Unbound-Chapter Nine Hundred And Eighty Three – 983

Path of the Auric (From Aurum Armory, Brightblade, Weapons Master, Lightshaper, Named Core [Sun’s Glory], Living Armory Title, Siege Fortress Title, Mithril Bulwark Title, Vessel Of Self Title, Tier VII Link To The Blue Eyed Fiend)

A unique Path, one steeped in both vibration and radiance in equal measure. Though crafted wholesale by the indomitable Wills of two blood kin, above all else it resonates with the choices and achievements of Gabrielle Nevarre. No longer does the sun mark your Path, but gold rises before you, illuminating the targets that stand in your way. Hold high your head and raise your weapon, for the dark will not yield lightly. Stride, warrior, and strike.

+200 Strength, Endurance, Vitality Per Level, +80% Growth To All Weapon Mastery Skills, +50% Growth To All Light Attuned Skills, -50% Cost To All Light Attuned Skills, Evolution Of All Tempered Skills, +50 Free Stats Per Level

She glanced over her Path again as everyone read it. The bonuses were extravagant, and by the shocked gasps that rattled through the others, it seemed they agreed.

“200 points per level?” Archie sputtered. “What the hell! How’s that fair?”

“I’m already level 174,” Gabby said, more than a little defensively. “Gaining more isn’t as easy as killing a few marauding monsters.”

Evie whistled. “174. I’m barely past a hundred. Damn impressive.”

Kevin was far more appreciative. “Were your other options this good?”

Gabby frowned. “Better.”

Archie clenched his teeth. “Better.”

“What?” Beef flicked the Delven in the ear. Archie cursed and swatted back. “Then why choose this one?”

Gabby opened her mouth but the words weren’t there. How could she explain? The two other Paths offered to her had been the Path of the Golden Eidhrin and Path of the Ouranic Titan. Both were adjustments of previous Path’s she’d been offered, before Felix’s aid, and while both were originally very good, they had become almost obscene. The bonuses were astronomical, the latter granting her a massive boost to all stats and her light attuned Skills, while the former gave her the ability to ensnare others with gleaming deception and bind them to her Will. Compared to them, the Path of the Auric was trash.

She had chosen it without hesitation. What Gabby sought wasn’t power or prestige, but freedom.

The other two Paths offered her power—for a price. They were gilded chains, built directly from her Divine Bargain, they would bind her closer than ever to the gods and their awful whims. Gabby had no interest in following where that led.

Her armor creaked around her clenched fists. I’d rather die.

Funny enough, it was that conviction itself that gave her the last Path. In the last minutes of her Omen Path, when she’d blasted away Imara’s influence and the connection to Felix was at its strongest, she’d earned a Title.

Title: Vessel of Self

Once chosen as the Vessel of the Pathless and then subjected to the Divine Bargain, you have broken free of Divine Will and stand beneath your own. You are Gabrielle Nevarre, chosen of yourself.

+Increase Resistance To Any Dominance Of Mind, Body, Or Spirit

“Increased Resistance” was vague, but it had put solid ground beneath Gabby’s feet for the first time in what felt like forever. Not only that, but it manifested as the Path of the Auric, and as the Omen Door disintegrated around them, she’d chosen it wholeheartedly.

Elowen smacked Beef and Archie both. “Stop being rude. She doesn’t have to answer any of your questions.”

“Hey! Dad?”

“Don’t look at me.” Wendell held up his scaled hands. “She’s not wrong.”

Beef sagged. “Sorry Gabby. Didn’t mean to be rude or anything.”

Archie was still rubbing his head. “Why’re you so strong? I thought you were a mage?”

“Perks of a Lost Race,” Elowen said with a grin. “Therans are damn strong.”

“All Delvens got was being sneaky,” Archie sighed. “Sorry.”

As reluctant as it was, the apology still surprised Gabby. “Thanks.” 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

“Pretty damn strong though,” Evie said. “That’ll be useful soon. We need more frontliners.”

The Risi Warriors, never too far away from the chainwielder, gave a hearty cheer. They had clubs, axes, and heavy hammers all made of black iron and ice that they beat against their chests or the ground.

“I figured the Frost Giants wouldn’t be too fond of a light attuned Unbound,” Gabby admitted.

“Them? Nah. They respect strength over everythin’ else. If you can lift a weapon and kill the enemy, the Warriors and Berserkers got your back.” Evie lowered her voice. “It’s the Witches you gotta watch out for. Tricksy folk, mainly. Thankfully they’re too afraid of Felix to do much else but glare at me.”

This tale has been pilfered from novelbuddy. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

A few of the enormous, white haired women floated further down the street. They seemed to travel in packs, at least five or six wherever they went, they moved on icy currents that froze patches of the road as they passed. It wasn’t quite flying, but it let them move fast—like a bunch of wraiths. They stared at them with heavy lidded eyes that sparked with strange Mana.

Gabby’s lips flattened into a line and the Witches’ eyes widened. Their Mana vanished and all of them scurried away down an alley.

Evie barked a laugh. “You are Felix’s sister, ain’tcha?”

“He learned everything from me.”

“Yeah, that tracks.”

Gabby couldn’t help but feel a rush of pride as the others complimented her Path. Even Archie’s sour jealousy turned grudging acceptance was a spot of brightness…one that dimmed the further she dwelled on things. Pride and momentary joy couldn’t erase the guilt that still clung to her—she wasn’t sure what could.

