Chapter 52 - Shia 2.0

Five circles of runes intricately carved on the back of my left hand blazed with white fire, burning in my vision until everything else faded from the world. As though liquid silver were pulsing along every line and curve of the glyphs etched on my skin, they seemed alive and moving with purpose. The complicated designs grew even more so, until the patterns were a dizzying array that gave me a headache just from staring at it.

Intense as the light was, it wasn’t blinding. Instead, within the blaze of this arcane script, I could see the glimmers of a pattern. Following the lines of this pattern, an image began to take shape within my mind. My brain automatically began tracing the contours of this figure, and it took me only a half second to realize why it was so easy for my subconscious to trace these lines. They were, after all, features I was most familiar with.

I saw them every night, deep in the recesses of my deepest nightmares.

They even haunted my every waking step, calling out to me during the daydreams of a battered yesterday.

Long raven locks that fell to the middle of her back. Warm eyes that shimmered with an otherworldly grey light, always hinting at mysteries that would never be solved. Soft lips from which I had plucked the sweetest of fruits. The proud arc of her neck and the gentle slope of her breasts, both perdition and deliverance in one perfect symphony.

It floored me. This sudden, unexpected glimpse of her blasted the breath from my lungs, singed all thought from my brain. Lovesick fool, me? No, not I. The conqueror of a thousand battlefields, the jaded murderer of countless victims, the killer of dreams and plunderer of all hope. It was no mere case of a man drunk on love.

No, instead I had been poisoned, and she was both the ultimate vice and my sole redeeming virtue.

Sophia.

Even here, even now, her memory would never leave me. Would she forever accompany me, even on this lonely road to damnation? If so, surely hell would shatter from the luminous presence of this one angel. Or would even her memory be damned, doomed to fall from the skies like a shooting star, blazing in its glory yet tragic in its impending doom. All because she stubbornly refused to leave my side, because she kept me company and walked side by side with the devil.

Just as in life, will even your shadow die because of me?

This last thought shook me out of my stupor, and I blinked to clear my vision. It lasted only for the space of a single long breath, but when the light finally faded and the dark lines of complex script blazoned on the back of my hand finally settled down, I could see a further line surrounding each of the five circles on the back of my hand.

“Shia?” I asked, somewhat hesitantly, unsure of what changes might have been wrought to my reluctantly adopted daughter. “Everything alright?”

“Yup.”

“You sure?” I asked dubiously.

“Perfectly fine. In fact, I couldn’t feel better, dad.” Came the easy reply, casual yet brimming with barely contained excitement.

“Phew, that’s good,” I sighed in relief, then I realized what Shia had just called me.

“Dad?” I echoed, disbelieving.

“Mm-hmm,” Shia hummed.

Scratching my head, I peered cautiously at the newly carved glyphs on the back of my hand, wondering if maybe I was hearing things. “What happened to Mommy?”

“Whatever do you mean, dad?”

“You used to call me Mommy, remember?”

“I recall no such thing,” came the prim reply.

I did my best not to gawk, and failed miserably.

“What do you mean-? Clearly you were-” I spluttered in outrage.

“Confused gender issues, dad? Afraid I can’t help with that - not that I’d even want to mess around with that kind of thing,” came the easy laughter from Shia.

I frowned in thought. Shia definitely sounded different. Older, more mature, having lost some of that childish exuberance and innocence. Maybe even with an edge of wit and sarcasm that slightly reminded me of, well, myself. And clearly lying out of her ass without an ounce of compunction.

After opening my mouth, I swiftly closed it again. Why was I fighting so hard for Shia to call me something I had hated all this time? Well, maybe it had gotten somewhat endearing with time and there was a small corner of my mind that felt puzzled at the sense of loss.

I shook it off. More important stuff to do right now.

“So, what can you help with?” I asked simply.

“Sky’s the limit, dad. Sky’s the limit,” came the easy laugh once more, but this time bubbling with barely contained enthusiasm.

*TTIRRRING*

Congratulations! Your Soul Guardian has successfully evolved!

You have become a first echelon Soulbound.

You have unlocked the topic “Knowledge: Rumours of the Artificium Magnus.”

You have unlocked the following innate abilities from your Soul Guardian:

Acolyte Soul Artificer

Spark of Soulfire

Through the evolution of your Soul Guardian and its matrix crystals, you have gained the following abilities:

Heroic Blaze

Soulburn

Can anyone say jackpot? Hell yah!

