting up the dome. It wasn’t saying much. Just letting it know that I understood it wanted to talk. Proper communication would take time we didn't have yet. And would preferably be done after some study with Keeper or even the assistance of a Tongues spell.

Still, my display seemed to please the leviathan as it responded with a colorful display of its own. It rolled onto its side, revealing the entirety of its underside, which allowed it to weave the lights into an image. One that showed it leaving, but with a promise to return.

Then it showed the pattern of us meeting further out, at a little spit of land I'd only glanced once, back when we first scouted the coast near the Infinite Furnace.

I simply flashed my orb in response. Which I hoped would be enough.

It flashed its own lights in response one last time before circling around the dome. As it went, the water was sucked away behind it, following it up into a towering water spout.

Tamrie audibly gasped as air took the water’s place, letting out such a delighted ‘squee’ I couldn't help but chuckle.

Reaching an apex hundreds of feet above us, the leviathan turned the spout into a wave, surfing along the breaking edge as it moved north.

Tamrie waved at it as it left, the water starting to return. It was a slow thing, barely filtering up around our ankles. Likely an aftereffect of the leviathan’s magic.

"Did you see? An actual leviathan, sure as the abyss, right in front of us!" Tamrie said, turning back and jumping in place. Despite what we were about to do, the very real history we were about to make, I suspected the sighting would remain the highlight of Tamrie's day.

"Yeah, I saw. We should probably get inside before this gets too high," I said, gesturing to the water that was already up to our knees.

Tamrie let me lead her forward while she continued to gush over the leviathan. "Never thought I'd get to see a levi flash me! And then you flashed it back! Then a show brighter than the High Shaper’s post Howl fireworks! Was it trying to tell us something? A message from a levi, sure and true! For us! Wait a drowned minute, is that something you can teach me? Can I learn to talk to leviathans?"

"Yeah, I can- ack," I said, staggering as Tamrie threw her arms around my neck squeeing into chest. Was honestly not prepared for Tamrie to start fangirling over leviathans. It was… nice, seeing her so excited.

“I’ve always loved leviathans, sure enough, but never thought I’d get to see on so close. And thinking back on it, was it asking to see us again? That one image sure did look like us, don’t you think? But where was it asking us to go? Did you know leviathans can stay underwater for months without needing to surface for air? They do need to breath though, truth be told,” Tamrie was truly lost in the topic, barely seeming to notice me or the gazebo as she kept trying to take steps north, after the departed leviathan.

As Tamrie switched tracks regaling me with random facts about leviathans, such as their migration patterns, some of their most famous sightings and other such details, I tapped the level selection.

When the golden lights swirled around us, she finally seemed to regain a measure of herself, her cheeks crimson as we appeared with the hexagonal chamber.

The chamber felt different without Balthum inside. Less oppressive. Was glad I'd put the remains of his stone body inside my ring before bringing Tamrie down. We’d investigate it properly later, since we still had to repair Banya's friend, the barber attendant. Hopefully investigating his body would help with that.

As we came to a stop next to the sarcophagus, Tamrie swallowed hard, her recent excitement fleeing her all at once.

"This is it, then? The box that'll make me a fancy ensouled like you?" Tamrie asked, hesitantly reaching towards it.

"That's the plan," I confirmed, squeezing her hand.

She released my hand, giving a short quick nod before climbing inside. Once there, she smiled up at me, shifting her shoulders as if to get comfy. "Like one of the bunker cots, it is. Cozy."

"Bunker cots?" I asked as I brought up the controls. The settings were easy enough, since the diagnostic had already shown me what I needed. There’d been two ways the extra nature mana could be used. The first would’ve left Tamrie with a simple and balanced mana-body. No special affinities but no strange traits either.

She’d chosen to go with the other option.

"During the last storm, everyone goes to the bunkers. Don't matter if you're the high shaper or a kelp declogger, we all go. No matter how strong the Howl gets, the bunker-tower won't fall. It's a bit tight, but providing secure and comfortable bunks is important to old man Thozgar. Heard him give a speech about it once. Well, not myself so much, a friend who heard it straight from the man himself."