As much as she steered clear of the Divine Bargain, the Path of the Auric still held onto her legacy as the Vessel of the Pathless. Not directly maybe, but her attunement to the light element, her Named Core, even her impressive Skills all began with Him…and the Hierophant.

“What’s pissin’ you off?”

Gabby started, belatedly realizing that while the others had continued on with their conversations, Archie hadn’t. He stared at her from across the table, an odd dagger set against the chitin.

“What?”

“I recognize that look,” he said, spinning his dagger idly. “Been on the receiving end of it for months. But you say you’re different now, and I’m dumb enough to believe it.” He stopped the dagger. “So what’s got you twisted up?”

“I—” Gabby’s first instinct was to lie. It would be easier. Sharing her problems would only burden other people, and Felix was helping her just fine. Yet something in the set of Archie’s jaw made her question that logic. “The Pathless.”

He huffed a breath through his nose. “Why worry about the dead?”

“Just because he’s dead doesn’t mean the harm he inflicted is gone. He and Marzul were the ones who made me…what I became.”

Archie’s lip curled. “Imara.”

“Everything I am, from Race to Skills to Temperings were all chosen for me. Imara was in control…and I have no interest in becoming her ever again. My Path…it’s meant to be a new start, but—”

“It’s not as fresh as you’d like?”

Gabby blinked. “Exactly.”

“Starting over is harder than folks like to think.” Archie unsheathed his dagger. It gleamed, the edge shimmering with some sort of Mana as he made a jabbing motion. “You gotta cut yourself free, and it’s damn bloody.”

She rubbed at her neck, where she could almost feel Imara’s dark grip. “I know.”

“You’re strong. Crazy strong, really. Rat Ghost delved you for ten seconds. It only took three with me.” Archie rolled his eyes. “Don’t give me those pity eyes. My core space might be simple, but what I do isn’t exactly complicated. Point is, you’re walking a powerful Path. That’s good, even if you had to wade through some shit to get there.”

"I’ve done terrible things," Gabby admitted, looking around at everyone. They’d all stopped their conversations and she met their eyes despite the shame that burned in her belly. “As a Vessel, as Imara, I was a terror set against the Hierocracy’s enemies. I…murdered thousands. There’s not much I can ever do to atone for all that—but Imara is gone now. There’s just me, and all the consequences I didn’t choose.”

Gabby ran her hands through her air, pulling it out of its sensible bun. “I spent almost twenty two years as me, back on Earth, but less than two years here and I’ve lost sight of who I’m supposed to be. For all your complaints, Archie, you chose. You too, Evie. All of you did—but so much of what I am was pushed on me.”

Archie sighed. “You think you would have become a mage? Or a pickpocket?”

“I don't know. But I'd like to have the choice."

Archie laughed. It wasn't cruel, but it was bitter.

"None of us choose the life we got saddled with. Born to poor families, to rich ones, born with illness or good health—all of it’s a roll of the dice. Coming here to the Continent was the same. I picked Delven Race because the bonuses seemed good. Don't get me wrong, they definitely are, but that first day? I shrank three feet.” Archie shuddered. “It was an awful feeling, and it threw me off. Here I was, new world, new me, but I was already at a disadvantage. So I did what I knew: I started stealing and smuggling just to earn a roof over my head and steady meals.

“I made that choice. I could’ve tried any number of things—I didn’t know what Unbound were for a while, but I’d already figured out I learned Skills faster than anyone else. I made the choice to stay there and continue stealing, because it was easier. Safer.” Archie squeezed the hilt of his dagger. “I was afraid. I stayed afraid too, until Felix—and you—came around and destroyed that safety.

“Yeah, you might have got put on puppet strings with gods and Paragons, but when push came to shove you fought back. I’m not saying you're perfect. None of us are. Some things get pushed on us, or can’t be avoided, but even when things are the worst there is always a choice. Continue the same…or make a change.” He met her eyes. “So what are you gonna do?”

“I—” Gabby loosed a breath. “I’m gonna change. I already am.”

“Good.”

“Huh. First you apologize and now you’re comforting me.” Gabby smiled. “I could get used to this.”

Archie sheathed his dagger, and the sound echoed three times. “If you keep that scary Imara from taking the reins, I’ll be your best buddy.”

People laughed, a swell of amusement rippling the Spirits around her. Gabby took another breath. The ache inside her felt a bit less painful. Maybe.

"Archie's got a point," Evie said. "I didn't much like where I was when my sister died. But I found my way, and I did it. Step by step, choice by choice, with friends at my side. As long as you got us, you ain't got nothing to worry about."

"Is that what we are?" Gabby asked, looking around. "Friends?"

"Yes," Kevin said immediately. And Shadow nodded along. "Of course you're our friend. It's not your fault that you got godnapped, turned into an evil Vessel hellbent on our destruction. You're cool. And that thing you did with that big golden sword, that was rad."

"Right! I wanna see it again,” Evie said.

Beef nodded. “Yeah I barely got a view either! You should use it again."

Gabby spread her hands, gesturing to the wide, empty street. "I don't exactly have a good target for the Skill. I’m not about to destroy this city Felix just fixed up."

"Oh, I can make a target!" Beef stood up, his chair flinging backwards to clatter on the ground. “Watch this!”

A swell of energy surrounded the kid, ballooning across his arms like crackling green-brown heat haze. The Minotaur lifted a hand and with a bellow, thrust them forward.

“Beef!” Wendell shouted. “Careful! Watch out for—”

At the far end of the street, the cobbles exploded.