Indeed.
Frost knew ahead of ti that the explosion would occur, but she was not aware of how was supposed to happen. There wasn't a fine print, or a clause hidden within the Beholder Skill.
|| Reverberating String || simply did not work when interacting with the Whitelight Apparatus. She could only perceive the results, but not the events leading up to it.
She tapped one of the Rods of the Whitelight Apparatus and sighed, already perceiving another failure.
"I can't even tell what I'm going to do wrong. Yes, Joy? Are you curious about the ball? It looks like a sea urchin, doesn't it?"
"Gam…"
Joy carefully hovered her hands around Frost's stub, her face scrunching as she fought the urge to blow on it. She had tried it before and knew vaguely that blowing on a wound would make it feel better. But she also knew how much blowing on it stung, so she refrained.
She knew Frost could heal it in the blink of an eye. Still, Joy sympathized with Frost, and her face further drooped. If Frost wasn't so desensitized to pain, then she would have made the face.
"Sorry. I'll be more careful." Her hand returned, and she cupped Joy's cheek.
"Promise?" Joy barely managed to pronounce as she wrapped her pinky around Frost's.
"H-Hey, be careful with promises. I might end up reaping your soul if we break it."
"Gam!"
"Don't look so happy! Ahhh. What the hell, geez. Alright. Promise~"
"Does that automatically apply to any promise?" Jury was right to be cautious.
[Pinky Promise] was an Ability that echoed the concept of a faustian bargain. Essentially, it was a deal with the devil. Whether one fulfils that deal or not did not change that their soul was no longer theirs.
Frost shook her head, her bunny ears flailing.
"Thankfully, no. Can you imagine how inconvenient it'd be? I can't even assure anyone with a promise. It requires intention."
"Not that I would mind leaving my soul in your hands…" Jury trailed off, adding: "What about awareness? Consent?"
"As long as the other party agrees, then it's binding. The problem is that I can hide the implications. For example, I can word the consequences as a joke. I'm not a Demon. People won't believe I can take souls unless they are already aware of my identity. Plus, I don't look like a Blood Angel either."
"So that's how it works. I thought it was binding the mont you wrapped your pinky around another's." Jury hooked Frost's other pinky. "What were you trying to make?"
"A Module based on Act X. Opening my mouth was enough to sever my concentration. Keep Joy safe. I'm going to try it again."
"Malgam!"
"Here, Joy. Let's go for a dip in the hot springs. We can wait in there until Frost decides to join us."
A part of Frost wanted to argue Jury out of using the hot springs. Just the re ntion of it had already distracted her, and she could not remove the ntal image of a naked Jury sitting half-subrged in a spa.
She wouldn't have to imagine it for long. But if she wanted to join Jury there, then she needed to at least finish Act X's Module. Only then could she justify a break. Her bunny tail, which ford as a lump behind her coat, fluttered excitedly.
"It shouldn't be long. Trust . I got this." Frost winked and retrieved a Genesis Stone from a shelf. Once she placed it atop the Whitelight Apparatus, she refreshed their [Protection Wards] and returned to work.
She was ashad to admit that the thought of being pressed up against Jury's abs motivated her more than the notion of upgrading her Black Wings. Of course, she only had the bunny demi-human manifestation to bla.
Frost deeply exhaled and hovered one hand above the spiraling Gensis Stone. Just as she absolved herself from all distractions, a voice suddenly prodded her.
< Fun fact – You may be in heat. Congratulations! >
Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.
The Genesis Stone cracked.
The corner of her mouth twitched as a vein popped near her forehead monts before she was consud by an explosion.
* * *
It took four days before Frost made any progress with Act X's Module. The largest hurdle was figuring out what caused the fabric to tear. The smallest breath and the slightest movents were susceptible to severing her connection to the Whitelight Apparatus.
Frustratingly, staying still also produced an adverse result. She wracked her mind and scoured the recesses of her mories of the Celeste Star Fate. They played like the cycling lights of a kaleidoscope, yet nothing of interest stood out.
