Chapter 174 - Forgotten Blood VIII

“It appears that I’ve won our wager, Flux.”

Builledracht, the god of curses, set down his cup and regarded the goddess of the flow with a calm smile. The number of draconic beings had increased from one to two; he was no longer the last of his species. There was hope that they would rise again.

“Has that lizard brain of yours finally lost the ability to process the basic facts? You have won nothing.”

But he was not the only one whose confidence had stood strong. Flux was in an equally good mood, and for the exact same reason. She was no longer the only qilin. There had become another, a fresh foal that would soon see the world and grow. And there were three dozen gods to bear witness. Kael’ahruus would find no justification in her pursuit. Though her form was bizarre, she could not be purged, for it was through her own divine power that she had been created.

“Are you mad, goddess? She’s become a dragon.”

“No, Builledracht, it is you who is mad. She has become a qilin.”

“Have you not seen her form? She is a large winged reptilian with claws, fangs, and a long neck, undoubtedly a dragon.”

“She is a mammal with four limbs, a body of scales, and a horn as massive as her skull. She is clearly a qilin.”

“A horn?” The god narrowed his eyes. “What horn?” For there was nothing atop her head but the strange ears with which the girl was obsessed.

“The one sprouting from her chest, of course,” said Flux. “Perhaps you should ask Dorr to craft you a pair of glasses.”

“That is not a horn, Flux.”

“False, Builledracht. It does not fail to fit the definition.”

The two deities took a moment to stare each other down, with the dragon eventually bringing a clawed hand to his face and shaking his head. “Let’s just see what the system has to say. Perhaps it will provide us with greater insight.”

“Certainly.”

Either party could very well have tampered with the supposed neutral machine, but they had refrained, not strictly out of pride, but also out of respect. They were not foolish enough to assume that the other would be unable to see through the manipulation. It was precisely through both their outstanding systematic proficiencies that they deprived Claire of her most potent options and forced her to endure their joint trial.

Flux had long predicted the result of the ascension. The chaotic divinity that Claire had employed was not something she was able to account for, but she had computed the result with all else factored in. She was confident that she was correct, as she so often was when she cast her gaze on events yet to occur, but it was precisely that confidence that drove her to silence.

Because examining the system’s output had led her to encounter an entry beyond her expectations. She was able to recover quickly enough to customize Claire’s log before it was sent off, but the momentary pause was not one that the dragon had missed. Smirking, the god of curses brought his cup to his lips and took another sip of tea.

“So? Has she become one of my kind?” he asked.

“No, she has not, you imbecile.”

“Then why the shock?”

“See for yourself.”

She exposed the panel to the other deity, who immediately dropped his porcelain chalice with a twitch of the face. “Where did we go wrong?” He scratched his beard and raised his brow. But Flux shared no words, only a shake of the head. For not even the flow of time, and the many predictions that came with it, could provide the faintest of clues.

___

Claire blinked as she slowly craned her neck and panned it around the forest. She had assumed that the process would take only a few minutes, but it was already well into the morning. The sun was almost directly overhead, and the far away trees had their shadows casting close to their roots. Everything, she could make out. But none of it was clear.

The former lyrkress shook her head and tried to focus her eyes, but they refused to listen. Everything that unblurred would blur again shortly after, no matter how many times she repeated the action. A few dozen attempts later, she gave in and focused instead on the logs echoing through her mind.

Log Entry 6095

Your ascension is complete. You have become a Vis Naturae 0x000064fc1a7400df.

Your class is currently unnamed. You may choose to override the system default of Vis Naturae 0x000064fc1a7400df with whatever you choose. If the default system name is retained, it may be changed by another entity at a later point in time.

Your eyesight has been greatly enhanced.

Your base health has increased from 50 to 5000.

Your base mana has increased from 50 to 15000.

The first thing she did, upon hearing the goddess’ voice, was stretch her body. Something about it felt strangely unfamiliar. It almost seemed heavy, bulky, like there was too much of it in excess. She was tempted to think that she had suddenly learned to empathize with those unable to fit through the manor’s doors, courtesy of their eating habits. But overly wide, she was not. She could tell, from the way she could so easily step on her own toes. Front, and back.

Your base health regeneration has increased from 0 to 2000.

Your base mana regeneration has increased from 0 to 25000.

All ability scores have been increased by 2000.

The upper limit of your divinity has increased from 5 to 1500. The change has led to an adjustment to its present value.

The efficiency of your ability scores has increased.

It was only as she tried to bring a hand to her face that she realised she had no hands at all, only two pairs of feet, both of which were far, far away. She tried to take a step, but collapsed and fell face-first into the lake in front of her. Everything was wrong. It almost felt like she was walking on stilts, and her dysfunctional eyes only made it more difficult to adjust.

