Advent of Eternity - Chapter 78 (Patreon)

Knell went to his cabin and was pleased to discover that it was slightly larger than the previous boat they’d had. Not enough to waste room, but there was now a nice desk and chair at the back in addition to the bed. A small window next to the door let him look out onto the deck.

He spent a few moments familiarizing himself with everything in the cabin, then sat down on the bed to meditate. He’s assigned Stix to keep an eye on Maya for the near future, and there was a lot to think over. Knell was pretty certain he could make a fair amount of progress in his Scion Path after everything that happened.

The door swung open and Cyll walked inside. Knell sighed.

“Did something go wrong?”

“No,” Cyll replied. “We’re on a straight course for a town. I think we are, at least. No fixing that. This is about the lovely little addition to our ship.”

“She trying something?”

“No,” Cyll said. “Not yet, at least. But I was thinking, and I believe I know why she’s acting the way she is.”

“Oh?”

“She lost her Path,” Cyll said. “When you take on a Boon, it replaces your Path. But I ate it – godawful thing – and I suspect now she’s got nothing.”

Knell grunted. “That would make sense. How unfortunate for her. And lucky for us, considering we’ve got to deal with her for the foreseeable future.”

“Quite,” Cyll agreed. “I just thought you might want to know.”

“I always want to know, Cyll. Information is never remiss. Thank you. I feel like you’ve got something else to say, though.”

Cyll’s eyebrows knit. “I do.”

“Then say it.”

“Is this right?” Cyll finally asked. “I don’t like the brat in the slightest. I’d rather just off her. Losing your Path… it’s torture.”

“No. This isn’t right,” Knell replied. “I knew that you lose your Path when replacing it with a Boon, but I wasn’t certain Maya had lost hers since she’s clearly still tied to it somehow. But I don’t think that’s the only thing that’s gotten her. It wouldn’t make sense. The woman we saw on Blackfoot Bay was ambitious, confident, and rude. Now she’s broken. A Path can be replaced. A new Boon can be found. No, something else happened.”

Cyll blinked.  “Huh. I didn’t think about that. So it’s worse than I think?”

Knell shrugged. “Cyll, I told you before that I’ll do what I need to succeed. Maya is better off than most. She’s alive. She isn’t a slave. The rest of her crew is at the bottom of the ocean with Sorfina. What do you think would have happened if Dread had been the one to catch her?”

“Okay, you got me. Sorry,” Cyll said with a grimace. “Ah…”

“Don’t worry. I won’t tell Stix that you actually care about people’s feelings.”

Cyll cleared his throat. “Good. Good. Because I don’t.”

He spun, walking out of the room and shutting it gently behind him. Knell drummed his fingers on his thigh. Maya would have to be watched. But that could come after he meditated. Stix was keeping an eye on her already.

Closing his eyes, he started to meditate.

The sound of someone rapping against his door snapped him out of it, no more than a few hours later. Knell’s eyes opened and he sighed.

Not enough. Not nearly enough progress.

“Come in,” Knell said, glancing out the window. The sun had set, and night was well underway. Perhaps he’d been meditating for longer than he’d thought.

Stix walked inside, closing the door behind her. “Don’t worry, Cyll is watching Maya.”

“Good to hear,” Knell said. “What is it?”

The moon elf fidgeted for a moment, pulling out the box that the Yin flower had been stored in. She popped it open. It was empty.

“I finished it,” Stix said.

“That’s disappointing,” Knell said, frowning. “I thought it was enough to get you to the point where you could use your Path Upgrade stone. I suppose we’ll have to find a dungeon with Yin energy for you.”

“No, that isn’t it,” Stix said. “I used the rest of it after we escaped Mount Bloodwater. It’s not gone because I don’t have enough. It’s gone because I do.I consumed the rest of the flower and I can upgrade my Path now.”

“That’s fantastic news, but you don’t look happy about it.”

“Yeah,” Stix said, glancing to the side. “I… I don’t think I want to become an assassin.”

“I see. And you have something else in mind?”

Stix nodded. “When I was younger, I was a really good shot with a bow. I swapped to daggers a few years ago, because stealth and stabbing was much better for infiltrating the guild. But now, things are different. I don’t have to sneak in on my own.”

“And so you want to return to what you truly enjoy doing instead of what you feel you were forced into in order to save your brother,” Knell concluded. “And you’re asking my permission?”

Stix nodded again.

“I trust your new class will still be able to fight?”

“Absolutely. But not nearly as well in close range as Shadow Stalker.”

“Then who am I to stop you? You’re my crewmate, not my slave,” Knell said. “And anyone doing what they’re truly good at is going to be better than someone doing something that I want them to, but at a mediocre level.”

Relief washed over Stix’s face. “I was worried you needed me as an assassin for your plans.”

