Sitting in the cold, wet snow wasn’t an ideal way to sort out all the emotions raging through me. Mia’s presence did help, though. Eventually, just as day transitioned into night, I felt steady enough to stand and pull the silly cat up with me, holding her in my arms.
She grumbled at being moved, but then snuggled closer into me as I crossed the threshold of our tent. The difference in temperature was immediate. Warmth washed over us, seeping into my bones. It came with the unfortunate side effect of melting all the snow that had accumulated on us, but I took care of that with a single cleansing spell.
Something I found significantly harder to deal with was my mother’s sword. It was lying innocently on the bed where I had left it, still out of its sheath. After gingerly putting Mia down well away from it, I forced myself to grip the weapon once more.
Immediately, another jolt traveled up my arm. It didn’t have the same urgency or as pronounced an effect as before, nor was it accompanied by the voice of the Abyss, but my mind was still briefly tugged into the confines of the jewel that graced the sword’s pommel.
I bit back a gasp.
My mother’s letter was not the only thing hidden within the sword. The jewel was a dimensional storage pouch… and it was full.
My mind’s eye landed on veritable piles of stuff. Most of it wasn’t all that valuable or unusual, as far as I could tell. I saw random assortments of materials, supplies for alchemy and general crafting, piles of clothing, and even daily knickknacks that a travelling demon might need.
But some of the jewel’s contents were far more impressive. There was an entire library’s worth of books, piled on top of each other into a small tower. I could feel the mana rolling off the tomes, betraying their nature as something far beyond ordinary. Experience more tales on freewebnovel
Beside the library tower was a fancy coffee table. A particularly special book had been placed there, with a note attached to its cover. A soul crystal leaned against it.
I reflexively summoned the book, its note, and the soul to my hand. Just like the letter, they materialized in the air above the sword’s pommel and floated there, ready to be claimed. I collected them carefully as my mind’s eye continued to peruse the jewel’s contents, drifting to a large pile of objects beside the coffee table.
I froze.
Souls. A small mountain of them. I couldn’t count them at a glance, but a thread of awareness extended from my soul-bound weapon and fed me the number anyway.
Twenty thousand three hundred and seventy-two souls.
My eye twitched as frustration bubbled up within me. This whole time, I had been carting around a small fortune in souls. Even when scraping by to afford armor, which I only ended up getting thanks to Yules’ generosity, I was rich.
Though I still felt incapable of any mutinous thoughts towards the Abyss, I found a thread of vicious resentment twisting through my mind.
It was the laws of the Abyss that had prevented me from claiming my legacy earlier, not my mother or her sword. As far as the Abyss cared, I could have died never having seen that letter. Hell, Hayden did die. He was a definite part of me, but I suspected his mother would have preferred to pass on her legacy to a whole and mentally healthy son.
Reluctantly, I wrenched my eyes away from the pile of wealth and continued inspecting the jewel’s contents. What else had I been carrying around that could have saved my life from Mercutio and catapulted me into demonic prominence much sooner?
I just about choked on my anger when I spotted armor and weapons.
Most of the gear was either mundane or seemed to bear basic enchantments only, but a few items stood out from the crowd. There was a customized weapon rack displaying a single axe. The weapon phased in and out of reality every other second, taking on a ghostly hue. I saw an armor set crafted out of scales, the colors swirling and shifting constantly in a kaleidoscope not meant for a mortal mind. Another set of armor looked a bit like the special officer gear Glaustro had purchased for his meeting with Crewe. It radiated so much mana and malice that my mind recoiled.
Mia and I had attended the general’s gathering in our Lagyel armor, which Glaustro deemed impressive enough. Bronwynn, though, had been forced to purchase a show-off armor set. So had most of our captains.
With the bounty included in my sword’s storage jewel, I could have been one of the best-dressed people there!
That did make me wonder how far my mother had climbed up the Abyssal ranks before her untimely demise. More importantly, what could have killed a demoness as powerful as she apparently had been?
And when would her killer turn their attention onto me?
I didn’t bother wondering if it would happen. With my luck, it was all but guaranteed.
I tore my mind’s eye from within the jewel and started inspecting the three objects I had summoned. For several minutes, I fiddled with the soul and the book, working up the courage to look at the note. I only found the resolve to do it at all because Mia thumped her head into my back, offering up silent support in her own way.
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"Here," I sighed heavily. Without looking, I held out the creased and stained first letter to Mia. After a second, she relieved me of it, letting me lower my eyes to the second sample of my mother’s handwriting I had the pleasure of owning.
This is a foundational grimoire for the magic of our branch. Our family was always split between summoners and elemental mages, though our element was rather unique for the world we originated on.
The soul belongs to one of the few members of our family I managed to link up with, but failed to protect. They entrusted their soul to me, so that one of our family’s descendants might experience our family before its fall, through their memories. Treasure that, but do not hesitate to take advantage of their kindness. Their soul will let you get started on family magics far quicker than you could ever manage on your own.
If you still feel reluctant to use this soul, then I recommend you look up one of the books in your new collection. The tile is On the Nature of the Abyss, by The Third Wrath. You’ll find it easily enough.
I love you, Hayden, and I pray this knowledge can keep you a bit safer than you would be without it.