You have acquired the following skills:

- Corpus Imperium

- Realm of Eternal Frost

Frostblight Lyrkrian Martial Arts, Frostblight Lyrkrian Shapeshifting, and Thermodynamic Regulation have been assimilated into Corpus Imperium. This assimilation has earned you a proficiency bonus.

Paralyzing Gaze has mutated and become Eyes of the Deep. Additional functionalities have been appended.

The rate at which you gain experience from training, practice, and rehearsal has been decreased.

Fortunately, she had retained her submarine abilities. Breathing in the water caused no issues with her lungs, and her sight was unchanged from how it had been on land. The whole world continued to zoom in and out whether she moved her eyes or not. The effect appeared present even when she closed them. One moment, she would see the insides of her eyelids in detail, and the next, there would be nothing but black. It was giving her a headache, and she was unable to determine how she was meant to seize control.

Adding to the confusion was the growth in her field of view. She could see directly behind her. All it involved was moving her eyes, albeit in a way that felt unnatural. The added dimension threw her for a loop. There was too much for her to pay attention to, and it didn’t feel like she could settle down.

You have been reclassified from humanoid to abyssal horror.

The change in your race has altered several related traits. You are no longer sterile and you have achieved sexual maturity. This has resulted in several changes to the state of your body.

Your lifespan has been extended.

You have been titled the Heir of Forgotten Blood.

She raised her head from the water when her eyes began to stabilise and finally gazed upon her reflection. It was her first time seeing her own form. Having had no chance to preview it in the realm of the gods, she had no idea as to the final product’s finer details, but she was confident. She had picked all her favourite traits without compromise.

Claire was expecting to see in the aquatic mirror a beautiful young lady with perfect blue-white locks, bright serpentine eyes, glimmering scales, beautiful, fluffy ears, and a shard of true ice. But what she found instead was a massive reptilian monster.

It was not as if her requirements were missing. Her shard was still in her chest, her mane was beautiful as a blanket of silk, her ears were larger than ever, and her scales shone with a light that surpassed even the sun’s.

As far as silhouettes went, she resembled a mishmash of the three classes she had found most appealing. At a glance, her frame was mostly serpentine. Her body was long, muscular, and covered from head to toe in scales. Her size was roughly equal to that of the wyrm’s, but her limbs rendered her a completely different beast. The two at the front ended in talons, while the pair in the rear were hooved. Massive wings sprouted from her back, large enough to support three dozen boats, lined up end to end. But despite their size, they folded up neatly when unused and vanished beneath her scales. Their storage was so efficient that she couldn’t believe them to be purely physical, even though the flow of magic mandated that they were.

“What am I?”

To the silent observer, the question was the final straw. Breaking into a giggling fit, she began rolling around in the grass whilst clutching her fuzzy stomach.

“Didn’t you pick!? How do you not know what you are!?” Still wheezing, Sylvia wiped off her face, which had been riddled with tears following the outburst, and slowly pushed herself off the ground.

“This class doesn’t have a name,” said Claire. “I’m supposed to give it one.” Her throat no longer worked the same way it did before. The words were shaped correctly without the use of her tongue, and they remained audible even though she never opened her mouth. Her enunciation itself was still perfect, but it felt like something was off regardless. It was always like the sounds were reverberating, like each was spoken several times, every repetition slightly out of sync.

“Oh! Mine was like that too, actually,” said Sylvia. “Want me to name it for you? I think I’m pretty good at it.”

Claire narrowed her eyes. “What did you name yours?”

“With the title and everything, it’s Dryadalis Vulpes Regina, Aspect of Chaos and Progenitor of Nightmares.”

“Too long.” The absurd moniker was met with an immediate shake of the head. “And I don’t know what my class does yet.”

“You don’t?” blinked the fox. “Then why’d you pick it?”

“I didn’t. I made it.”

“Uhhhh… I don’t know what that’s supposed to mean,” said Sylvia.

“It means what I said. Now give me a minute. I need to read.”

Vis Naturae 0x000064fc1a7400df

The unnamed class that you have created is the sort of unnatural chimerical beast often described by drunken troubadours and deranged playwrights. It may be worth investigating if you are being subjected to psychoactive substances without your consent.

Your maximum level is 500. Details regarding acquisition, bonuses, and further evolutions are unknown. Additional samples are required for further processing.

Flux offered no meaningful information or advice, a fact that Claire interpreted to mean that she was just as confused.

Corpus Imperium - Level 17

Your body is in blatant defiance of the natural order. It possesses traits from a number of different creatures, the majority of which are sexually incompatible, divine interference or not. But as freakish as it is, it remains not without its merits. You have inherited forgotten blood from both the qilin and the dragon, and it is precisely within this skill that their abilities are reflected.

Effects

- You are capable of destructive breath attacks.

- You may freely shift between your various forms.

- You are highly resistant to heat, cold, and electricity.

- You are capable of manipulating the extent of your buoyancy.

