The Lone Wanderer-Chapter 228: Lotus of a Myriad Rivers
The lotus… a priceless treasure Percy had wanted since before he’d even learned of its existence. The only object he’d ever heard of capable of changing one’s affinity. And he’d gone through so much trouble to earn a petal from his family too, only for the opportunity to be ripped out of his hands at the very last moment.
‘It’s lucky I had a backup plan…’
Of course, this so-called ‘backup plan’ had only really become available over the past month. Before turning Rambert into a clone, Percy hadn’t known the man was due a petal from his family. Nor had he expected to need his help to take down Jason, for that matter. These had all been coincidences.
The only thing he’d wanted at the time, had been for Rambert to loot his family’s warehouse for him, to replenish his dwindling stash of elixirs. This was why he’d even settled in Bogside town in the first place. Suffice to say, getting this far had taken Percy a little longer than expected, since he’d wanted to wait for a Green host to maximize his odds. Sure, he could have made the attempt with Broose, but he’d needed the man’s soul for a different project at the time. And the enemy House had really taken their sweet time sending the next batch of Greens after them since then.
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“So, what are you going to do with it?” Nesha suddenly asked, breaking him out of his thoughts.
A good question. Had Percy obtained a petal a couple years ago, he would have consumed it without a moment’s hesitation. Even common elements were generally regarded as superior to the pure affinity, and Percy honestly needed any boost he could get. Then again, he hadn’t stopped finding new uses for his second core since he got it, his pure affinity now being as integral to his arsenal as his soul affinity.
“Losing Crystallization would be inconvenient. Same with Synchronization. But those aren’t dealbreakers by themselves.” he said, getting a nod back.
In theory, he didn’t need to personally produce the crystals for the Aurora Dew. Pure affinity users were all over the place, so it wouldn’t be that difficult to outsource the job. Sure, he’d have to look for somebody trustworthy, and to spend some time training them in the spell, but it would be dumber to ruin his future prospects just because of some minor inconvenience.
As for Synchronization, he would be able to use it again as soon as he opened up his new channels. Elaine had already proven it was possible. Sure, it would leave him weaker for a few months, but that was ultimately a small price to pay.
“But I’m not that keen on losing the Phantomscale Raiment, the Soul Harvester or the mana threads I’ve been working towards.” he added after a minute.
Percy had really struck gold with his affinity fusion – or at least the uses he’d found for it. And not because of the pure affinity itself, but rather all the external influences he’d been able to weave into his kit. Namely, the Vault’s runecrafting, and his spectral trait.
Obviously, the water affinity should be compatible with his soul mana too, but there was no way to tell if it would synergize as well with his other assets. The truth was, Percy had already made his mind up for months now. He wasn’t the one who would be eating it.
“Micky. Come over here. I’ve got something for you.”
The familiar was just about done devouring the corpses, the potent mana contained within their cores having done wonders for his situation. Listening to Percy, he walked over, curious to see what this was all about.
“Eat this. Direct the mana it releases towards your second core.” Percy said, handing him the glowing petal.
“Are you sure this is a good idea? Won’t Micky lose access to his spells, same as you?” Nesha asked.
“It’s not the same.” Percy shook his head.
It was a well-known fact that composite affinity users could still access their component elements with some effort. After all, the two mana types would continue to coexist within Micky’s core, as neither of them would be able to override the other – unlike what would have happened to Percy.
In fact, Percy knew a little more about the issue than most, as the Moirais’ books had actually mentioned it. Apparently, the process of breaking a composite affinity into its components was known as affinity fission. As the name implied, it was the polar opposite of affinity fusion, and it took about the same amount of effort.
“With some practice, Micky will be able to use his air magic again. Not to mention all the new doors it will open for him. In his case, there’s no dilemma whatsoever. This is a net upgrade.”
Nesha didn’t say anything else. The two just watched as the oversized crow gulped the glowing petal down. Micky sent Percy his thoughts and feelings too, to let him oversee the process. The first thing Percy sensed, was the refreshing feeling trickling down the bird’s throat. It was as if Micky had just drank a mouthful of the freshest, coolest water. The moment it splashed within the crow’s stomach, the petal dissolved almost immediately – as if it had never been solid to begin with.
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Following his earlier instructions, Micky then used his air mana as a carrier, guiding the dissolved petal into his abdomen, in a process reminiscent of core purification. It was only once the petal arrived at its destination that it stopped behaving like an elixir entirely, doing something completely different. Latching on the core’s walls, the substance soon began to seep through them, infecting the entire organ inside out. It wasn’t like a physical substance either. It felt almost like Micky’s core had been invaded by a brand-new idea.
‘Are core affinities ultimately just concepts?’ Percy couldn’t help but wonder.
While mortals like him often viewed magic in terms of elements and abilities, gods experienced the same things from a different perspective entirely. From what little he knew about them, the lofty deities standing at the pinnacle of magic didn’t differentiate themselves based on grades, or the colours of their cores, but the sheer number of concepts they had mastered. The blessings some mortals were lucky to inherit from their divine parents, were nothing more than concepts themselves.
Oblivious to Percy’s thoughts, the two concepts continued to fight for control over Micky’s core. His air affinity embodied excitement and freedom. It playfully jumped around the core, not particularly welcoming to its guest. Meanwhile, the water affinity moved more calmly, trying to chill the organ down, to make it more in line with its preferences.
The air affinity seemed to dominate at first – perhaps due to having the home advantage initially. Things appeared to turn around, however, once the rest of the dissolved petal was brought to the crow’s abdomen. The water affinity soon gained ground, only stopping once the two forces were evenly matched.
‘Now what’s going to happen?’ Percy’s heart skipped a beat at the sight.
Logically, he knew this was how things were supposed to go, though he couldn’t help but worry as he observed the two parties warring within his familiar’s body. If they continued at this rate, they’d rip the crow to shreds.
Fortunately, that didn’t happen. Unable to gain an advantage, the two affinities seemed to accept their fate a few minutes later, calming down. It appeared they would be sharing the core, after all.
‘No wonder the lotus is only compatible with other elemental affinities.’ Percy realized.
Had there been a rare affinity in there, he wasn’t sure the two concepts would have reached an equilibrium as easily. And let’s not even imagine what would have happened if Micky had already possessed a composite affinity. Throwing a third element into the mix would have easily been catastrophic.
“How are you feeling?” Nesha asked, apparently having also realized the process had come to an amicable conclusion.
“Like crap.” Micky spat. “My second core feels different. I can’t even pull any mana from it.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Percy said. “This is supposed to happen. You won’t be able to access it unless you open your new channels. Well, you can still pull the air mana through the old channels, but you’ll need to separate it from the rest first.”
“Wait, what? How am I going to use Regulation then?” Micky panicked.
“Just use Hibernation for now, to reduce your expenditure. I’ll feed you some of my fused mana until then.”
Suffice to say, Micky wasn’t very keen to lose access to his latest spell, though it couldn’t be helped. This was ultimately a good thing. Even if they ignored the new affinity itself, Circulation would grow a great deal stronger once the crow mastered the new patterns. After all, his second core would be connected to a whopping three sets of mana channels, letting him store a lot more mana inside his body.
In any case, Percy and Nesha had a lot more cleaning up to do before they left the area, but he couldn’t help opening his Status first, curious to see all the changes to both his and Micky’s pages.
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Percival Avalon
Mana cores:
Bloodline:
Mutations:
Spectral trait:
Spells:
Alchemic principles:
Decrees:
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Mictlantecuhtli (Percival's familiar)
Mana cores:
Mutations:
Spells:
Decrees:
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