"Information on Knowledge: Rumours of the Artificium Magnus."

*TTIRRRING*

Knowledge: Rumours of the Artificium Magnus.

Birthed from chaos, forged at the dawn of time, the Artificium Magnus was the beginning and culmination of the art of creation at its simplest, purest, and most exalted form. Legend claims it was lost towards the end of the first Great War of the Gods, during which it was used to unleash a ritual of such magnitude, it tore the very fabric of reality asunder and greatly damaged the artifact itself.

As you continue unlocking further knowledge from the artifact, more features and abilities will become available.

I shook my head, astonished. I'd long suspected that Shia must be an artifact of immense magical power, but apparently I didn't even have the foggiest idea of just what magnitude of power she was capable of. The term "Artificium Magnus" had been nothing but undescypherable noise until now, but I'd assumed she had been crafted by some wrinkly old man in the depths of his home laboratory. Now it turned out that Shia could potentially be as old as creation itself? I simply found it mind-jarring to match the image of the sweet little glutton I had adopted as a daughter to an all-powerful artifact that had existed as long as this universe had.

Feeling as though a great burden of responsability had suddenly shifted onto my shoulders for some reason, I resolutely soldiered on.

"Information on innate ability: Acolyte Soul Artificer."

*TTIRRRING*

Innate Ability: Acolyte Soul Artificer

The Artificium Magnus grants you access to Soul Forges.

You have gained command over five Soul Forges. Each Soul Forge may absorb the soul essence of an enemy vanquished by you. You may use these captured souls in conjunction with Soulbound abilities you unlock.

Further knowledge of Soul Forges or higher ranks of the skill: Soul Artificer may unlock more abilities.

I quickly lowered my gaze to the five intrincate circles of runes on the back of my left hand. These must be the five soul forges. I could still see a faint glow within each circle, and I instinctively knew these must be the souls I'd absorbed from my vanquished foes. My pulse quickened as I could feel a distinct connection to each of these circles that had not been there before.

With a flicker of intent, bits of information quickly entered my mind regarding each of the souls currently contained within each Soul Forge.

Soul Forge - Fortis

Whisp of human soldier.

Rank: Private

Soul Integrity: 2%

Skills: Basic PA Training.

Soul Forge - Axiom

Whisp of human soldier.

Rank: Specialist

Soul Integrity: 8%

Skills: Firearm proficiency.

Soul Forge - Lumina

Whisp of human soldier.

Rank: Sergeant

Soul Integrity: 14%

Skills: Drill Instruction.

Soul Forge - Veritas

Whisp of human soldier.

Rank: Captain

Soul Integrity: 19%

Skills: Inspired Command

Soul Forge - Sanctus

Whisp of human soldier.

Rank: Private

Soul Integrity: 25%

Skills: -

Five Soul Forges, yet the souls were merely whisps. Was that an indication of the quality or the current state of the soul contained within? I was more inclined to side with the former, since the current state of the soul would probably be closer to the Soul Integrity value. This was shockingly low, and I had to wonder why they were so decayed. As for the skills, I had to wonder if I could use the skills at any moment or I had to actively burn the soul to use its skill. This definitely warranted experimentation later on.

"Information on innate ability: Spark of Soulfire."

*TTIRRRING*

Innate Ability: Spark of Soulfire

At the dawn of time, there was only the void, and then the fire. When reality was conceived and the universe took its first giant breath, it is said this was the fire of creation. The Elder Gods would later reverently come to call this primordial flame the Soulfire. All records of Soulfire have since disappeared, purged from the annals of history and its very mention taboo of the highest order.

You have gained the Spark of Soulfire. Soulfire ignites upon the very core of all matter, burning through reality until the origin void is all that is left in its wake.

Spark of Soulfire has infused two new matrix crystals to produce two new ablities:

Heroic Blaze

Soulburn

Further knowledge of Soulfire or higher ranks of the skill: Spark of Soulfire may unlock more abilities.

I had to wonder as to whether this Soulfire was different from the dark flames I had seen when absorbing souls before. Since I had just now unlocked it, I had to assume it was. However, so far there seemed to be no direct way of summoning this Soulfire.

"Information on ability: Heroic Blaze."

