The Claritree of Space (1/2)

Year 169

I believe the knowledge of the demons will help us significantly more in the long run, at least, more than saving the hero. Of course, these are not mutually exclusive choices, so I am left with trying to ‘extract’ the parasite, and providing it with a suitable ‘environment’ to continue its growth.

“We should tell them.” Edna said. “I think a bit of transparency will help.”

I stewed on the decision for days, and then I decided to go with Edna’s idea. I think I have natural ‘hermit’ tendencies, which have not always served me well. Perhaps Edna’s willingness for transparency would result in a better outcome.

“You have a parasite.” It was a fact.

“Yes I know.” Alvin rolled his eyes like he heard this a million times. Kei stood next to her friend. They were still friends, somehow, despite all the shit that happened between them.

“The parasite, I believe it has a mind, and it talks to me every time I touch it. As a result, I’ve been really careful when dealing with it.”

Both Kei and Alvin stared at each other, their jaws a little wide. I dropped a bomb. Kei immediately asked. “...is this why it’s taking so long?”

“Well, yes.” I answered.

Kei’s golem face looked like one of betrayal. “Aeon...”

“Now, I’m telling you this because I still intend to heal Alvin.”

“Then? Spill it. What’s really causing the delay?” Alvin accused.

“I’m hoping to extract it without killing it. This parasite may well hold the answer for how to open a gate to the demon world, and take the battle to their world.” I admitted it honestly. “I’m sick of letting this world be the playground of the gods, where they just stomp through and destroy everything. It’s time to take the battle to their world. That’s why I’m dealing with this carefully.”

“This is my life you are talking about.” Alvin accused, and I vaguely sensed some divine energies at work, as if it just glossed over what I said. “I’m not some experiment you can play with to win some bigger game.”

Kei was more understanding. “Aeon, dealing with a demon parasite doesn’t sound like a good idea. I highly doubt whatever a demon parasite says is trustworthy. It’s a demon, right, and in my world, demons only offer bad deals.”

Well. Yeah. That’s... true. It’s entirely possible that this parasite is lying to me and telling me crap.

I reviewed what it said so far, and clearly none of it betrayed its true intentions. The parasite always spoke of taking the battle back against the Slavers, but we, the natives, are just expendable. That was the sense I got after I reviewed my conversation with it.

After some thinking, I concluded I won’t sacrifice the hero to save this parasite. Yes, I agree that saving the hero is just repeating more of what has passed, but the demon’s trustworthiness is severely in doubt. At best, I should aim for an outcome where both survive.

“Yes. I’m aware of that, but I’m hoping for a mutually beneficial outcome. Alvin’s life comes first, and I will not hesitate to destroy the parasite.” I spoke to both of them. “But this is a rare opportunity to interrogate and understand the demons, and use their knowledge against them.”

Kei was deep in thought, her thoughts unmarred by any attempted divine influence. “Fine. But I want to be informed every step of the way. Alvin may not be able to think with the presence of the parasite in him.”

Alvin snorted. “Hey. I’m still here.”

“The parasite may influence you as it gets stronger.” Kei responded. “It’s pretty much the equivalent of a demonic possession. As you know, you can’t trust the words of someone you are about to exorcise.”

Alvin was horrified at the idea. “Ugh. Get it out. Now.”

“Unless death is certain.. Not yet. Not until we get more out of the parasite.” I responded.

Kei nodded. “I want to know what his condition is at all times, and would it be possible to quantify the parasite’s state? I’m afraid your attempts to ‘extract’ the parasite may accelerate that thing’s maturity.”

“That is a good point, but how do I... hmm... Wait. How about this, every time I try to do something, you enter the [biolab]. In my dream sleep state I can project what I see to you directly.”

This was essentially using Patreeck’s mind-attack abilities and memory injection abilities to bridge visions. Kei paused.

Alvin shook his head. “That makes both of us vulnerable!”

Kei thought... “Possible for you to project what you see, and what’s actually happening to Alvin’s body physically?”

“In the dream state... yes.”

“Alright.”

Alvin shook his head like this was the worst idea ever.

-

Meanwhile...

“How’ve you been, Arlisa?” Laufen tapped her head. They met up in Laufen’s home in one of the giant attendant trees in Freshka.

“I’m alright, grandmother. Have you seen mom around?” Arlisa sat in a rattan chair. There was a  pot of tea on the table.

“Yes,. She’s busy with your brother, and that golem girl.” Laufen nodded. “Have you forgot to speak to her recently?”

“...kinda.” Arlisa shrugged.

“Now what have you done?” Laufen sipped her fruit tea. Her role in the Valthorns have gradually reduced in the past few years, the social work she once championed gradually taken over by the Priests, and senior Valthorns that sought out less combat oriented roles. Still, she continued to work in the local social services.

“...nothing.”

Their eyes met, and Arlisa turned her head away. “Well, okay. Tell me about your adventures! I hear from the initiates that you’ve been really active on the whole dungeon stuff.”

Arlisa breathed a sigh of relief as her grandmother allowed her to change the subject. “Oh it’s tough.” Well, she was gifted, and finally she found some use for her natural talents for stealth, sneaking and tracking. But unlike Lausanne where her skills are augmented by a Court-level familiar, Arlisa only received an ordinary familiar, and her combat experience paled to Lausanne. Furthermore, she went on her adventures quite a distance from Freshka, where my ‘powerleveling’ and experience-related boosts are weaker.

