Chapter 73: The Abble Tree Root Cellar 2 – The Child of Light

  Without her words sounding too dramatic, Theo reeled from the statement. They made her a weapon of mass destruction? For what? And against who? Grace squeezed his hand and laughed.

  “Relax.”

  “Relax?” Theo shrugged, though he smiled through it. “While I can guess at what they did and how, will you tell me?”

  She nodded and looked forward.

  “Several months after arriving, or maybe a year—it was easy losing track of the days and weeks, never knowing how long I was locked in my room—when the current study group had finished their year there, the clerics started pulling me into the cellar. Down there, in the dark, they bound me to cold stone, naked and screaming. They beat the silence into me first, so I wouldn’t bother them when they started.

  “The first few times, they didn’t do much. They seemed to struggle with the equipment and getting it right, then they discussed the design of whatever they were trying to do on me. One day, though, they seemed to have got their shit together. Broken, beaten, and bruised, I lay there, watching them in silence. A needle, thick at the base but piercing sharp at the end, glowed in the High-Cleric’s hand. I remember thinking, ‘what a pretty light’. I don’t think I realised the needle was for me. And then…they stuck it into my side. It wasn’t deep, but the thing vibrated like crazy, shaking my body as it scratched away at my skin and muscle and veins.”

  Grace’s free hand moved across her stomach and slid underneath her shirt on Theo’s side. She lifted it, revealing her stomach and smooth, unblemished skin. She rubbed at the side of her upper hip.

  “It took them a week to finish the first engraving. Every day, they spent hours on me. Carving me up. Tearing me apart. All for nothing.”

  “For nothing?” Theo asked.

  “It doesn’t work. The engraved glyph, I mean. They were too sloppy, or I was too difficult to work with. They certainly let me think the latter. After their failed attempt, I was sent somewhere else—the church of the Magician.”

  “And that’s where you met Chaste.”

  Grace giggled. “I wouldn’t say met. He arrived a few weeks later, at the start of the study group. By then, I was already becoming what I am now.”

  She took his hand, detaching her own from it and guided it to her upper arm, just beneath the shoulder. “Here,” she said, then shifted and brought his hand to her other hip. “And here.”

  Theo’s fingers brushed the soft skin wherever she guided them, all the while he kept vulnerable eyes in his focus. Her lips were thin, halfway between smiling and nervous biting, and her cheek had a slight pink flush. Glistening like a sea under the clear moonlit sky, her eyes showed a willingness to continue, so he said nothing but let her guide him onward.

  She turned around, still with a light grasp of his hand as she spun—for a moment, Theo felt they were dancing—then she pulled one side of her shirt down her shoulder. She backed up to more easily place his hand on her upper back, above the right shoulder blade. “Last one here.”

  “They’re invisible,” said Theo.

  “Physical scars heal if you gain enough stats after they’re formed. There’s a smaller chance for scars to form when your stats are high enough.”

  “And when you cycle mana through them, they light up as if they were weaved?”

  “Yes.”

  “Can I…see?”

  She turned back around. His hand slipped, and he withdrew it, but she took it in her hand again and pulled him along.

  “The Church of the Magician was better prepared than the Voice of the Wind. By what I could piece together, their High-Cleric was the one leading the drive to learn the arts of engraving, with more churches gathered under her. I don’t know if I was the first, but I think I was the only one they had back then.”

  “The only victim, you mean?”

  “You’d be surprised what a young, vulnerable girl can be made to think if she’s devout enough. In the name of Arcana, I could withstand some pain to gain her favour. It was all for her—to be her soldier, her servant, her weapon. I believed I was chosen. I believed it for a long time. I still believed it when I met you. Even while I knew the clerics lied about their purpose, their reasoning, I still believed I was destined to serve her.”

  “And now?”

  She smiled a distant smile as she looked at a set of three Treens ahead. It wasn’t often they gathered in groups of over two. “My beliefs have shifted. I’m not at the centre of my beliefs anymore, nor is Arcana.”

  “So, what do you believe?”

  “At the centre, all I can see is you. At your side is a weapon and a shield—me and Arcana—an aegis to protect you so you can fulfil your purpose, and a sword to pierce through your opposition.”

  “Are you the weapon or the shield, then?”

