Chapter 53: Making Waves (1/2)
”Javier, I have loved you since the day we met, but there is something I must confess.”
”What is it, Isabella? Our love is strong enough to withstand anything!”
”I....have been unfaithful.”
(Gasp)
”Who?! Tell me who!”
”I didn't know, I thought he was you!”
”You mean...”
(Door slams open)
”Yes! It was I, Ramon! Your twin brother!”
”How could you?!”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Selenica, Goddess of Gates, Travel, and Reincarnation was on the edge of her floating throne made of polished silver. Her gaze was focused on a screen hovering in midair, featuring a pair of identical and darkly handsome men staring daggers at each other.
As the show, ”Lies of my Heart” went to commercial, she couldn't help dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief she conjured into being.
”Earthlings always make the best shows. I hope that Javier forgives Isabella. They make such a cute couple.”
The sudden piercing wail of an alarm klaxon interrupted a balding man on the screen attempting to sell used cars for 'crazy' prices. Selenica was so startled she fell out of her throne.
She stood quickly, and blew an errant wisp of hair out of her face, before calling forth another screen. Long lines of data appeared and started scrolling. After a few seconds scanning the goddess frowned.
”A quasi-divine soul descended on Ea? I thought there weren't any Ascensions planned for this century.”
Another alarm started sounding, this one more shrill than the other. Selenica waved a hand to mute it in annoyance, while summoning another screen. Her eyes widened when she read the contents.
”Someone disrupted the cycle of reincarnation?! There shouldn't be any Tier 5 healers at all right now! Crap! Its going to take me ages to fix all these errors.”
An image of a goofy man with an unusual soul flashed into her mind, and with a sinking sensation she started hunting information on him.
Unfortunately for the her, his encounter with Fate had left him largely invisible to most forms of tracking, even for the goddess who had blessed him. However, she was able to pick up bits and pieces of his path through other sources, and it became increasingly evident that the man was at the center of whatever had occurred in Ea.
Somehow, in a matter of minutes, he managed to disrupt the complex network of souls that made up the cycle of reincarnation in this section of the multiverse. Ordinarily, the status of one soul wouldn't have made much of a difference, but the goddess had been slacking lately, letting a number of issues crop up.
Resolving them would have been a simple fix, but the disruption set off a chain reaction that would require a great deal of intense effort to solve. For the typically indolent goddess, it was the height of indignities.
Selenica's aura flared red, and she clenched a shaking fist. ”Michael Rasmussen, you blockhead! I'm going to get you for this. Just you wait!”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The Archmage was experimenting when the event occurred. His seniority in Mage's Guild had long ago precluded him from such menial tasks as teaching, so he had a wealth of time to be put towards his research.
He had been experimenting with a new form of magic he had discovered, almost by accident. The system had labeled it Technomancy, which defied both the conventional classification of magic skills and the Archmage's own understanding of the way magic worked.
As far as he could tell, this new skill could only be used in conjunction with devices of great complexity. He'd had some luck with a few of his more intricate magical designs, but he had not yet figured out the exact purpose of this magic.
When the quasi-divine soul descended, he was immediately sensed it.
”Ascension?!....No, it doesn't feel quite right.”
He had a sudden epiphany and sent a mental communication to his homunculus, who had been standing by in the Observatory ever since he had detected the strange surge of energy in the central continent.
[Yan! Power up the Observatory an initiate scanning procedure 132. I will be there shortly.]
[As you wish, Master.] Came the reply.
The Archmage cast a quick spell with an omitted chant, rose into the air, and started flying through the corridors of his tower. Various papers, furnishings, and a few slow-moving apprentices were scattered in his wake as he made his way to the top floor.
Another disturbance, thousands of kilometers away triggered the Archmage's senses, albeit to a much lesser degree.
[That felt like Tier 4 spell with almost enough power to push it into Tier 5. What's going on?]
[Master, there are readings of a high Tier 4 lightning composite elemental spell being used on the central continent near the city of Wyrport. For some reason I can't lock onto the origin.]
[Switch to manual scanning! There has to be-]