I nodded as a side compartment on the sarcophagus rotated open. It had several slots set in its side, with adjustable clips at each end. I took the tier-3 heartwood that I'd had Neta shape just for this purpose and placed it inside. "So you've used them every year?"

"Yep. 'Cept this year, of course," Tamrie said, her hand tracing along the edge of the lid. "Don’t suppose this counts, do it?"

"Ever feel like you came out of one of those bunker cots like a new woman?" I asked while leaning forward, resting my arms on the edge.

"More'n once, yep," Tamrie said, staring at the ceiling, not quite able to meet my eyes. "Perry?"

"Yeah, Tamrie?"

"I… in case something goes wrong…" she turned to the side, not quite looking at me.

"Hey, we don't have to do this," I said, reaching in to take her hand. "It says it's safe, but we could also just set up your bedroom to have lots of nature mana."

"That's… I don't want to have to wait… for you, I mean," Tamrie said, turning back to look up at me.

"I…" I couldn't reply, my throat tightening. So I squeezed her hand instead. After a few seconds, I swallowed, then said, "If that's the only reason you're doing this… well, I suppose we don't have to…"

"No… it's not the only reason," Tamrie said, smiling, still holding my hand. "Especially not after seeing the leviathan. I… want to do magic. I'm just… what if… I’m not meant to be an ensouled, Perry. Everyone knows Lower Holders don’t become Shapers. What if… what if you can’t change that?"

I didn't bother telling her that the diagnostic guaranteed her success. Or reminding her how well it'd worked so far for me. Was pretty sure that wasn't what was really bugging her. "I'll still love you, even if you don't wake your magic."

"That's the first time you said it," Tamrie replied, pulling my hand to her lips, gently kissing the knuckles.

"Said what?" I asked, rubbing my thumb over her knuckles in turn. "That I won't stop loving you if you don't get magic."

"No. That you love me," Tamrie said, her smile a little crooked. "Bout time, I reckon."

Nodding, I squeezed her hand one more time. "Fair enough. I do love you, Tamrie. You ready?"

"Yep. Put your magic in me already," she said, rubbing her belly with a crooked grin and a gleam in her eye.

“Pervert,” I said, chuckling. I let go of her hand, moving over to the tablet. "Everything looks good. Closing it up."

As the cover slid into place, I couldn't help but feel a moment of trepidation. Despite the diagnostic center's assurances, we were using a machine that was easily thousands of years old.

One that Balthum had been mucking about inside.

Why had I thought it was a good idea to just let her climb inside?

With the cover in place, and the process started, there was nothing for me to do but wait. I found myself pacing, unable to tear my eyes off the progress bar and the ticking numbers above it.

Most of the time, it was easy to forget that Elinder wasn’t my native tongue. Staring at the digits as they slowly ticked down served as a poignant reminder, with each of them having more similarity to shapes than the roman numerals of English, though the 1 was still a single line.

The entire sarcophagus started to glow with a green hue it hadn’t shown when Balthum was inside. A glance at the screen revealed only that the mana-body re-alignment was in progress, bringing her closer to the sorceress she’d chosen to become.

A glance through the cover revealed Tamrie was still conscious. She even gave me a little wave.

After nine minutes of worry, the innocuous action settled my nerves a great deal. A few minutes later, the glow faded. Another minute and seven seconds after that, the cover slid away.

“Wasn’t half as bad as I feared,” Tamrie said, both arms grabbing the edge to hoist herself into a standing position before the cover had even stopped moving. “Figure it could use- Eep!”

Might’ve snagged her out of the sarcophagus the moment she was halfway clear. After spinning her around once, I set her down, clearing my throat. “Congratulations.”

“Guessing this means you get to start tutoring me on magic, right enough, doesn’t it?” Tamrie asked, still leaning on my chest and running her fingers up and down.

“Of course, whenever you want,” I agreed, pushing mana to the tip of my finger, creating the multicolored orb I’d used with the leviathan. “We could start right now, if you’d like.”

“Oh no, you’re not dodging the shark that easy,” Tamrie said, reaching up to grab me by my chin. Her eyes bore into mine as she tugged the corner of her lip between her teeth. “You made this mess. Time for you to clean it up.”

Before I could decipher what she meant by that, she pulled me into a kiss.