  Grace flashed away, and an explosion blasted in the distance. Hollow thumps of wood crashed and cracked as debris hit the walls and floor. She appeared in front of him without an inch of exertion lining her face.

  “Isn’t that obvious?” she asked.

  “Not to me. I have no wish to be at the centre of anyone’s beliefs, particularly not religious ones, but I’ll humour you. I’d like to think of you as a shield more than a weapon. You’re strong, sure, but a shield can also be used offensively, and a sword defensively. Their difference is their purpose, and I don’t think you’re made for hurting anyone. If anything, I know you’d rather protect those you care about.”

  She fidgeted, her fingers rubbing each other as she stared at him. Then she grabbed his hand again, her lips showing a wide set of teeth behind them.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “That would mean Arcana’s the weapon, then.” She said it like it was a dare. He must be brave to call the goddess something as crude as a weapon.

  He chuckled, and they started walking again. “I suppose it would.”

  They ventured deeper into the dungeon, coming up on a cavern—an oddity down in the tunnels, but not unheard of—protected by no less than five Treens. Grace had never seen such a large group before, and their concerted efforts in protecting the small, underground grove proved much different from the previous battles.

  Two of the tree-men charged at her while the remaining three remained behind, two of them shooting their abbles at her from a distance while she fended off melee attackers. The last of them, standing just behind the two ranged attackers, seemed to do nothing at first, but then it seemed to shrink.

  Grace made quick work of the infantrees but stopped her advance to watch the events unfolding in front of her. She eyed the three trees, one shrinking while the other two grew. Their sizes jumped up another foot, and the thickness of their trunks expanded. Their arms grew thick and heavy and their abbles took on an increasing shade of green. The invading cleric had no trouble catching the greening projectiles that flew at her, storing them inside her magical space. Theo had no clue what skill she had to store the items she could store, but it included clothes and fruit, at least.

  The third Treen was gone in moments, having shared its body with its brethren trees. Their final form was unlike anything Theo or Grace had seen in the dungeon. Theo’s system activated when he stared at it, revealing the name of the new form of the dungeon creatures.

  Danger! Powerful Abble-bodied T(r)een!

  Theo sighed. It seemed they hadn’t grown more mature, as they were still teens, but now they were…‘able-bodied’ teens. This dungeon…

  “This dungeon run is turning out a bit weirder than I expected,” Grace said as she poofed away.

  Her blink step took her behind the two abble-flingers, their abbles now green as grass. One abble, already in mid-air as she disappeared, landed and rolled without so much as breaking its skin. It rolled over to Theo, and he picked it up, once more triggering the system.

  Item: Adolescent Abble-bodied T(r)een Abble (Green)

  As he expected, its name had changed, but it had been a while since he inspected the red ones. He was sure it ended in the colour red, though. Based on the name-change of the tree-men, the only difference was likely the colour and the ‘abble-bodied’ prefix.

  Despite their grander statures and more powerful-looking trunks, Grace had no issue shattering them into pieces of firewood while Theo was busy looking at abbles. When they were done fisticuffing, Theo made his approach as Grace harvested the remaining abbles. She saw Theo held one in his hands already, so she brought one up to her mouth while looking up at him.

  “Ready to taste?”

  Theo mimicked her, taking a big bite out of the green abble. The skin gave way in an instant, though the flesh of the fruit proved more resilient than its sister-variety. While Theo had issues swallowing the sheer amount of juice an ordinary red abble shot into his mouth with each bite, this one proved meatier and drier. It wasn’t as sweet; its taste leaning more towards tangy, though it was far from his violetberries.

  “This is great!” he said, smiling after chewing it to completion.

  “Not as good as the red ones, but some variety is always appreciated,” said the cleric. “Something’s up with the dungeon, though. It has escalated since picking up the acorn. We must’ve triggered a challenge run.”

  “That’s a thing?”

  “I wouldn’t have called it that otherwise, would I?” she grinned. “But it’s nothing I can’t handle. Let’s take a break here, though.”

  Theo eyed the cavern. Further back there was a small pond with still and clear water. When everything else was silent, he could hear the slight trickle dripping down the roots of the eastern wall. A beam of condensed sunlight shimmered atop the water, sending dancing reflections back at the wall on the opposite side.

