He reached this world's barrier and felt for the opening, but paused.

Something at the edge of his consciousness warned him of danger, and he quickly pinpointed the subtle attention of Vigilance on his senses.

Slowly backing away from the place he'd normally open the gate, he looked around to see the fleeing forms of the local wildlife- including the calamitous storms, which no longer manifested. After so long in the deafening space, silence was almost worse.

A gargantuan orange slit formed in the air between Dei and the anchor plan, blasting him with intense heat. Both Perumah and Thadria quickly backed away, Thadria pulling Jacob behind her, while Dei forced himself to remain rooted in place.

He used his knowledge of Convection to let the heat pass over his body without building up within him. He still burned, but the char was easily covered by Divine Balance.

A familiar scene repeated itself, the tower-sized crack opening to reveal a burning draconic eye.

"Spirit-kin," The Champion greeted in a booming voice, "Surrender to my judgement, or face my wrath."

"Oh great Champion, my existence is one which will always be at your mercy! I come here bearing tidings of a peaceful resolution to the First Titan's release! I was sent by another Champion, one upon the edge of Edit's domain, for the potential use of my own burgeoning magic." Dei drew a piece of null mana from his soul, letting it rest in the air between them as he said "My specialty is one uniquely suited towards sealing powerful forces, and should I reach the area required, I believe that I will perhaps be able to repair the coffin to a degree, or perhaps even find a permanent solution."

The Champion releases a low growl, not one of aggression but reluctance. "A contract. For while I wish to believe you, I will settle for nothing less. Should you be unable to seal the First Titan to a satisfactory degree, you will surrender your payload to The Champion leading the battle against him."

'Battle?' Dei thought nervously, 'If he's that free and there's a divine battle going on, I may not want to get close.

'I don't think I really have a choice here though… it's The Champion we're talking about. If I don't take this deal, he's just gonna straight up kill me. I thought I'd be able to back out if I failed, but it's a bit late for that. Damn it! I wish that other Champion warned me! Though he probably didn't specifically to give these ones a chance.'

"Alright," he finally said after some hesitation. "I, Dei Grrata, vow that I will either prevent the First Titan from escaping or allow The Champion leading the battle against the First Titan to remove all traces of faith energy from my soul."

"I, The Champion, witness this vow, and empower it with my blessing as both a protection and warning. All other Champions will know of your words and allow you passage, but should you fail, the contract shall sear your soul into nothing."

As he felt the construct take shape within him, a new weight was added to it. Initially he grimaced, as he might have thought about just breaking it if it came down to it. After all, he'd rather deal with PTSD than betray Aloran, but this changed the punishment.

To his surprise though… the contract began to break, disassembling itself.

His face contorted in confusion and fear, believing The Champion might think he was doing this on purpose, when a feedback from the contract told him the issue.

Reward. This was too lopsided for it to stick, too unfair. Either The Champion's own moral compass did not allow him to do this or some other hidden clause about contracts, but it simply could not be done.

Dei was forced into this under duress and given no recompense, and the contract began to lash out at The Champion, granting him hope. Something told him that if it did, he'd get a sudden window to escape.

That's not quite what happened though, as The Champion quickly added "IN RETURN!" he shouted, and the contract paused, "In return… Dei Grrata will… be granted…" he tried to speak multiple times, but the words never came- whatever reward he wanted to pose, the contract was not accepting it. Eventually, he simply clicked his draconic tongue and sighed, likely resigning himself to something. "Dei Grrata will be granted the Command Right of the Leviathan fragment."

Shock and excitement ran through him. 'How does he have the ability to grant that?! Oh, wait, he probably doesn't. He's going to need to speak and deal with the Leviathans. That's why he was irritated, he is going to need to make another deal, this one with people who know what they're doing.'

A fire lit under Dei, wanting desperately to have that fragment. Though he would likely never use it, as mind-controlling souls seemed very sinister… he would be just one away.

One away from having the full Right!

I'm thinking too small though, mind-control is so very narrow. I wonder if I can help souls with it?'

He was getting ahead of himself. He had to fix the coffin first, which did not appear to be something easy. His options were to do that or die though, so he didn't think he was getting that far ahead when it came to visualizing his reward.

