22 Etorhma, Eater of Worlds (1/2)

”What kind of discomfort?”

Torix stood, ”You see, I learned to become a lich by pulling my soul from my body. I then grafted it onto the body of someone else. This disconnects me with the senses and needs of my old body, besides for those I maintain. Your soul is in the precise, opposite state. Instead of being disconnected with your body, you have molded your soul to your flesh and bones and blood.”

”With the arcane blood perk?”

”Partially, but also due to your armor. It’s a physical extension of an imprint of your soul. The corundum that Alfred created took the place of your own soul during the procedure that Baldag-Ruhl created. With the imprint of your soul he created with the mana pools energy, the corundum took the shape of your soul. It's not really your soul, but an extension of it.”

I frowned, ”Is that why it feels so natural for it to be on me?”

”Yes, and this is also why you can't remove it. For now. I will give you the task of making this extension yours, instead of the other way around. Normally, this would be impossible, but with your arcane blood, I have an idea.”

”Uhm...What kind of idea?”

”A simple one. We unsplit the rift between the armor and you. Only then will the armor bend to your will like your limbs. I imagine you’re wondering what this requires. See, I didn't quite understand either, until I met Althea. Her eldritch energy is deeply ingrained within her. It is half her soul. When I asked her how it was done, she gave me an answer.”

Torix glared at me as he continued, ”She learned how to use eldritch energy in place of her mana. Only then could she accept her other half. Your armor is 99% eldritch energy with your soul as its imprint. You must learn to manipulate eldritch mana as well. We will flood your body with the energy of eldritch then you will mold it into your own. Either that, or be consumed by it.”

I frowned, ”That definitely sounds like something uncomfortable.”

An evil laugh escaped Torix, ”Imagine sharing your mind with an Old One. That is what it will feel like.”

”An Old One?”

Torix dropped his evil necromancer act, ”You don't know what the Old Ones are?”

”No.”

He cupped his head in his bony fingers, ”Alright...A lesson is in order.”

After a minute or two of organizing notes and books, Torix cast a spell against a nearby colosseum wall. A layer of the stone fell from the wall, around an inch thick. Beneath it, a layer of polished marble lay underneath. Torix stuck out a finger, ”Althea. Come over here. You must learn of this as well.”

She reformed herself back to normal, walking over here with a surprising acceptance. An eagerness formed on her hard face, like she was hungry for this knowledge. I asked, ”You seem awfully cheery. Why?”

”Not everyone gets to learn from a thousand-year-old master. You should be grateful he gives us his time.”

Torix grinned before I turned to him. In all honesty, she was right. Torix giving us all this teaching, all this help, and all this time was surely a bother for him. Even if he was immortal, he had a ton of options for wasting the eternity he had left. With that in mind, I vowed to listen closer to what he said. Sure, a part of me squirmed at the sight of him, but I couldn’t deny that he was smart as fuck.

Once we settled down, a blue fire like the ones he had for eyes appeared on his finger tip. With an amazing deftness of his hand, he carved out notes as he spoke,

”The Old Ones are the beings that existed before Schema began assimilating our universe. They are often the sources of most unknown beings and are therefore viewed in a negative light. Humanity's existence is nigh meaningless in the grand scheme of the universe.”

His finger moved like it was fast forwarded in a video as he spoke, ”These old gods are chaotic embodiments of entropy. Beings older than the universe. They are undefinable things with the ability to warp this entire universe with nothing but a whim. They shift through time. They mold through space. You get the idea. Even Schema treats these beings with a wary touch.”

He tapped the marble, sending a ripple of green energy through it, ”If these things could pose problems for Schema, then that speaks volumes of how overwhelming these beings are for us. I believe this doctor of Althea's used an Old One for creating the eldritch half of her soul. I can't imagine it happening any other way. This doctor of yours wasn't a person who respected his life or common sense.”

Althea replied, ”No. He did not.”

Torix shrugged, ”In fact, the closest being I can fathom to an Old One, besides Schema of course, are the remnants. Neither of you know of their existence. Even if you did go through the tutorial, Schema would never mention them. They are the sentient race that created Schema. They existed before Schema did, and many are still alive to this day.”

I said, ”I still don't understand how we are going to get my armor under control.”

”I know a living remnant. He is...eccentric, but he will know how to mold your soul together. He will explain once he is here.”

Althea frowned, ”How long do we have?”

”Hmmmm...About four or five days. No too long, I imagine. I contacted him the moment I discovered these runes. He will find them very interesting.”

I stood, ”Alright then. He'll give me my next lesson on intergalactic shit I need to know, right?”

”A crude understanding, but correct. He will understand how to reuse this ritual for opening a portal to the eldritch. Your armor can only absorb but so much of the eldritch, and the rest will swell in your body. You will either learn to live with it, or be consumed by it. If you learn to exist with it, manipulating your armor should become normal.”

Althea said, ”You better live through it.”

I grinned, ”Correct me if I’m wrong, but that almost sounds like you care about me.”

”No. I want to make you suffer for what you’ve put me through. I can't do that to a floundering ball of meat, can I?”

I frowned, ”That's very comforting. Thank you for all your support.”

”No problem.”

As you could tell, I was surrounded by a bunch of sarcastic assholes. Leaving said assholes, I took several books that Torix handed to me before I went back to study mode. It took several more hours before I grew tired. I hadn't slept in a few days, so the exhaustion was long overdue. I ate a few of the rations that Torix had before I fell sleep in an unlit corridor.