Chapter 1408 (Patreon)

Sitting in the comfortable safety provided by Lady Hecate’s shrine, I decided to try something new. Normally, it was Lady Hecate who drew me into her realm when I was asleep, but now, I was within her domain, or as close as one could get while in the mortal realm. The shrine and the sanctuary around it were linked to her, and the tree at the centre was blessed by her power. If my idea could work anywhere, it was here. 

So, I closed my eyes and thought back to the ritual used to provide the Grandmother a body she could use to visit us during the longest night. That, too, had been a dimensional projection spell, as the Grandmother hadn’t physically travelled, merely in spirit. Just a spirit with a much better ability to interact compared to others who might be with someone ‘in spirit’. 

Using some of that circle, and a bit of the transportation spell formation Lady Hecate had given me, alongside a few ideas of my own, I had a fairly good idea what I needed to make my idea work. Curiously, the transportation spell already contained most of what I wanted, making me wonder how the spell, or prayer, used to activate the anchor worked in detail. It was relatively obvious that it wouldn’t use the shadows, especially not given that Lady Hecate seemed to have some respect for the denizens that would eventually inhabit that realm, so habitually trespassing there might be a bad idea. 

Certainly for her faithful, but maybe for me, too. Sure, my affinity was extremely high, but that wouldn’t protect me from anything but the environment. Though what would happen if the environment became alive, for lack of a better term? Would a being with a perfect affinity to fire be immune to heat and foes made of fire themselves? Or did a perfect affinity require that a being literally was fire, making the question meaningless unless one being made of fire could devour another made of fire? It was a somewhat weird question, and I quickly pushed it away and focused on my work again, leaving the strange, intrusive thoughts aside. 

Intrusive was a good keyword, since it was closely linked to intruding. Which was exactly what I was planning: intruding on the realm of a literal Goddess. Sure, a Goddess that liked me, but I had no idea if that was enough to keep her civil if I invaded her realm. Or if the Gods had some form of automatic protection that would immediately incinerate me if I even tried.

Usually, begging for forgiveness was easier than asking for permission, but this might be a case where permission was necessary, as begging for forgiveness only worked if one was still alive to beg. I vividly remembered my experimentation on Mundus, when I had accidentally trespassed on Fenrir’s domain, only to end up dying before actually knowing what had happened. If something similar happened here, I wouldn’t even have a chance to respond, let alone apologise. 

Thinking for a moment, I couldn’t help but grin a little as I gathered a bit of Astral Power. Not a whole lot, just enough to get the message across. Then, I considered what I had heard about prayers to the Gods and tried to figure out the correct format, for lack of a better word. It felt rather strange, but given that I knew Lady Hecate, I felt a lot more confident in my approach than I would with any other deity. Well, I wasn’t sure I would be able to even try this with any other deity, as I didn’t have the required faith, but I had enough trust in Lady Hecate that it seemed to count. 

“Hello there. Just asking if I’d be allowed to perform a small experiment regarding dimensional projection and scrying, using your domain as my target. Toodles,” I prayed, feeling just a little ridiculous, especially when I couldn’t stop myself from adding that ridiculous closing phrase at the end. It was amusing, sure, but also stupid. Which likely was why I found it a little too amusing to leave it out of my prayer. 

“Jade Morgana…” Lady Hecate projected back into my head, matching the cadence of a certain asthmatic robot to a T, “I have not been expecting you,” another pause, “But you are welcome to try; I’m curious how far you’ll get. Cheerio!” She finished, adding her own strange closing phrase, making me wonder if this would catch on. Hopefully not. 

Channelling a bit of my power, I started to form the circle I had come up with. It was a surprisingly small amount of power, at least in the grand scheme of things. Just a little more than necessary to form the runes in the first place, though I soon realised why it was so cheap. Lady Hecate’s domain was literally linked to the space around me, so there was no actual distance to cross, neither physical nor metaphorical. It was simply the opening of a window, nothing more, nothing less.

So, when the connection started to form, I felt my mind projected through the formation, a sensation similar to how I had projected my mind through the Astral River in the past. Only that I wasn’t targeting the River, but an entirely different dimension, namely, Lady Hecate’s domain. 

Moments later, I could feel a barrier before me, foreboding and impenetrable. It felt as if any attempt to trespass would be met with immediate and violent retribution, so I reached out with my magic and sent a single, small pulse of magic without transforming the power into any element. Just my raw, innate magical power, as flavoured by my affinities. Hopefully, Lady Hecate would recognise that and not strike me down, as I had forewarned her. 

In response to my attempt at knocking, I felt the barrier thin where I had touched it, the sensation similar to opening a door. Now, I only had to step through the open door, which was easier said than done. But, given that the entire process worked on will and metaphor, it wasn’t difficult to figure out how to move myself through the open door; I just had to create a suitable construct so I could assert my will. 

“Impressive,” Lady Hecate’s voice greeted me as I was stepping into her domain, seemingly appearing from thin air. Only, I wasn’t in the body I usually inhabited when visiting her; I was only in the construct I had created for myself, which was a lot cruder than anything she had ever provided. “Risky, too, but quite impressive nonetheless. Only try that after informing me,” she added, the warning clear in her voice. Gods didn’t like trespassers. 

“Thank you.” I did my best to morph my construct into something comfortable so I could interact with her properly. “It’s harder than I thought,” I added, feeling constrained in ways I couldn’t describe. As if I was wearing clothes five numbers too small, made from scratchy, completely unyielding fabric, maybe with a few restraints thrown in for good measure. 

“Say, you wouldn’t have a library I might be able to visit?” I asked, thinking of the place my physical body currently was. 

“Oh, the audacity,” Lady Hecate laughed, all three of her aspects shaking with mirth. The Maiden especially was doubled over with laughter, while the Mother shook her head while laughing. “I’m afraid you are not ready to go there just yet. My library is part of my realm, and while you just managed to enter, you are not yet ready to interact with those who are invited into that domain. But you are on the right path,” she assured me, her words quite uplifting. 

Given that I had asked to visit what might be one of the most comprehensive libraries in existence, I could understand the rejection. Especially if other beings were invited, who knew what sort of monsters walked other places and visited the library? I could remember my first meeting with the Grandmother, and how her mere presence had been enough to freeze me, just as I could now use my presence to freeze others who were significantly weaker than me.

“Would it be acceptable to use your domain for a few experiments? I’m quite curious, you see?” I asked, deciding that the library could wait for a bit. 

“Certainly,” she accepted with a grin, “Just stay within the area I designate. Otherwise, you might accidentally come to harm, and it would be such a waste to cut your path short. Interesting mortals are far too rare to begin with,” she added, and suddenly I felt a clear distinction in the space around me, as if faint lines of power were drawing a cube around me.

“Thank you,” I repeated, and started to poke and prod the connection between my physical body and the construct I was now using, taking mental notes on the similarities and differences between this and my usual method of Astral Meditation. 

Maybe I could visit the Grandmother next.