She had tried resolving herself to the flow of the strings. In another attempt she had tried to match her breathing with the ebbs of the fabric. Not long ago, she also tried to materialize her own string, only for those sa strings to rge with the ethereal strings that surrounded her.
In her latest attempt, however, she managed to hold her connection for fifteen minutes. It was by far the longest attempt of any of her interactions with the Whitelight Apparatus. In a fit of frustration, she allowed her anger to take over.
Blinding, red streaks of light were painted over the azure canvas. Blue strands burned black as blood blood through the fabric. Frost's mistake was succumbing to the concept of the Gift From a Star, when instead, she should have been focused on overriding it.
The mistake ca from how quickly she was being severed from the Whitelight Apparatus. It was in her best interest to stabilize it first before she could attempt to take over. But with this, she realized that she had to establish her presence.
And what better way and to convert the strings from blue to the color of her blood?
Thus, on the fifth day, when she painted the azure world red – weaving her strings and the worlds into a fabric of her own; imprinting her blood and will into the strings; and severing the excess – did she finally create an Aspect of Technology.
Red strings coated the Rods of the Whitelight Apparatus. Filling the gaps of the red spiderweb were blobs of coagulated blood. Veins grew from these pouches of blood and burrowed into the Genesis Stones. When they cracked, and as excess was chiseled away, it gave shape to a blue pendulum that was held by a rope made of three strands: black, gold and red.
This device was a Module.
Precognition Module
< Aspect of Technology | The Head >
< The vibrations are universal. Refer to the first instrunt that asured its existence >
< EFFECT: The wielder can peer five seconds into the future. Does not require direct line of sight >
For comparison, this was the Gravity Core Module:
Gravity Core Module
< Aspect of Technology | The Head >
< The power of a collapsing star held in the palm of a hand >
< EFFECT: Enables the manipulation of Quants of Gravity >
Modules also granted Quasi-Beholder Skills to Healers when they were surgically implanted. She imagined the Precognition Module would be the sa. And speaking of Beholder Skills–
< Additional Beholder Skills Gained >
|| Guillotine Superposition ||
< Termination and longevity co from the sa strand. Do they know that their suffering has already been predetermined? >
< CONDITIONAL: Only applies to targets with the [Sealed Fate – Commandnt] Condition >
< EFFECT: When a target possessing [Sealed Fate – Commandnt] is eliminated accordingly to their fates end, gain additional Stats. A strand connecting them to another fated individual may be gained >
< ADDITIONAL EFFECT: When a target possessing [Sealed Fate – Commandnt] survives beyond their death date, perishes early by your hands, or dies in the unintended thod, then the target gains [Broken Fate – Commandnt].
< COST: 1,000,000 NEX >
Broken Fate – Commandnt
< By your decree, reforge the frayed threads into a new type of String. Targets no longer produce [Vibrations]. The strands they produce carry the sa qualities >
|| Unstringed Prophecy ||
< Maybe it's not so bad after all. In the well we sit, hoping that the one strand cast down for us can support us all. The strand can only guide. It is ultimately up to us to follow it. The future isn't set in stone. Our life is plotted along a piece of fabric, after all >
< EFFECT: Beings may be attached to your Strings, whether unknowingly or willingly. Your Will propagates further through the Weft and the Warp. Your Will can offer Guidance to recipients through the Condition [Guidance of the Sovereign Star]. Gain Light for every individual carrying the Guidance of the Sovereign Star. Gain additional Light for those who develop Absolution or Crystalize an Ego >
< COST: Nil. Acts as a Passive Skill >
Guidance of the Sovereign Star
< An enigmatic Condition granted by a God of Cognition. Resembles the light of a distant Star to those beyond Elysia >
< It is, in essence, a Star Sign… I suppose? It implies that your Will has greater reach now! >
–Her Resonance with Marionette was paying its dividends early.
But there was more to unpack.
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