TS5: Chapter 19 (Patreon)

After ending the call with Velin, Thorn showed his pass to the guards at the door and entered, making his way to the front desk.

"May I help you?" The priestess behind the desk asked, her eyes wide as she took in Thorn's size.

"Yes, I'm looking for information on increasing affinity to the light element," he said.

To his surprise, the priestess just smiled and took out a sheet of paper from under the desk, handing it to him.

"Here's a list of all of the texts we have on that topic," she said.

Reading over all of the books and scrolls listed along with their locations, Thorn couldn't help but smile.

"I take it you get this request a lot.”

“From nearly every ascendant or consecrate in the temple," she replied, giggling. "If you'd like, I'd be happy to have someone assist you in collecting them.”

When Thorn nodded, she called over another one of the library attendants and soon Thorn was sitting on the ground at one of the tables as a stack of scrolls and books began to pile up next to him. Starting with the first one that was brought over, he quickly read through it, barely glancing at each page as he flipped them. Thanks in part to his domain, he was able to acquire all of the information on each page almost instantly, and once it was in his mind, Eve rapidly processed and sorted it. Almost as fast as the books and scrolls were brought to him, he finished them, placing them on the other side of the table.

Over the next four hours, he devoured everything that was brought to the table and then began to send the attendant to fetch other books and scrolls that had been mentioned in his reading. After nearly six hours of concentrated work, he put down the book he had just finished and reached for the next, only to find the table empty and the exhausted attendant standing there, arms hanging limply at his side.

"Is that it?" Thorn asked, earning himself an exasperated look from the attendant.

"Yes, Ascendant. You've read everything we have."

"Hmm," Thorn said, scratching his chin. "I guess I have."

Standing up, he tossed the Ascendant a small bag of gems that he pulled from his pouch.

"Thank you for your help. This has been very informative."

After leaving the library, Thorn paused and looked up at the dark sky overhead. The temple hung in the void above the eternal battlefield, so its sky was an almost black color, whether it was night or day. As he gazed up at the dark expanse, he sorted through the information he had received.

"What do you think, Eve?"

[I think we have a clear path forward,] she replied. [The fastest way to pick up affinity for a light element is to borrow the power of that false god. But doing so requires a few different things. Chief among them is earning what is called a baptism. There are a couple of ways to do this. The easiest, of course, is just winning one of the spots in this competition that's coming up. Part of the prize is this holy baptism that you need.]

"Will one be enough?"

[Unfortunately, probably not. I'm guessing it'll take at least two, maybe three,] Eve replied. [So you're going to have to earn a few more. The good news is that all of the Magister families have a certain number of baptism slots every year, so it's not inconceivable that you could pick up another two before you enter the puzzle, though it might take some work.]

There were still a few days before the competition began, and Thorn thought it best to make good use of them. Rather than heading back to his own mansion, he returned once more to the Quilla estate, flashing his badge to the guards and requesting to see Imoset. Instead, it was Vesna who came out, his expression dour. Seeing Ascendant Quilla, Thorn clasped his hands together and bowed.

"Ascendant Quilla, nice to see you again.”

“What do you want?" Vesna asked, his eyes narrowed.

"I'd like to speak to your father," Thorn replied.

"Anything you can say to him, you can say to me."

Rather than arguing the point, Thorn nodded before glancing at the guards.

"That suits me just fine," he said. "The question is, can I also say it to the guards?"

Giving Thorn a long look, Vesna shook his head and turned.

"Follow me," he said, leading the way into the estate.

Rather than taking Thorn through the stacked garden, he led him to a small clearing off to the side.

"You can speak freely here," he said. "There's no one around."

Thanks to his mental sense, Thorn knew that that wasn't even remotely true, as there were a dozen hidden guards lurking nearby, just waiting for their master's command. Still, he nodded and crossed his arms as he stared down at Vesna.

"Before I make my request," he said, "I think we need to hash a couple of things out."

