The mont the final panel faded, Michael didn't linger long in the void.
He only spared the notifications a brief glance before moving imdiately. With a thought, he recalled his undead. One after another their presences vanished from the grey fog. But Michael didn't stop there. He also cleared traces of his presence in the void.
He didn't do this for any particularly deep reason. It was more like instinctively wiping down a table after a al.
After clearing any traces of himself and his undead from that layer, Michael didn't stay any longer. With a single step, space distorted around him and in the next mont he was gone.
Back in the material world, inside his ho, Michael reappeared quietly in the living room. The shift between realms was smooth. Lily and Aunt Mia were still asleep, though he expected them to wake soon since dawn was only a few hours away. The house was silent and unchanged, as if the chaos of the past few days had never reached this place.
Michael settled onto the couch and a small object appeared in his hand.
It was Jester. Or, to refer to his new race properly, a Veylith.
Michael lowered his gaze to the small mass resting in his palm. It no longer looked the way it had before. What sat in his hand was unmistakably a brain, yet not one that belonged to anything human. It was also smaller than a human brain, its surface smooth yet layered with intricate folds that seed too deliberate to be purely biological. There was a strange balance to it. A strange beauty as well.
Faint patterns traced across its surface. Michael recognized them imdiately as runes. A dull golden glow lingered along those markings, not bright enough to illuminate the room but just enough
to make them stand out against the pale, almost lifeless flesh.
Michael's eyes narrowed slightly as he observed it more closely. "...So this is Epic grade."
"If you weren't undead, your glow would probably light up the whole house," he muttered.
He closed his fingers slightly around it. The flesh responded faintly, shifting almost imperceptibly, as if acknowledging his presence. Then a calm voice echoed in his mind.
"Master."
Michael's gaze stilled. "Jester."
"How do you feel?" Michael asked. There were many things a panel could display, but only the individual themselves could truly understand their own condition.
Jester's voice remained as calm as ever. "Better, Master. Much better."
Then after a brief pause he added, "Your prowess are as expected, magnificent. To be able to possess abilities so divine before the heavens themselves... truly, this servant is fortunate beyond asure."
Michael stared at him. Then the lines appeared across his forehead.
"... Where did you learn flattery from?"
Jester answered without hesitation. "From the political dramas Lily watches with ."
Michael fell silent for a second. "You watch political dramas?" "Yes, Master."
"With Lily?"
"Yes, Master."
Michael felt that if he kept asking questions, he would only hear things he wasn't prepared for. In the end, he let it go. "Forget it," he muttered.
Jester naturally obeyed and shifted the topic back to himself. "My changes are significant. The first is mobility. At Rank 3, flight becos possible. I also have the ability to move through space, so unlike before where I needed to inhabit a body, my current state can be considered whole and self-sufficient. Though I have no intention of abandoning the body gifted to by Master."
Ignoring the last part, Michael nodded slightly. That much was
expected.
"The second is my senses," Jester continued. "My natural detection range is now eighty thousand tres."
That made Michael's brows rise.
Eighty thousand. That number was not small. Michael himself could reach that level if he deliberately stretched his senses, but his natural resting range was only fifty thousand tres. For Jester to exceed him there imdiately after evolving was enough to show just how abnormal the new race was.
"I also gained several new skills," Jester said. "Most are refinents of abilities I already possessed. Not entirely new in concept, but remolded into stronger and more complete forms. My weaknesses at this rank are few."
He paused before adding in an even tone, "As long as I am dealing with beings that possess a mind or so form of consciousness, aside from Master, there is likely no one at the sa rank who can stand against
."
Michael was genuinely impressed. Still, he said, "That sounds a bit arrogant."
"I am only stating what I perceive, Master," Jester replied. Michael didn't dismiss it. He believed there was truth in those words. But even so, he still found the claim sowhat excessive. A newly advanced creature declaring near invincibility within the sa rank was not sothing Michael could simply accept at face value.
What Michael failed to consider was that he himself was an anomaly, and he was still three levels below Jester within the sa rank. Considering that, perhaps Jester's words were not as exaggerated as they sounded.
Michael let that matter rest and shifted to what actually mattered most. At Rank 3, skills, senses, and mobility all played a role, but none
of them were the true dividing line. The real difference between a creature at this stage and one below it was the presence of a Law. That was the foundation. That was what truly made Rank 3 a higher
realm.
"And your Law?" Michael asked.
"...Law of Heavenly Revelation."
Michael's brows rose imdiately. For the first ti since Jester finished evolving, genuine surprise appeared clearly on his face.
"Heavenly Revelation?"
That was not what he had expected. It sounded grand. Too grand, even. More importantly, it did not sound like a Law tied purely to the mind. It sounded considerably broader than that.
Jester's voice remained calm. "Yes, Master. That is the na of my
Law."
Michael fell silent.
Law of Heavenly Revelation.
He couldn't help thinking of one particular skill panel that had
appeared earlier.
[Skill]: Profaned Fate Thread
[Description]: Allows the user to perceive and latch onto the threads of fate connected to a target. Once grasped, outcos are no longer rely observed but influenced. Minor events may shift subtly, while major outcos require ti, preparation, or sacrifice. Repeated interference carries risks of entanglent.
Michael couldn't help but wonder. Was Jester sohow drifting away from purely mind-related abilities?
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