Chapter 398 (2/2)

The lavender haired woman pursed her lips, but said nothing. The figure, Aemont, nodded slowly. Then, he turned and looked at Randidly. “I…. sense you can be considered my family, even though I don’t remember clearly why. But yes, I remain because of you, and because of my resolution, that won’t let me rest. Perhaps…. it is best that I pass that onto you as well…”

Aemont straightened, his eyes becoming deeper and darker, filled with a wild hatred. “I feel in you a kindred spirit, boy. You have taken my emotions, then you took my techniques. Now, take my resolve. It is all I have left, but I feel like…. You too have the tenacity to seek its completion. Phantom of the Foreshadowed End.”

The form of the man dissipated, leaving only the sigil, that grew, and then became eclipsed with light. As it dispersed, what remained was the smallest of all the sigils created, but also the heaviest. Mrs. Hamilton felt it like a weight against her heart. Every beat was a struggle, as long as that sigil hung before them.

It was a dark, dense thing. It didn’t have much meaning, on its own, but it was like a promise. Or a seed. Or an egg, that would hatch the most vicious monster that Mrs. Hamilton could imagine, a thing of black limbs, cracked bones, and desperate teeth. Very slowly, it floated up and joined the larger Class.

The only change was that the light it was producing was a hair darker now than it had been in the past. But it was enough to give Mrs. Hamilton a sense of foreboding. Just… who was…. Aemont….? The fact that he carried that around with him, in his chest….

“The Aether is being depleted. Perhaps now…?” Octavius turned and looked at the darkness.

“Yes, I will go. I just… figured I would let the children act first,” A deep, amused voice sounded out, and a figure appeared above them, a face made of ash and lava, twisted into a lopsided grin. “I will name this boy too, as is my right.”

”You choose to name him...?” Octavius almost seemed amused, scratching his horn in a practiced motion, getting around the place where his ivory met his skin. ”These nice denizens of Cohort 7... and otherwise... seem to have a vested interest in his potential. I might-”

”Worry... not.” The huge face of ash said, its mouth stretching wide, and what appeared to be a car sized droplet of lava oozing from the corner of its strange mouth. ”He is not there yet.... but soon he will be chosen. And then he will have the potential to go even further...to take up the mantle...I have held for so long...”

Octavius' eyes widened. ”You mean-”

”For he is the Patron of the Fallen Earth.” The face said, and when he spoke, the rumble that went through the platform was not small. More than that though, the face began to vibrate too, shaking and stuttering, large, hot red cracks emerging in the face, lava oozing slowly outward from the wounds, dripping down and landing on the grey ivory with dull thwaps. Mrs. Hamilton pursed her lips as she watched. This thing... was one of the rare Patrons...?

There were of course people from Donnyton who had obtained Patrons, and went on the strange teleportation to the Patron’s world, where they were tested to see if they were worthy of the powers of the Patron. If she recalled correctly, there were three levels to Patronage, Initiate, Anointed, and Chosen. This Patron spoke of Randidly as though all he had yet to do was become Chosen, which would mean he was already Anointed... Mrs. Hamilton made a mental note to ask him about the process.

That boy went through so much...! The amount of knowledge she could probably gain about the methods of the System just by following him around was probably 10x the amount she learned in Donnyton, even with multiple experiments running.... Somewhat frustrating.

More than that though, this being seemed to be implying that what he was giving Randidly was the ability to move beyond simply being a Chosen, to the next level: being a Patron himself.

Even now, Mrs. Hamilton gritted her teeth as the shuddering rumbling grew more intense, so that if she didn't, her teeth would rattle right out of her mouth. More and more chunks of rock fell off the giant face, revealing a bright red molten core, but as that was exposed to the air, it cooled and darkened, then cracked and fell.

For the first time since Octavius arrived, Mrs. Hamilton sensed that he was truly shocked and worried. There seemed to be a sheen of sweat on his brow. ”Senior-”

”Nonsense.” At last, the central chunk of rock that had composed the face was revealed, hardened, and fell. From it, a stone form, shaped roughly like a human with large, clublike arms stood. Its body was brown-grey, and its mouth and eyes glowed with the red of molten rock. ”Among Patrons, I am rather young; I hailed from the 3rd Cohort. I was born as a treant, you know, before I became a Patron. And in this boy... I see the potential to die as one.”

'Titles...' Mrs. Hamilton thought, tapping her finger against her lip. '...Were important. The System designation...'

She considered how much Lyra had worsened after becoming a Village Spirit. It wasn't just power, it was information. Seeing behind the curtain of the System to the inner workings. But the power was not insignificant, either. It was enough to make Champions of men...

Finally, the vibrations ceased. A glittering rune floated in the air, larger than all that had come before, almost of a size of the Class rune that was originally made, albeit much more slender and basic. It was all burning reds and hard lines, a vicious thing, a desolate thing without any soft portions. Mrs. Hamilton, looking at that floating rune, was very dubious how much effect their addition to his Skill would ultimately be. Although they added some softness and understanding, everyone else seemed to add hard, brutal, unrelenting and unforgiving shapes and meanings. These would emphasize his stubbornness and foolhardy tendencies, not soften them.

How much could a Class change a person, Mrs. Hamilton wondered. How much could that boy be warped by this unyielding image…?