It's night, several days have passed since taking control of Jax, the Harmekian Spymaster. Although everything is in place by now, Jax is very efficient, I'm delaying the regicide just a bit to handle another urgent matter.
With the upcoming construction of the Temple to Yggdrasil, I'm worried that the three Aurellium members would be discovered. Thus far, I've managed to keep them hidden, but it's only a question of time before they're found.
So, we're performing the Ritual of Rebirth tonight. They've all chosen their new forms, and have been Purified in the Divine Spring. Additionally, according to Yggdrasil, since my blood is also infused with her sap, it should confer the same benefits onto them, preventing them from experiencing the same problems with a 'humanoid' Soul in the Vessel of a Monster that I've.
I've prepared three vials of my own blood. They almost glow in the cold dark of the winter night, and I easily sense the magic radiating off of them.
"I'll be first." Erkut announces with a grim expression on his face. "As the leader of this group, it's my duty to do this. Perhaps it can somehow make up for my failure to keep the others safe." He's still bitter about the ease of which his entire band of would-be assassins were wiped out, but I sense no hostility towards me nor Vir'ava.
"Monarch, what if this fails?" Tiana asks hesitantly, her usual calm and aloof demeanor nowhere to be seen.
I haven't really considered the possibility entirely... But... "If you still desire to live without going through with the Ritual, I'll make you Undead. Otherwise..." I trail off as I notice the trios grim expressions harden. Either this works, or their lives are forfeit. They understand that much. Becoming Undead, it seems, is out of the question.
"Let's do this then." Erkut holds out his hand as he steps forward. I've prepared a slab of Abyssinite to act as the pedestal upon which the Ritual will be preformed. I hand Erkut his vial of blood, and he takes his place on the slab. Sitting down, he uncorks the bottle and sniff its contents.
He seems quite taken aback by the smell, and his face takes on a pale, slightly green pallor. Regardless, he takes a deep breath and downs the entire bottle in a few gulps. He struggles to swallow the last bit, no doubt fighting the urge to vomit, but he manages to keep it down.
"Now, I will bond your Soul to your Vessel, so that it may inhabit its new form." I use Bonds of Gleipnir, targeting the pulsing ball of energy that is Erkuts Soul and his body. "Visualize intently your desired form as you lay down." I instruct, moving to stand over his body such that I may more easily reach out and touch his chest for the final part of the Ritual. I cast Death on him.
Erkut lies down, his breath shaky, though it soon calms and becomes slow and steady. As the timer for Doom runs out, his body visibly relaxes as his breath stops and he dies.
*Take Dominion of the Will of Erkut Dreamweaver?*
Yes. His Other Will, or, his personality, memories etc. the things that make Erkut, well, Erkut, will be lost, sent wandering the World. So, in order to make sure that it's Erkut and not another lost Other Will that bonds with the now blank Soul that's bound to his corpse, I have to make a Will via Deathlord.
I reach out, placing my hand onto his still warm chest. I cast True Raise on him, but grasp the Spell as it manifests, focusing intently on the new form.
*Warning. Tampering with the World System detected. Cease at once.*
I ignore the warning. Focusing deeply, my vision blurs and a new understanding of the World comes upon me. I see...
[IsResultantSpecies_TrueRaise: Wight]
[Set.ResultantSpecies_TrueRaise: Skaldwylg]
[Resolving Conflicts...]
[Reset.EntityVariable: Skills]
[Reset.EntityVariable: Spells]
[Reset.EntityVariable: SocialTitles]
[Complete]
[IsEntityModifier_HiveMind: True]
[Set.EntityModifier_HiveMind = False]
[IsEntityModifier_Raised: True]
[Set.EntityModifier_Raised = False]
My head spins as the World obeys my commands and undoes the connection I have to Erkut, leaving him as a true, independent monster. I stagger backwards as the murky black glow that True Raise produces engulfs Erkuts body.
The glow shrinks, forming a silhouette of a cat-sized monster before dissipating, revealing the newly reborn Erkut. His eyes flutter open, revealing piercing orange eyes. Silver fur with streaks of mottled brown stands on end as Erkut no doubt experiences a kind of existential dread that can only be found when one has died and been revived like this.
His Rating is low, so he's my Minion automatically, preventing him from going berserk, but also allowing me to communicate with him.
"I-It worked! I can't believe it!" His voice is quiet, almost shy, in my head, but I can tell how elated he is. "M-My Titles! They're gone!" He almost jumps from joy, before seeming down. "Ah, all my Skills... I suppose that's the price." He looks over to the two Pyreans, his attempt at a joyful smile unsettles them as he only manages to bare his teeth as if angry.
"He's smiling at you." I translate the emotion for them. I can see the pair relax. "Now, the last step. You are no longer Erkut Dreamweaver. Please tell us your chosen nickname. It will not be your true name, but something to call you until the day you might be given a Name by your potential Namer."
The Skaldwylg hesitates for a moment before answering. "Ahkeel. My nickname until the time that I might be given a proper Name is Ahkeel." He wags his tail, which looks more like an oblong pom-pom than an actual tail because of how fluffy it is, in happiness.