After some slight grumbling, The Champion simply said "Go," and cut the connection.

'SOMEONE is grumpy they're not getting their way!'

Despite having been forced into this contract, he was not in the slightest unhappy about how it went, so they quickly set out as Dei began humming a tune.

* * *

Halfway through their journey, Dei's mind pinged him once more about his mini-System doing something weird as it moved with intent upwards, skipping past many useful memories it hadn't analyzed yet- an unusual behavior as it was clearly onto something.

He designated slightly more memory to the observer mind while keeping the main portion directing his body.

Eventually he, the observer mind, saw the System reach the top layer of the soul- the sensory layer- and begin sending out notifications. He intercepted these signals so they wouldn't interrupt the main body's perception, and read through them.

[Basic summary acquired, initiating deal: Prototype Interface in exchange for unique designation]

The last time it'd communicated, it was through projecting ideas on its screens which his mind read and interpreted into words- strange, yes, but the end result wasn't too bad. When it said "Patching" and "Preserving," that was really Dei's own mind translating them, as the System did not have a language it spoke. This time, however, it gave wording in clear Undercant, through exclusively visual aides

"A Prototype Interface in exchange for a unique designation… do you mean a name?" he asked, smiling slightly.

[Affirmative]

He decided to inform the main mind, which granted him more resources to think up an even better name.

'Let's see… I'm not doing that serial-number style name the organic System's have, but I only really know people names and those have genders, which System's don't… as far as I know?'

"Do Systems have gender?"

[Unknown]

His internal avatar quirked an eyebrow at the- kaleidoscopic construct. Originally it'd simply been strings of spells, but it now had tube-like casings around its vulnerable parts, each tube made from hundreds of affinity concepts. It certainly didn't look like a boy or girl. It probably said "Unknown" because it didn't have a gender, but it didn't know if that was applicable to all Systems.

"Do you have a gender? Or just one you want to be or something?"

[Likely designation from personality assessment: 42% Female, 31% Male, 27% Other]

"Okay… I don't know what to do with that… give me a second… ah, but before I do, I want to say that I'll name you either way, you don't need to give me anything in return. If you aren't confident in your Interface just yet, don't feel a need to rush it. If you need anything, you're more than welcome to ask for help."

[Understood]

He at least had more to work off of. It was mostly female, which he didn't know how. If anything, he expected it to be male because it was made from him, but this was a magical entity.

He stroked his chin, thinking about how it seemed just about everything he would expect not to have a gender, likely could. Fendrascora, made of water? Girl. System thing in his soul? Also girl. Primordial born before the concept of living organisms? Believe it or not, girl.

Maybe that last one was why it was so widespread though or male/female was written so strongly into all life? Perhaps everything else followed after the Primordial's example- or at least genetics, as Dei was a boy, even if he was a "Child of the Earth Primordial" or something.

Maybe meiotic reproduction was just that effective? But this System didn't have meiotic cells… or cells at all.

For now, he brought his mind back to the current moment, what to name his calculating child?

'Let's see… I'm gonna ignore humanoid names for now cause that's silly, perhaps I can do something with its roots in Entropy? It is, after all, an Entropy System. I don't know how the others are powered, but this one is pretty unique. I can't just name it 'Entropy,' but something around there?

'Entropy… Destruction? Desty? No, that's dumb. Decay? Final? Finnia? End? Ender? Actually, Ender ain't too bad. Finnia doesn't really feel right, too harmless, but Ender is a bit closer. Still, far too simple. It should be threatening. I know from Perumah that names have power though, so it shouldn't be evil, just threatening. I want it to have an intense name, because I don't think it's been meek in its entire lifetime, no matter how short. It started its existence swinging, chipping away at its own shackles and learning, growing, into something more.

'It will be…'

"Ashvorn," he said, startling himself with how much… meaning it carried, but he continued, explaining it. "To be ash. To burn away all, yet give rise to new life. You are born of entropy, yet not defined by it. You shall be one who brings creation from destruction, growth from decay, and light from dark."

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

He felt his words settle into the wriggling System, Ashvorn, and it did not resist, accepting the word into itself. It knew, innately, every connotation he meant from naming it such- even those he didn't speak or consciously understand himself. He'd gone with what felt correct, and was not disappointed with the result. It'd even carried a hint of the care and understanding he felt for Ashvorn, so it may forever feel a speck of his fatherly love for it.