“If my plans hinged so pivotally on a Path upgrade you haven’t even gotten yet, I would be a very poor tactician,” Knell said with a laugh. “Change your Path, Stix. My goal is for us to be as powerful as possible, and you won’t be powerful if your Path is wrong for you. I will make use of your talents, no matter what they are. We’ll find your brother – or what happened to him. Your Path will not change that.”

“Thank you, Knell,” Stix said, standing. “I’m going to go do that now. It might take some time, though. A few days. Is that okay?”

“That’s fine,” Knell said.

Stix darted out the door and Knell shook his head in amusement. She was like a child that had been given a gift on her birthday. He’d have to adjust his plans now, though. He grinned wryly to himself. He’d pinned a little too much on their current fighting style.

That could come after she told him exactly what her new abilities were. There was no point making another battle strategy yet. He closed his eyes and slipped back into meditation. He’d have to take over some of the Maya-supervising duties until Stix was done.

Another few hours passed. Knell’s eyes opened, frustration on his features. He’d been certain the meditation would push him further, but something was stopping him from reaching the next level.

It was still dark outside. Very early morning, if Knell had to guess. It was on the border of not being morning at all. Through the window, he spotted Maya sitting on the bow of the ship, staring out over the dark waters.

He watched her for a few moments, but it didn’t look like she was going to do anything. She was just sitting. Knell sat back down on his bed. Perhaps there was time for more meditation after all.

The next two days passed with much of the same. Knell occasionally supervised Maya, but she didn’t do much. There really wasn’t all that much to sweep on the boat, and Knell really didn’t feel the need to push it.

Maya woodenly did any task they requested of her, then returned to staring at the ocean. Stix had claimed a small area below deck and sat, her eyes closed and hands wrapped around her Path Upgrade stone. As for Cyll, he was mostly focused on keeping them moving in the right direction.

On the night of the third day, Knell finally left his cabin. He stepped out onto the deck, his staff tapping against the wooden planks as he headed to the bow. Maya’s gaze didn’t move from the sea as he approached.

“Does something need to be swept?”

“No,” Knell replied. “And just so you know, throwing yourself into the sea would directly negatively impact me, so the Geas will stop you.”

“I know,” Maya said with a short, dull laugh. “I already tried.”

“Why?” Knell asked.

“I have no Path. Dread is going to kill me once she takes the Boon. My crew is all dead at Sorfina’s hands. Every last thing I worked for is gone. I can’t even seek revenge.”

“Sorfina’s hands?” Knell asked. “Not mine?”

Maya let out another bitter laugh. “You? No. Mine were all already dead. She killed them with suicide missions in the weeks leading up to Mount Bloodwater’s opening. I was in secluded training and didn’t find out until it was already too late.”

“Seems pointless,” Knell said. “Why?”

“Because we signed as an independent crew, but she wanted us under her thumb,” Maya spat. “We wanted to carve our own path and then leave once we’d made a name for ourselves, but she just wanted my aptitude with the Sea to ensure I could bind with the Boon. They don’t always accept their hosts, you know. At some point, she asked my men to pledge themselves to her. They all refused. So she killed them. Not straight out, but I know she did.”

“And then I took the chance for revenge from you by offing the woman myself,” Knell said. That explained her expression when they were in Mount Bloodwater. “Unfortunate indeed. You’d been planning to take the Boon and kill her yourself?”

“I was,” Maya said. “And then that was stolen from me as well.”

“So your personality in Blackfoot Bay – bluster?”

“Some of it,” Maya said with a one-shouldered shrug. “I thought it would get us more respect. And I also had the power to back it up. Not anymore. But why do you even care? I’m just cargo now. I can’t even choose how I die. I’m just trapped here until Dread is done with my Boon and you kill me.”

“I don’t.”

“What?”

“I don’t care,” Knell clarified. “At all. I was mildly curious about your circumstances, but that’s it.”

Maya let out a snort. “Well, at least you’re honest.”

“You seem to misunderstand,” Knell said. “When I say that, I mean it. You seem to think I have some grudge against you, and that you will die when Dread is done with your Boon. It’s true, the Geas will end when her work is complete, but I do not care about you. Your slight against me in Blackfoot does not bother me in the slightest. Your death brings me no gain, unlike Sorfina, whom I used for infamy. I have no will, good or ill, toward you.”

Maya turned for the first time, looking at Knell in confusion. “I don’t understand.”

“It means that your life is yours to use,” Knell replied. “If you want to die after the Geas ends, then feel free. But losing an arm and a Path is not the end of the line. Your future is not yet written. So, as I said, I do not care about you. Use your time how you want to, but it is not infinite. Do with that as you will.”

He turned and headed back to the cabin. There was still more meditation to do, after all. Behind him, Maya glanced back at the ocean. Then she slowly stood and walked below deck.