"Oh, and what's that?" Ascendant Quilla asked, unable to hide the wary look that flickered across his face.

"Your dad approached me because he thought I could win. If you do anything to jeopardize that, it's your skin, not mine," Thorn said.

As angry as Ascendant Quilla was, he was no fool, and no sooner had Thorn finished speaking than he let out a sigh.

"That's unfortunately true," he said, waving his hand in the air.

All around them, the figures that were waiting for the signal withdrew, retreating until they were a few hundred feet away. Though it appeared that nothing had changed, Thorn's mental sense could stretch nearly two miles, and it was impossible for them to escape his range.

"So what is it you want?" Ascendant Quilla asked, glaring at Thorn.

"I believe that your family has a few slots for holy baptisms," Thorn said. "I would like to borrow a couple."

"What? Are you insane?" Ascendant Quilla snapped. "There's no way. And if my dad heard your request, he'd laugh at you. Do you know how valuable those slots are?"

"More valuable than a chance at the puzzle?" Thorn asked.

About to respond, Vesna paused, his expression twisting.

"I've already promised your family two slots," Thorn said. "What if your family could get a third? Yours to either use or sell to the highest bidder. From what your dad was saying, it seemed like the slots go for quite a bit. And if I'm guessing, each would be worth more than a few measly holy blessings."

From Vesna's conflicted expression, it was obvious that Thorn had hit the nail right on the head. So to sweeten the deal further, he lowered his voice and gestured for Vesna to step forward.

"On top of that," he said, "I'd be happy to let you do the deal."

"What do you mean?" Vesna asked.

"Well, it's simple," Thorn said. "It'd be one thing if I walked in and said, 'Hey, I've got an extra slot that I'm not going to use, do you want it?' It'd be an entirely different thing if you showed up and told your dad that you managed to negotiate another slot. Now, obviously, your family is going to be covering the cost, but it'll at least get you some points with your dad."

As the wheels turned in Vesna's head, Thorn stepped back to give him a little bit of space.

"Then again," he said after a moment, "if you're not interested, it's no problem. I'm happy to do it myself."

With a sigh, Vesna shook his head, rubbing his forehead.

"Fine, I'll do it," he said.

"Good choice," Thorn replied, slapping Vesna on the shoulder, nearly knocking him over. "You won't regret it.”

“Let me go negotiate with my father," Vesna said. "I'll come and meet you at your mansion."

"Hopefully with good news," Thorn said.

"The baptism takes from one to 12 hours," Vesna said. "So there's still enough time that you'd be able to complete it before the competition. I know that you already use a number of other elements, but increasing your light affinity would undoubtedly be a great boon before the competition."

"I like the way you think," Thorn said, with a smile. "You can tell your dad that it'll undoubtedly increase my chances to secure a spot, thereby ensuring that you get to use all three of yours."

Nodding, Vesna turned to go, but paused, glancing back over his shoulder at Thorn with a conflicted look.

"Something's the matter?" Thorn asked. But the Ascendant shook his head.

"I have the strangest feeling that I'm about to get swept up into a storm," he said. "You seem to bring chaos wherever you go."

"Chaos? Me?" Thorn asked, giving Vesna his best innocent look. "I don't know what you're talking about."

With a snort, Vesna waved him away and vanished into the garden. A moment later, one of the servants appeared to guide Thorn out, and it wasn't long before he had made his way back to his own manor. There he found the others eating a late lunch, and with considerable relish, Thorn sat down to join them. After the food had been completely demolished and the plates cleared, Thorn filled them in on everything that had happened, explaining how he was hoping to get the blessing of light in exchange for their last empty position.

"Hold on, though," Mina said, frowning. "Aren't you going to be disqualified from entering the puzzle?"

"Why would I be disqualified?" Thorn asked.

"I thought you could only enter if you were under the ninth tier," Mina said.

"Ninth tier or under," Mina said. "But you've picked your divinity, so shouldn't you be in tier ten?"