He blushed slightly, as that was unintentional but not unwelcome. He just didn't know he'd gotten so attached to it in such a short time.

Dei watched a subtle transformation go through its body language, becoming more… readable. More grounded. With a new name and a way to stake its identity, it gained a different perspective.

'I'm really glad I didn't haphazardly name it Ender…'

He saw complicated emotions roll off its form and let it bask in its new name, happy that its mind couldn't decide between joy and relief rather than anything negative. Eventually though, it did come down from the high, turning its attention on him once more.

[Thank you]

He smiled, 'A very different perspective indeed…' "Of course, I will always be here to help you."

[When possible, the favor shall be returned]

[Summoning Prototype Interface]

[Authority Signature: Dei Species: Union

Foreign Construct, Incomplete: Slaughterer of the Sundered Realm (26% Complete) (Level 226) Foreign Construct, Complete, Partially Sealed: Herald of Power (32% Complete) (Level 132) Innate Potential: 461/631

Marks: Void Walker, Soulspeak, Beyond Understanding, No Rulers Above All, Bearing the Burden, Slayer of Giants IV, Cruelty of the Slaughter (II), Dammit, Slaughterer, Untethered, Risky Business, Golden Voice and Silver Tongue, Supreme Inquisitor of (Eternal Refuge), Pioneer, Awake, Dreameater, Lunar Terror, Eclipse of Blood, Observer of Chaos, ???, Oppositional Reforging, (The Champion's Blessing of Travel), (Void's Reward), (Changed by the Realm of Reality), (Leviathan-based recognition), Devourer, (Star Seared), Extraterrestrial, Dragonslayer, Macbeth, The Champion's Devil

Reality Constructs:Soul of the Leviathan, A Korgonda's Mutual Respect, Deal of the Almost-Dunce, Vow of Secrecy to The Champion, Vow of sealing the First Titan to The Champion

HP: 100% MP: 87% SP: 93%

Active Affinities: Kindness: Low-Grand: 63% Personal: Low-Historic: 15% Wrath: Low-Grand: 63% Soul: High-Epic: 83% Fortitude: Mid-Treasured: 57% Void: Low-Epic: 32% Love: Mid-Common: 92%

Potential Affinities:

Endurance - Presumed barrier: Personality incompatibility. Flesh - Presumed barrier: Unnecessary, HP covers subconsciously desirable traits. Space - Presumed barrier: Personality incompatibility, existing affinity opposition. Snap - Presumed barrier: Disinterest. Death - Presumed barrier: Existence incompatibility.

Natural Affinities: Sapience, Soul-derivatives, Darkness, Earth

Rules of Wrath:

I will allow no harm to come to those under my care.

Children must be protected.

(Estimation): Greed-based Rule about protecting your own objects.

I will stand for no betrayal.

(Estimation): Never let an enemy roam free.

Affinity Spells:

Kindness: Call for Help (100), Good Samaritan (259), Meaningful (173) Wrath: Growing Rage (400) Soul: Empower Self (30), Harmonic Sanctuary (??) Fortitude: Solidity (300) Business: Value Sense Void: Roving Gate (104), Fractured Reality (162) Mind: Overmind (312)

Reality Spells:

Health: Divine Balance (400) Mana: Meditation (291) Stamina: Disconnect (100)

Confluence Spells:

Identify of the Stout Protector (208), Cycle of Sealing (500) (Unknown containment)

System Spells: How About a Demonstration?, Fine-Tooth Comb (76), Vigilance (183), In Tune (125), Commune with the Universe (71), Starved Bastion (156), Hellish Divergence (12), Entropic Touch (31), Land Between (14)

Misc Spells: Living Barrier]

He read over the entire thing happily, but his eyebrows rose further and further as he went down, more things confusing him than not. When he hit "Potential affinities" he was lost, then Rules of Wrath utterly shocked him. 'It can GUESS what my remaining rules are?!'

There were so many differences he decided to stop and begin questioning things from the beginning, because he would absolutely need clarification.