"Nice to meet you, Ahkeel." I smile at him, delighted that my experiment has worked with no obvious ill effects. Although the recoil of doing this is much higher than normal, it's to be expected when I'm directly tampering with the World System.
Ahkeel bounces off the Abyssinite slab, moving to sit a distance behind me where he is still able to watch the Ritual.
"Now, Tiania." I call on the Pyrean woman. She swallows deeply before approaching me. I can easily tell she's nervous. I hand her the vial of blood, and she sits down on the slab as she uncorks the vial.
Pinching her nose in an effort to alleviate the smell, she downs the entire bottle, her face paling with each gulp. "H-hurry" She gasps as she finishes, swallowing repeatedly in an effort to keep the liquid down.
I quickly repeat the steps, not wanting her to regurgitate the blood before I could finish. As her body visibly goes limp, I relax, and focus on once again bending the World to my will.
[Set.ResultantSpecies_TrueRaise: Blazeweaver]
[Resolving Conflicts]
[Reset.EntityVariable: Skills]
[Reset.EntityVariable: Spells]
[Reset.EntityVariable: SocialTitles]
[Complete]
[Set.EntityModifier_Hivemind = False]
[Set.EntityModifier_Raised = False]
I take longer to recover from the dizzy spell this time. Next time, I might faint. As I stagger backwards, the transformation is just complete. A dog-sized Arachnoid lies where the body of Tiania once was, her legs splayed at awkward angles. Soon enough though, she wakes, and manages to get onto her six pairs of walking legs with some difficulty.
Seems her frontmost legs are specialized for manipulating thread, being held much like the front feet of a mantis. Her pedipalps are also large and seem to have prehensile claws at the tip. Her large, glassy eyes seem to stare as she tests her body, bouncing up and down slightly before she pounces a short distance.
"Man, this feels awesome." She looks at me as she playfully waves a front leg in the air, seeming to gather silk around it like one would gather cotton-candy. With a flick, she throws it straight into the air, forming a cone of web. Just as it starts to fall, it ignites with a 'fworph'.
"Please, let's not draw unnecessary attention to ourselves." I douse the falling silk in water. "Now, you are no longer Tiana Soothearth. Please tell us your chosen nickname." I try to keep my voice calm, but I can feel my annoyance with her rising. Normally, it wouldn't be a big deal, but the effort of performing the Ritual is really draining me.
"I'm sorry, I got carried away. My chosen nickname is Bayle, let me be known as this until the day I might be Named properly." She seems genuinely sorry, awkwardly rubbing her pedipalps together.
"Nice to meet you, Bayle." I smile, although it's a bit strained. "Kelsh, you're up." I hand the Pyrean man the last bottle of blood. He hesitates just a moment before getting onto the Abyssinite slab, his nervousness easily readable even if I wasn't bonded to his mind via Hivemind.
Sitting down, he bravely drinks the blood, though his strained expression softens as he does so. I can sense that he is, in fact, finding the taste and texture palatable. It goes down easily, and a glance behind me reveals stunned expressions on at least Ahkeel's face. It's kind of hard to read Bayle's face at all, really.
Kelsh lies down, and I reach for his chest in anticipation of the next step. As his muscles relax completely, no longer receiving the signals for movement from the brain, I steel myself for the recoil that will follow.
[Set.ResultantSpecies_TrueRaise = False Basilisk]
[Resolving Conflicts]
[Reset.EntityVariable_Skills]
[Reset.EntityVariable_Spells]
[Reset.EntityVariable_SocialTitles]
[Complete]
[Set.EntityModifier_Hivemind = False]
[Set.EntityModifier_Raised = False]
I preemptively back away before I fall on top of him as my mind goes blank for several seconds. I feel a ligament snap when I end up with one of my wings at an odd angle as my entire weight is put onto it, and the pain manages to rouse me. My cry of pain sends most flying monsters airborne in a blind panic.
Well, at least I managed to get them all before things got too obvious. Since it is as if they've never existed, at least to those that didn't know them before now, I can deny everything.
I gingerly get to my feet, my wounded wing hanging limply by my side, and look at the transformed Kelsh.
His body resembles that of a standard frilled lizard, though covered in larger and thicker scales. His frill is colored vibrantly, with prominent eye-like markings taking center stage. He is also the size of a large dog, so that's definitively different from my world's frilled lizard.
Sitting up on his haunches, the False Basilisk expands and retracts his frill repeatedly, most likely getting used to the motion. "I am Gneis, please call me that until the time I might be properly Named." Gneis introduces himself.
"Nice to meet you, Gneis." I halfheartedly smile at him, fighting the pain as my body repairs itself. Although I could heal myself instantly with Miracure, I'd rather not further deplete my already dangerously low MP.
"Let's go back to the grove, and introduce you. You're welcome to stay there as long as you'd like so long as you obey the rules."
The three newborn monsters eagerly run ahead of me as we make our way back home.