*TTIRRRING*

Ability: Heroic Blaze

Through great sacrifice, comes greater strength. Upgraded version of Flame of the Soulbound. You may ignite the soul essence contained within a Soul Forge in order to gain a direct boost to your own stats. Different souls will have different effects. Several Soul Forges may be combined and activated in unison in order to enhance the effect, at the cost of increased strain upon the Soulbound’s own soul. Heroic Blaze also has a small chance of permanently learning a skill at the cost of fully igniting and consuming the soul essence within a Soul Forge.

Further knowledge of Soulfire or higher ranks of the ability: Heroic Blaze may unlock more abilities.

I couldn't help but smile at this upgraded version of the ability that had saved my life, back in that stinking alley when I had faced the two assassins who almost had me. I had a great fondness from recalling the Overkill skill which I had used to great effect several times. Now, it seemed as though I would be able have a chance to permanently learn a skill though in so doing I would have to sacrifice the soul I learned it from.

Skills were like an arsenal of weapons, and one could never have enough of those. As I thought of all the souls and skills I would be able to learn and the sheer possiblities this presented, my blood began to burn with anticipation.

"Information on ability: Soulburn."

*TTIRRRING*

Ability: Soulburn

When you cleave, cleave simply, cleave truly, cleave but once. Attacks may be empowered by Soulfire at great cost to the Soulbound’s own soul essence. Empowered attacks inflict Soulburn damage, inflicting severe damage to the target’s soul essence. Use with caution: Soul essence damage is extremely difficult to restore.

Further knowledge of Soulfire or higher ranks of the ability: Heroic Blaze may unlock more abilities.

Save the best for last, I suppose. Although the other skills had great potential, they would build up slowly and accumulate momentum. This last ability, however, was right along my alley. Burn my own soul to devastate my enemy's? Hell yeah, bring it on!

All the windows brought on a massive headache, but the roaring of a great fire within my chest sent a surge of adrenaline up my spine. I hadn’t imagined Shia’s newest upgrade would bring on so many benefits. Thinking back to that dark flame I had absorbed from the bodies of the people I’d killed, I had to wonder just how this Spark of Soulfire would be different. After all, a primordial flame which had earned the respect of the gods themselves sounded pretty badass, and after the whole nuke fiasco I was all set to try this, my newest toy out.

“Dad,” came a helpless cry from Shia. “DAD!”

“What?” I blinked, furrowing my eyebrows as my fantasies of burning the whole world to the ground and returning it to a nice, pleasantly empty void popped like a burst bubble as Shia’s call snapped me out of my dreams of mayhem and destruction.

“You were doing it again,” Shia sighed. “Giggling to yourself with that creepy grin on your face. You were daydreaming about torching this whole place to the ground, weren’t you?”

I could feel a guilty flush rising up my neck, but hell if I’d ever admit it. When had Shia become so proficient at reading me, anyhow?

“Ahem, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was merely assessing our upgraded combat capabilities in order to deal with the new, impending threat in as swift and efficient a manner as possible.” I was inordinately proud that I didn’t bat so much as an eyelid as I spewed forth that gigantic pile of bullcrap.

“Uh-huh, sure, yeah.” You could practically hear the roll of the eyes in that response.

Not deigning to grace that with a reply, I opted for misdirection instead.

“Looks like that damn useless kid is finally back in action,” I muttered, flicking my head towards the still churning depths of the Soul Gate. That finally shut her up.

The time I’d taken to go through all the information windows could not have been more than a handful of seconds, and the gate had been building up in power this whole time. Now, a curtain of shimmering light finally burst into being as Sol’s silhouette gained texture and solidified into the familiar shape of the runny-nosed, helpless child I’d gone through all this trouble for.

Sol emerged from the Soulgate, stumbling forward on unsteady feet, naked as the day he was born. Or rather, she. Now that she wore not a single stitch of clothes, I could finally tell that Sol was definitely a she. Gazing at her sun-streaked cheeks and huge golden eyes, I couldn’t believe I had truly mistaken her for a boy this entire time. Now that the little street urchin was finally free of the perpetual layer of grime and dirt she had used to disguise herself this entire time, I had to admit she was simply stunning.

Bold strokes of fiery red hair framed full cheeks lightly dusted with freckles. Huge almond eyes held glittering orbs of pure gold within, perfectly complemented by a strong nose that sung of valor and spirit. Vivacious lips that were just a touch under what one might consider overfull added the final touches, setting the tone for a beauty that would light any man’s blood on fire when she finally bloomed into her full splendor.