It’s tough, and she’s in the mid level 50s. The fact that she had to apply for the regular adventurer slots along with her team, also meant she couldn’t do it as frequently. Still, she had fun. Her companions seemed like decent people, a few lizardpeople, a centaur and a gnoll.

She also didn’t get to fight the hybrid demons in the Rottedlands, as that task is usually reserved for the local militia, or the nearest Valthorn keeps.

Laufen just smiled at her explanations and her adventures. “That’s good. I’m happy for you.”

Arlisa shifted uncomfortably. “...really? Do... Do you think mom’s disappointed? Are you disappointed, granny?”

Laufen thought about it for a moment and sighed. “Your mom, I think she doesn’t know what to do with you. Maybe she had an idea, a hope that you’d be this exemplary individual, no matter what you chose. She was willing to accept whatever you would be, as long as she saw that you worked hard at it. I think she wasn’t prepared to see you just... do nothing.”

Arlisa sighed. “I knew it.”

“You feel that there’s a lot of expectations on you, don’t you?”

Arlisa nodded. She was a little bit sad. To hear that her mom was disappointed in her.

“That’s normal. Parents and their children are meant to be different.” Laufen tapped Arlisa on the shoulder. “It’s part of growth.”

“It doesn’t feel like growth though.”

Laufen just smiled and switched the topic. “One day, it’ll all make sense. Let’s not talk about such bitter stuff. Your brother’s cute.”

“Yeah.” Arlisa shifted awkwardly. “It’s weird that he’s my brother.”

Laufen laughed. “That happens with us elves, since we have such long lives that siblings can be entire generations apart. But in a few decades, it’ll be fine.”

Arlisa rolled her eyes. “A lot can happen in a few decades.”

“Exactly!”

-

What’s the point of extracting the demon parasite? I considered that the purpose of ‘saving’ the parasite is to have access to it’s repository of knowledge. As such, perhaps even if I did save it, I should not let it ever attain its maturity. In fact, if what I want is its knowledge, whether it remains a demon or not doesn’t matter.

Kei had a point that the demon was likely to lie. It had every incentive to, as I have its life in my metaphorical hands, so it would say anything and everything for me to keep it that way.

Yet, I am so starved of information on the mechanics of what’s happening in the background, that I know I can’t let go of this opportunity.

I thought about it and concluded that I needed to ‘unmake’ the demon parasite. Perhaps, in the same way with the demon walker, I needed to inject and overwhelm it with my mana such that it would ‘become’ one of mine.

I soon discussed the idea with Edna and my senior Valthorns, and then, brought the idea to Kei.

“So... wait. You plan to flood Alvin’s body with your mana, such that your mana overwrites’ it’s own mana? You can do that?” Kei was quite shocked by the idea. “I didn’t know it’s possible to take over a person by flooding it with mana!”

“I have never tested this ability on a person, only mindless demons thus far.” I had to first check whether the parasite had any mana in the first place. My checking soon revealed the answer to be yes. It has its own demonic mana, but it’s different. It’s a mix of demonic mana and star mana. Could my mana overwhelm it?

I... don’t know. I have never really been able to prove how [natural mana overwhelming] worked anyway. My understanding had been that my mana would take the place of the ‘blood’ that ran through the demonic flesh, and in doing so freeing the body from the control of the demons. Would it work if it has a soul?

No. As I studied it a little more, the parasite doesn’t have a soul. A soul should not be able to exist within the soul spring of another soul. It’s therefore more of an intelligent homunculus.

What would happen if my mana enters the parasite? The parasite has some mana-consumption ability, as demonstrated by its ability to consume star mana. What if I unintentionally sped up its development? Wouldn’t I indirectly kill Alvin that way?

Still, if I wanted to ‘save’ it, then converting it to a non-demonic form would be the only way I can trust it’s words. As it is, even if what it said is true, I could not trust it to take any action. If these knowledge is not actionable, what was the point?

Edna, Lumoof and a few of the high leveled Valthorns were present, just in case things went bad. My hope was Edna would step in and fight anything that occurred. I also had the entire area rigged with bombs if the parasite was significantly stronger than expected.

We prepared multiple biolab pods, all ready for the attempted mana flood. The idea was, flood Alvin’s body with my mana, and by extension, flood the parasite with my mana, and see whether it worked to ‘weaken’ or ‘convert’ it. If it goes bad we’ll stop. If it does go terribly, we’ll use my soul realm powers to forcefully extract the parasite from his soul.

If the conversion is successful, I’d have insights into how it ‘ate’ star mana, which hopefully I can then recreate the effect. After that, is figuring out how to effectively weaponise it as an anti-hero weapon, though this part is left unsaid.

I ensured all my potato batteries throughout the continent were fully charged, just in case I needed them. If this was a hybrid, I just had starcraft flashbacks that this was gonna be a lot more difficult.

“So, what if it doesn’t work?”

“I’ll destroy it.”

“What if you can’t?”

“I believe I can.” From my vines touching it, I was rather sure I could hurt it. I just wasn’t sure how it would respond to a flood of my mana.