I didn’t choke up this time, but I did feel a flush of worry about proceeding too casually. All of a sudden, it didn’t seem right to treat the soul in my hands with anything less than the utmost respect. I felt an unexpected amount of kinship towards the soul’s owner, but I wasn’t sure I could rightly claim to be their blood-relative, not after undergoing ascension.
Did I have any right to this soul’s memories at all?
To be perfectly honest, I had no idea what to do. The soul beckoned with its promise of all the knowledge I had been denied as a child. The sheer idea that I might get to glimpse my, Hayden’s, world of origin, even if it was through the eyes of another, was compelling beyond belief.
At the same time, I wasn’t sure I could forgive myself if I gave in so easily.
Instead of tackling that moral dilemma right away, I decided to check out the grimoire my mother had put aside for me.
The book’s cover didn’t resemble leather or paper, or even wood. It sparkled like the most beautiful of gems, and touching it produced a cool, smooth sensation. The cover was a piece of art in its own right, covered in skilled carvings of magical creatures and silhouettes of mages casting spells. Engraved upon it were the words ’Hall Family Magics: Elemental Branch.’ Everything about the grimoire, from the cover’s material to the carved letters of the title, shimmered with tightly-wound mana.
When I finally moved to open the book, that mana reacted, jolting my fingers like a snapping hound. Then, just as quickly, it retreated, letting me handle the grimoire as I pleased. I had a strong feeling that if the mana hadn’t recognized me somehow, I would have lost the grimoire, at the very least.
I suppose that means I’m still a member of the family, demon or not.
That thought pleased me greatly.
The first page was just an introduction, but I devoured the text on it eagerly.
Our family’s foundation, young mage, was always built on two branches of magic: summoning and elemental casting. While our summoners are widely feared, it is our elemental mages who ensure the protection and enduring prosperity of our house. Don’t think our elemental magic weak, either! It is not as suited to war as some other forms, but it is a deadly tool in the hands of a skilled mage duelist. It is my hope that all of my descendants will learn from and add to this tome, so that our family’s might continues to grow. Crystal magic will always serve you well, so long as you dedicate yourself to it!
I felt my lips twisting into a bitter smile.
A bit late for that, I’m afraid.
My emotions dipped into murky territory at the thought of my treacherous family members. Melchom might have kickstarted the destruction of my family’s way of life, but all the other relatives who stood by and did nothing were just as responsible.
I resolved in that moment that I would make them pay somehow. No matter how long it took, there would come a day when Melchom would regret his actions.
Far more relevant to my present, however, was the type of elemental magic mentioned in the intro. Crystal was a subset of the earth element. I had no clear ideas of what it could do just yet, but I felt a tingle of excitement at the thought of getting my hands on magic that was uniquely mine. It also didn’t hurt that this element partly overlapped with Glaustro’s earth specialization, which meant I could run to my major for advice if I ever got stuck on something.
But before I could really begin exploring the promise the grimoire held, a racket reached me from outside the tent.
I had left the front of the tent open on purpose, seeing as its remarkable enchantments fully cut off all noise and access when it was properly sealed. Now my bit of forethought was paying off.
Mia and I both shot off the bed. The soul, note, and grimoire all vanished back into my new storage space as my hands closed around my sword. I was striding towards the tent’s entrance when the cat demoness briefly grabbed my arm, holding out my mother’s first letter to me. I accepted it gingerly, and it vanished into storage as well.
Mia’s eyes were stormy and full of some unidentifiable emotion. The short nod she gave me warned that we would be discussing things at length when we had the chance.
I both dreaded and looked forward to that moment.
For now, I just returned her nod, and we left the tent together.
The camp was in total disarray. Demons rushed about on every side, shouting and collecting their gear. If it weren’t for the joy roiling off everyone in sight, I would have been halfway to a panic attack.
Snaking my arm out, I snatched up one of the passing soldiers by the collar. He released an alarming strangled noise, but he was a demon. He’d walk it off.
"What in the world is going on, soldier? What is this ruckus?" I demanded in a tone I hoped was not unkind.
The demon flinched. Apparently, I’d put a bit too much menace into my performance.
"L-Locals!" he managed to wheeze out. "One of our guards spotted locals to the south!"
I looked at Mia, stunned.
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It was a massive disappointment to Glaustro that we hadn’t come across a single sentient or even living creature thus far. He had bet big on Wilhelmina’s choice of Breskwor. And while a young world was definitely significant, in the sense that we could actively influence the formation of unique materials, the lack of souls was a significant drawback.
But if the guard’s report was correct…
"Details?" I asked in a clipped tone as I started walking, the demon still dangling from my hand by his collar. I was only holding him a few inches off the ground, but a part of me still marveled at my ability to do that.
"Cardin caught sight of s-some kind of furred humanoids, sir. He didn’t get a clear look, and they retreated almost immediately, but they had tools, sir!"
In spite of his current situation, the demon’s voice was colored by excitement. To be fair, I felt the same emotion take root within me. Tools meant some level of intelligence, and intelligence meant much higher level souls, on average.
I felt a grin coming on as I strode towards where I knew Glaustro would probably be: the center of the commotion.
For once, things were looking up for us.