There was a shift in the air as Eve appeared, as millions of nanites swarmed together, revealing Eve, who flew down to perch on Alf's head.

"You're talking about his quest, right?" Eve asked.

"Yeah," Mina replied. "I remember you sharing the details of it, and it seemed pretty clear that once you understood your aspect, you'd advance to tier ten."

"That's true," Thorn said, nodding.

"So why haven't you advanced?" Velin asked.

"It's because he's suppressing it," Eve said, rolling her eyes. "He doesn't want to advance yet, so he's just not."

"You're suppressing your level up?" Corvo asked, his eyes flashing purple as he began to examine Thorn. "How are you even doing that?"

Scratching his chin, Thorn thought for a moment, and then stretched out his hand. Mana swirled above his palm, transforming into a clear-looking glass.

"The upper worlds are different from Nova Terra," he said. "Advancement there happened instantaneously, or at least that's how it appeared to happen. We all knew the reality that we were improving little by little, building skills, until the system rewarded us. But there, all of our progress was monitored and imposed by the system. Here, that's not the case. There's no universal law telling me that I have to advance. Rather, from what I understand, and from what we've been able to figure out, it seems that advancement happens when the amount of energy in your body grows too strong for the container that's holding it. In this case, your body.”

With a thought, Thorn caused dark yellow mana to surge up through the glass he had created. The pressure of the mana that he was injecting into the glass continued to build and build until faint cracks formed on the sides of the clear crystal container.

"Typically, as you advance, your body fractures to some degree, like this glass. But the mana that seeps out strengthens it, reinforcing your glass and allowing you to hold more mana. Does that make sense?" Seeing everyone's nods, Thorn continued, "Well, that's sort of the state I'm in now. The pressure inside of me, thanks to my divinity, has built to the point where I could step into the tenth tier."

"But you're not," Velin said. "What are you doing instead?"

"I'm just containing it," Thorn replied. "It's a technique that I discovered some time ago. And to make what is highly complicated and technical simple, it allows me to reforge myself. I'm using my mental sense to contain my energy and keep my body from cracking by compressing all of my energy into my body."

"To what end?" Velin asked, unable to hide her concerned look.

This time, Thorn was silent longer, before he finally just shrugged.

"A hunch. I can't give you a concrete answer. But I have a feeling that if I don't complete all of my affinities, I'm going to regret it. I only have three left to go. And while I am honestly not sure that I'll be able to contain my advancement until then, until I've completed all three of them, I want as many as possible."

Stello, who had been listening to all of this with an increasingly incredulous expression, quietly put down his fork and knife, scooted his chair back, and stood up. The abrupt motion drew every eye in the room. Stello stared down at Thorn, his expression unreadable, and slowly his finger lifted, until it was pointing at the Titan's nose.

"You," Stello said, his voice grim, "are ridiculous."

Having unburdened himself, he sat back down and continued to eat, paying no more attention to Thorn.

"Hear, hear," cheered Mina and Corvo, clinking their glasses together in a toast.

"Is this safe?" Velin asked, looking relieved when Thorn nodded.

"I think so," Thorn said. "In fact, I think it's better than safe. It feels like the right path to walk."

"Then let me know how I can help," Velin replied.

"Me too, Master, me too," Akira said. "If you want to learn about wind or water, I can teach you. I'm an expert."

"Oh, are you?" Thorn asked, raising an eyebrow. "How'd you become an expert all of a sudden?"

"I've been practicing," Akira said.

Two of her tails waved and the jar of water sitting on the table reacted instantly, a dozen perfectly round drops of water springing up into the air, dancing together in a complex sequence. Thorn could feel both the wind and water manipulation Akira was doing, and thanks to the soul bond he had with her, he felt as if he could just barely understand how she was doing it.

"Like I said, Master, I can teach you if you want."

"That would be wonderful, Akira," Thorn replied, reaching out to stroke her head. "I would love it if you would teach me."