Just how had I missed all these details? It couldn’t be explained away as simple carelessness on my part. Something else was going on.

Glancing at the rest of her body, I frowned as I noticed a marked difference in the proportion of her, ahem, feminine charms. I had slept next to, fought against, even carried this girl on my shoulder, yet no amount of concealment could justify the sudden and unexpected swell of her breasts nor the fullness of her hips. Before, her stick-thin figure could have easily been mistaken for a ten or even nine year old’s. Now, however, there was definitely no question this was a girl who was fully blooming into adulthood, fifteen or sixteen at the very least. Her height, the width of her shoulders, the length of her legs, everything had gotten bigger. Not least, I once again had to note, her..

“Dad, will you stop oogling at Sol’s boobs already?” Shia cried out in outrage, sounding shocked and disgusted at the same time. “God, I can’t believe you were such a pervert!”

I stumbled on my feet, jerking my gaze away and staring fixedly at a great big patch of nothing to my left for a couple seconds before coughing uncomfortably to clear my throat. Great thinker on my feet, that’s me.

“Ahem, what? What, no, I needed to reassess the combat capabilities of an integral member of our fireteam so as to form a coherent strategy to deal with any and all threats.”

“Uh-huh. Because cleavage size is such an important part of Sol’s combat efficiency that you felt the need to burn it into your memory for a full five seconds, right?”

To my credit, I didn’t even bother responding to that. Lord General that I am, I’m much too savvy to fight a losing battle, after all.

“Look here now, young lady. Watch your tone when speaking to your father,” I hedged instead, reaching for the family authority figure card. I was reaching for straws, so what?

“A pervert is what you are,” Shia grumbled, before finishing. “I’ll be watching you alright, that’s for sure.”

“Look Shia, it’s not what you think. Haven’t you noticed that Sol has changed? She’s.. Grown, somehow,” I finished, my hands awkwardly gesturing in front of my chest as they drew two rather substantial semi-circles in the air. Were fifteen year olds supposed to have chests that big? Was that a dragonkind thing, maybe maturing slightly faster? Alright, a lot faster.

“Oh my god, can’t you stop talking about her boobs for once?”

“I wasn’t talking about the size of her cleavage!” I cried out defensively, then belatedly looked down at the gesture my hands were making before continuing lamely. “Well, alright, but not just her boobs.”

Silence ensued, and I had to wonder at the fact that Shia somehow managed to make even this wordless moment stink of cynical skepticism.

I quickly marshalled my thoughts. “Whether it is through the ritual we used to summon her soul or-”

“The strength of your pervy fantasies,” Shia cut in helpfully.

“-a consequence of the reforging of her soul and recovery of her full powers,” I bravely soldiered on, not willing to let the pitiful dregs of resistance I had so valiantly summoned be butchered by my daughter’s remarkably incisive comments. “You can tell that Sol has grown from a small girl to a young woman, a beautiful one at that.”

That was all I had time for before I felt a soft weight land abrutply on my back. Looking down, I saw two lithe arms enfolding me within a very enthusiastic embrace.

"I am? You really think so?" came a much huskier, and infinitely more feminine version of Sol’s voice from behind my ear.

My mouth clamped shut and only a hiss escaped my lips. Thick clouds churned in my brain as I repeatedly told myself this was the same runny nosed runt from before. The constant, growing pressure coming from my back insistently argued otherwise, and I had to struggle mightily to rally my thoughts. I refused to lose this battle and be routed by a naked girl, no matter how bouncy her cleavage felt on my back, nor how dazzling the glow of the bronzed skin on her arms looked.

"I, ah.." I mumbled, searching with words while looking away.

“I really missed you, mister,” Sol spoke softly, as through choking back tears. “I knew you'd come for me. Thank you.”

The sentiments were further reinforced by a tightening of her arms, pushing the softness on my back even more firmly. I could distinctly feel the yielding pressure of her flesh through the thin layers of clothing that separated us.

Yeah, resistance routed. Game over.

Good student that she was, Shia could have instantly claimed a decisive victory at this moment. Instead, only a barely audible groaning could be heard.

“Please, kill me now.” Shia sounded absolutely mortified.