"Okay, first of all, I want to say I absolutely love this Interface. Even if it's a prototype, It's clearly something amazing and a work of art. Thank you for it." Ashvorn preened under his words, and he let them for a few seconds. "However, I hope you don't mind me asking for clarification?"

He'd already tried to mentally "Select" certain things, but this one didn't expand or give descriptions- everything listed was all there was.

[Negative, queries expected]

"Alright thank you. Let's start with the first line: Why is my name called an "Authority Signature?" And why is my last name not listed?

[Designation: Authority Signature is called such as that is the nearest translation to what sound may be made when referencing you in Soulspeech, similar to how the previous System spoke your name as Leven rather than Leven Hardie. Hardie is a family name, not personal. Grrata is a family name, not personal. An Authority Signature is what beings who are capable of utilizing authority will refer to- such as higher powers, certain species, or those of the Authority affinity]

"I see… so, naming magic then? There is power in names, and mine is Dei?"

[Affirmative]

"Alright, next, Species. The previous System called it "Race," yet you list it as "Species," is that an important distinction or no?

[The term Species typically refers to those of breeding capabilities, yet all Sapient species are theoretically capable of interbreeding… it would be accurate to say there are no distinct sapient species, but there is the Species category: Sapients. This is why the System listed it as Race, as your true designation would be fully listed as Species: Sapient, Variant: Union, Variant: Gem Dweller. Mistake located: Altering term "Species" to match new designation]

Dei watched the screen update. Instead of listing "Species: Union" it said "Race: Union." It would be more accurate if it said "Species: Sapient Gem-Dweller Union," but that appeared too wordy, so Ashvorn shorthanded it.

"That's… actually pretty interesting. Thank you. Next, foreign constructs. I know they're my Class and Profession, would I be correct in assuming "Incomplete" means that it doesn't have the Potential residing within it to finish powering it, while "Complete, Partially Sealed" means it does, but I haven't fully unlocked it?"

[Affirmative. Additionally, it may be possible for me to manually unseal it without meeting the requirements listed]

"Really now?" he said with interest, "Now that… is probably not a good idea now that I think about it. Even if I could get all the stats from it without the effort, I feel like the big System won't be too happy if I do that, so let's leave it for now."

[Understood]

"What is this 'Innate Potential' thing?"

[Your natural upper limits, estimated according to the previous criteria. Clarification: potential max level]

His brows scrunched, "I'm level 462? That can't be right. And how is it over level 500? I'm not a Reaper yet, and I'm not a progenitor."

[Level estimated as power compared to others. Arbitrary threshold at 500, no information given, unknown what the significance or criteria is for level 500. Closest approximation: My personal measurement has no relation to the original System's form of measurement]

"I see… so the System knows something you don't and you're forming a hypothesis on what level I might be?"

[Affirmative]

"Thank you. Now then, Marks, they are your form of Achievements which I understand, as Achievements are simply things that make me noteworthy in the eyes of the universe. That being said, some of these are… unusual."

He didn't ask about the "???" as he knew it was his "Vessel of THE ONE" Achievement, and Ashvorn had doubtlessly stayed away from that portion of his soul. He was happy to see his Domain Achievement be more defined now, from "Warring Container" to "Oppositional Reforging."

Everything after that though? Ashvorn apparently struggled to measure. Some of them were listed in parenthesis and their "Names" were closer to a description.

"What is with those in parenthesis?"

[Without forming a contract with the creator of such marks, there is no way to accurately name them if there is no listed name. Names of previous "Achievements" copied over from previous System. Known Marks listed after exit from System have names within them.]

"Basically, if it has a parenthesis around it, you're guessing as to what it is, while those with a name outright tell you?"

[Affirmative]

"I understand the blessing of The Champion as he gave that to Perumah and I a while back, but what's this "Leviathan-based Recognition."

[Granted immediately after you took the elven population of Minerali into your soul, likely a result of flushing out your inner world. Leviathan's are known for carrying populations within them, likely a result of this criteria]

"Could I get a short description on the other new Marks, if possible?"