- You are capable of deflecting projectiles with your limbs and appendages.

- Your skeleton, made of true ice, functions as a source of raw elemental power.

- In combat, your ability scores will be increased proportionally to the amount of havoc wreaked.

- All combat techniques have been improved, especially those that do not require the use of weaponry.

- Your physical attacks are imbued with the power of true ice. The damage you deal is increased, especially against those susceptible to the cold.

Right away, the former lyrkress noticed an anomaly. There were no numbers. None of the newer functionality had any listed, and the older text had all of it removed. A quick scan confirmed that all her other skills had been subjected to the same treatment. Levels aside, all the numeric values had been stripped.

Log Entry 6096

You have received a divine revelation:

The present value of your divinity is now in excess of one hundred. The system is, unfortunately, just as imperfect and inept as you, and therefore no longer capable of providing accurate estimates of the scope of your abilities.

Stupid useless Box.

Claire grumbled internally, but quickly moved on and checked another acquisition.

Eyes of the Deep - Level 32

Most intelligent creatures regard their friends and compatriots with their eyes filled with kindness. You lack the empathy to understand the purpose in this exercise and see them instead with scorn. This is precisely the reason that you have, against your will, excelled so greatly in charming Alfred’s creations. Perhaps it has come time to reflect upon the manner in which you look upon others.

Effects

- You may paralyze an entity by glaring at it.

- You may freeze a paralyzed entity by continuing to glare at it.

- Entities that you glare at are more easily unnerved and susceptible to terror.

Shut up, Box. That’s a sore spot.

Realm of Eternal Frost

Ars Magna. A trump card far beyond your means, the bestowment of which has baffled every member of the pantheon that observed your ascension. Using this ability is ill advised. You lack the tranquility of mind to control it.

Effects

- Creates a domain imbued with the power of true ice.

- Provides an understanding of all natural disasters as defined by the system.

Though it sounded rather powerful, the skill’s description made little in the way of sense. All she effectively understood was that it was difficult to control. The rest, she dismissed as more of the goddess’ ramblings. She was tempted to test it immediately, but set the thought aside. There were more important matters at hand; her aesthetic had yet to be fully examined.

Taking a breath, she activated Corpus Imperium and ordered her body to change. There were no levers in the back of her mind, like there had been before. It was a more freeform process, and somehow, she just seemed to know all the various things that she could become. She had four main bodies, and could adjust the extent that each was represented. There was her current form, one closer to her lyrkrian form, one that was mostly humanoid, and one that caught her completely off guard.

Though she had taken only a single trait from the class, her bizarre childlike form was present alongside the others. And because it had become a part of her, she found herself with an understanding of why it had put her off.

Her irises had no pupils. They were completely empty. And the eyes resting upon her face were only two of the many scattered across her body. They were hidden beneath her skin, waiting to open the moment she gave the command. In a way, it almost reminded her of the frog, of the countless faces that dotted its tongue.

Shaking her head and purging the thought, she assumed the most lyrkrian shape. It wasn’t quite the same. Her front legs had become draconic claws, and her rear flippers turned to hooved legs. Her tail was three times as long, and lined with several sets of fins. She didn’t dislike it, but it took up far too much space and threw her proprioception for a loop. She was having trouble keeping track of all the different parts of her body, just as she had in her true form.

With another breath, she discarded as many of her monstrous traits as she could and turned as humanoid as she could. For the most part, her outward appearance was the same, with the only differences being the fins attached to her ankles and the massive tail that extended from her rear. Even at its smallest, it was well over two and a half meters long.

Lifting the appendage to her face, she tilted her head and slowly looked it over. It was certainly every bit as plump and beautiful as her mother’s, but she suspected that it would only get in the way. Sitting in a closed back chair would no longer be in the cards. In such a case, she would have to either let the fluffy brush dangle or keep it curled up behind her. Neither option was acceptable, one was rude, and the other extremely uncomfortable.

“Are you done yet?” asked Sylvia.

“For now,” responded the not-lyrkress. She was pleased to find that the reverberations were gone post-transformation. Her voice had returned to sounding as it always had. “I think I know what to name this class.”

“Oh, me too actually!” The fox stood up on her hind legs, placed her hands on her hips, and puffed up her chest with pride. “I’ve got a really nice one. It’s super cool and super cute at the same time. It’s not too long either!”

Claire picked up the fuzzy critter with her tail and scratched her chin. “Okay. Then you first.”

“Frosty Longmoose!”

Log Entry 6097

Vis Naturae 0x000064fc1a7400df has been designated Frosty Longmoose.

Claire could only blink as the process was suddenly completed. Instinctively, she knew that there was no turning back. Sylvia’s ridiculous suggestion had been etched directly into the system.

“Stupid fox.”

The insult was all she could manage as she brought a hand to her face and silently bid her own much better idea farewell.