  “You, needing a break? I doubt it,” he laughed.

  She rose from the pile of lumber and turned Theo to face the wall. “Don’t look.” As he opened his mouth to question her, Theo could hear her feet scurrying off towards the other side of the cavern, closer to the pond.

  He heard her shift around, but it all took seconds. Her soft voice rang again soon enough:

  “Before you turn around, promise to stay where you are. You wanted to see, but I never told you why it was a bad idea. It’s—”

  Theo turned.

  Grace’s brown hair flowed unchallenged down her bare back, covering her naked butt with its sheer length. She stood sideways, her hand covering the breast closest to Theo while her slim, feminine figure was revealed in its entirety, free from all clothing. Her skin was pale, though it played with the sunlight reflected from the water. Her flush was more apparent this way, though Theo struggled to raise his eyes from the beauty of her shape and curves.

  “Theo!” she shouted, moving one arm down to cover her sex. “Let me finish!”

  “You’re beautiful,” was all he said. He didn’t think it’d calm her, but her shoulders dropped at the sound of his voice. He’d never seen her look so vulnerable before.

  “You have to stay back when I light up, okay? Promise…”

  He nodded, still staring. Then, one after the other, patterns started lighting up all over her bare skin. Circles formed, some with smooth ridges, others with jagged edges. Stars, globes, triangles, all stealing Theo’s attention away from their holder. The lights started out white, maybe with a tinge of blue, but soon each glyph lighting up from beneath her skin glowed its own unique colour, from sunny yellow to warm orange all the way to cool blue and silvery white.

  A Grace-shaped being of light had taken her place. Her glittering illuminated the cavern, bathing it in blinding light, though her form was still clear to see. Theo gawked at the dozens of glyphs covering her entire body, from foot to thigh, to stomach, to chest.

  Grace twirled with light steps, her hair floating around her as she showed herself off. Her smile, almost hidden among the twinkling lights, widened as she looked at Theo admiring her nudity and pain-turned-beauty.

  Then Theo took a step toward her. Her smile dissipated, her teeth hiding behind her lips. Like a deer faced with a predator, she took a step back in fright. Theo stopped, sending her a questioning look. She turned her head sideways.

  “Don’t come near,” she said, and he remembered her saying that earlier.

  He wanted only to see. To touch. To comfort her, to make her realise she had nothing to worry about. He stepped again, and her voice wavered when she repeated herself. She wanted him to do all those things, didn’t she? So why tell him to stay away?

  “Theo, please…I don’t want to hurt you.”

  There was nothing that could stop him. He feared she’d think him a predator as he approached further, but she didn’t grow angry, nor frightened—her worry grew, though, and she took another step back.

  “You won’t. And I won’t hurt you,” he said, his mesmerised eyes flitting from her body to her face.

  “You don’t understand, if you’re near me, you’ll—”

  Theo felt a surge of warmth welling up inside him. The heat pulsed and expanded before it seemed to push against his skin from the inside. Theo looked down at his hands, finding them awash with bright light. For one moment he thought Grace’s light was doing something to him, but he recognised the sparkling from the previous day. His Divine Sense trait.

  “Theo?” Grace gasped, and he stepped closer. She was nearing the wall and had stopped her hesitant retreat. “You’re glowing again.”

  In a moment, his body was next to hers. He looked into her starry gaze as light reflected from her brown eyes. He saw himself in them, a white presence within a swatch of fluorescent shadows. Her mouth agape, she tried to speak as well as shove him away from her, but her hands were as weak as her breath.

  Theo could feel it then: pushing against him in waves was divine magic, more powerful than anything he’d felt before unless Arcana herself had been involved. The warmth from inside him pushed against the powerful energy, protecting him from whatever Grace was worried would happen to him. He took her hand in his while he placed his other on her waist.

  “You won’t hurt me,” he said, showing her a kind smile. “Thank you for showing me.”

  Tears welled up in her eyes, then ran down her cheeks. Each tear refracted the light sent from each of their bodies in another direction, enhancing the light show dancing around them.

  She leaned in with a sharp intake of air. She wrapped her hands around him, sobbing as she did, grateful for his being so close to her when she was at her most vulnerable. Her lips enveloped his.