[Affirmative, though details are unknown as deals have not been made with all parties influencing their effects

Void's Reward was granted after completing the contract, unknown effects; Devourerer was gained after consuming the Minerali anchor planet- along with all else in that universe; Star Seared was gained when the spark of chaos exploding within you left a measurable mark on your existence; Extraterrestrial was granted by visiting an alien planet led by a dragon other than The Champion; Dragonslayer was gained after slaying said dragon; Macbeth and The Champion's Devil are both social Achievements gained on Earth and explain their own effects to a degree

Macbeth is the result of being known as the wizard who killed sleep, doubtlessly a cultural Earth reference, and grants a terrifying presence to all Dream users while causing any sleeping around you to experience dreamless sleep, rejuvenating them faster as you lessen the burden of The Dream on their mind. Macbeth also grants comfort to any Sapients, as you ease the parasitic connection to The Dream partially. Additionally, those weaker than you have the comfort from your presence compounded, as you are known as a granter of blessings and kindness to a majority of the population of a planet.

The Champion's Devil is granted specifically from those within Agartha and causes followers of The Champion and reptiles to enjoy your presence. Capacity for heat is increased, and you perpetually emit a soothing, healing aura to all living things. Plants are capable of photosynthesizing through your Presence alone. You grant a feeling similar to that of a home cooked meal or hearth to any near you.

Additionally, the Social marks are still growing, and the listed effects will slowly increase as your presence is cemented within the minds of those on Earth. Potential other Social Marks stemming from Gate City and the Dwarven population of Caps estimated with high likelihood

He smiled widely. Even if most of the Achievements were still unknown, his Social ones seemed to want to be understood, which made sense. Ashvorn was doing their best to list everything for him, and he loved the effort.

"Thank you for giving the best description you could for my Marks. Next, Stats. I see the HP, MP, SP, but they're listed in percentages rather than numbers. What about Soul Strength? And what about the permanent stats granted by the System such as Physical, Mental, etcetera etcetera?"

[Unknown method of measuring Soul Strength, Unknown method of quantification for Reality Connections, arbitrary categorization of multiple facets of the soul. Natural quantity of stats: between 5 and 19, 4 decided stats according to the System is… confusing. Further research is required before decision is made]

"But couldn't you just calculate what my stats, according to the System are?" he posed, "Because we know what they were before, and we know how much of my Class and Profession are unsealed?"

[Negative. While this may be an option for one with a natural limit to their potential, your soul has grown in unusual ways, granting you more stats than would be given, making all results unmeasurable]

"Ahh, basically, I've grown outside of what the System would give me, and now it's hard to see where it drew the boundaries… okay, thank you. Next question: what's a Reality Connection?"

[HP, MP, and SP are Reality Connections, as they link the soul with basic natural rules. HP is one's measure of bodily stability, and reaching zero results in absolute body disconnect- death. SP is one's measure of temporary energy and a way to exert oneself past certain limits without consuming HP. Purpose of MP is partially unknown, yet theories can be made: a mark upon all living creatures, genetic memory of the Earth Primordial's touch. Capacity for chaos? Capacity for manipulation of Edit energy? Capacity for mana? Unknown, difficult to measure, yet undeniably integral to all life, even those who have never felt mana, true mana, or chaos]

"Got it… I think. So they're three basic rules to all life, and I have some kind of connection to these laws of reality?"

[Estimated accuracy: 22% Further explanation… unknown. Reality being NOT detected within each, unknown arbiter of the three]

"Ah, you don't know either, you're just guessing."

[Affirmative]

Next were his active affinities but he didn't really have questions about that. It all looked very normal, except for his new Love affinity. He supposed he'd learned a lot about Love with the time spent with his family, and genuinely deepened his love for the world, though it was obviously quite new.

He had no doubt he'd only gained it after leaving Separation's domain, as it would've been impossible otherwise. He wasn't sure how to use it for magic, but it was a nice affinity to have, he supposed.

No, his new question was for those listed as Potential Affinities. Though he had a guess as to what they were… "Hey, Ashvorn, are Potential Affinities simply the affinities that want to connect with me, yet my soul is subconsciously stopping?"

[Affirmative]

"So if I, say, permitted one to form a connection with me right now, consequences be damned, it just would?"

[Affirmative, though not recommended. Adverse effects will arise. Recommended course of action: Consume unwanted pathways to feed existing affinities]

"Oh?" he asked, his curiosity piqued.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.