David tore off a part of her shirt, making sure not reveal anything inappropriate, and wrapped it slightly above her injury on her right thigh, tearing off a part of Bob’s machinery to make a quick tourniquet and stop the bleeding.
“It should suffice for now, but I have to find a way to heal the poor girl.”
[We advise you to leave her here until you find a solution. We have a quest to complete.]
“Cold.”
[Our only concern is with your safety and happiness.]
“We can’t abandon someone who needs help, Syllena. This world is already harsh enough without everyone acting like lending help is some toxic behavior that would instantly put you in danger. It is important to treat others kindly.”
Syllena didn’t answer. David looked down at Sofya, his arms holding her in a bridal carry. He wasn’t gonna leave her alone in the complex when he had destroyed her bodyguard. He floated back toward the room right before the Levitar unit and softly laid down his current charge.
Outside the complex, the heat was still too high for the weakened Sofya. He could only hope she would survive until he found a way to heal and help her. Her thigh injury did seem to heal, very slowly, but it did heal, so maybe he just had to wait.
He had been extra slow to make sure he didn't just slam into a wall while holding her body. Approaching the pillar of black crystal, his hand carrying the sphere, he once again allowed his new body’s instinct to take over and activate the sphere, letting it float back on top of the pillar by itself and activating a new vision.
Once the sphere reached the pillars and got activated, the once flat bronze plate covering the wall in front of him started to fluctuate and ripple before morphing into a strange drawing. Just one bright star-like figure surrounded by thousands of small ship-like structures. David felt his mind get gripped and pulled harshly into the bronze-like plate.
The vision this time showed the “between”. He had seen the before, Prothea, and the after with the creation of the World System. And he still didn’t understand why the once peaceful Protheans had built war-bots on Zenthia.
At least he interpreted it as so. Because their Exodus wasn’t caused by any war, threats or necessity. Their planet was in good health, and their technology was great enough that finding their planet, hidden behind hundreds of security measures, was nearly impossible.
And yet they left. All because of The Call. A phenomenon that had caused every single Prothean to hear a voice calling them toward a certain point in the cosmos. The Protheans, perhaps the greatest scientists, thrived in discovering new technologies and knowledge.
For fifty years, they heard the call, and for fifty years, they tried everything to understand its nature. But nothing. Not a single hint to what it could be or where it came from. So they decided that enough was enough, they were called, so they would answer.
The vision started to bug out, showing quick images on the bronze plate he couldn’t understand; it seemed like some images had been erased, until it stabilized on a new one.
David saw them bring life to entire worlds. Offer a sample of their knowledge to all the races they met during their travels. Including on one certain blue planet. Earth. However, the race living on it was still so young, they had barely developed their own language, so the Protheans left a vault.
A vault where they would find the Protheans' scientific knowledge and philosophy of peace when they were ready. David would have loved more information about that.
Learning that aliens had visited Earth so long ago and left a vault full of marvelous technologies was both interesting and revealed where Vermillion Corp’s tech jump came from. They had to have discovered the Prothean’s vault.
The vision started to bug again, until it stabilized, showing an image of hundreds of Arks in front of what seemed to be the end. The actual end of the universe is a constantly expanding but finite “bubble of matter”.
The Call came from beyond. It had brought them here; if not for it, they would have never been able to find this place. The Protheans could hear it; the voice had never been louder, and the thing calling them was just there, just behind the limit.
One last push and their Arks would go beyond the limits of the known universe. Then…the vision seemed to freeze; it tried to morph into something, but it seemed unable to decide which shape to give it. Until it settled on a simple thing. A point.
David’s mind started to feel so attracted to this point. Until IT appeared. He saw the Color, not in the vision, but here, seemingly coming from the point in front of him. A vague tint of an impossible, never-before-seen green.
The Color. It was staring back. He couldn’t stop himself; he had to ask, his curiosity flaring so high that even if he knew his mind would inevitably be changed. He had to ask.
Because knowledge led to the Truth. He needed to know the Truth. And this being could offer it to him. He could have asked about anything, but he knew what the Color was waiting for.
“What…are…you? What happened..the protheans…me? Why me…?”
The Color answered in the only way David’s brain could understand, the only way it could, without shattering David’s mind. He saw a group of ants, who loved discovering things, living deep below the earth.
Until a voice called them to the surface. The ants travelled. Curious. To climb, they explored every nook and cranny of their world only to reach the end of it. Committing terrible acts against the other insects, at least it’s how David’s mind saw it. Science without moral limits.
Then they saw it. A crack in the earth that would allow them to get out. There, beyond their whole universe, they saw something so…so marvelous. Their home instantly forgotten, and then they saw what had called them, a human.
They talked, the human satisfying his curiosity of what was inside this little crack, so tiny, so weak that if he pushed as much as a finger, it would collapse on itself. In exchange, the ants were given knowledge: physics, chemistry, arithmetic, philosophy, etc.
Only to suddenly be brought back to their original home deep below the earth once the human’s curiosity was satisfied, doing them one last favor and bringing them back to their home. Unaware that the ants didn’t like it anymore.
[?!/SYS.§/.?./§§.???.//§]
[Analyzing..]
[Unit-123 has received a new name]
[A new trait has been added to your status]
[A grand truth has been revealed to you; you obtained a Title.]
David felt like his mind, which had until now been full of fog and smog, was cleansed. Purified of anything that wasn’t the truth, The Color had shown him. The poor Proethians had been turned into addicts, turned into beings that starved for discovery so much that they were unable to stop and ask themselves: should we?
They had to discover everything, no matter the cost or the price. To know even more, to be called again and allowed to gaze at the Truth and knowledge once more. And he also knew that he had received no answer from The Color about himself, not because the color didn’t know, but because this one vision had answered both questions.
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
David and the Protheans were ants, gazing at something they shouldn’t have. Trying to obtain knowledge that would ruin them. If The Color answered, David would be crushed. He was but an ant trying to accomplish something only a human could do.
He would go insane or die before he did anything worthwhile. He just had to get stronger and wait. Wait for the Truth to show itself. But he had to be strong enough to grasp it.
[Congratulations on completing your Class Quest : [Exodus], gained 2000 EXP]
[Your class is evolving. Please wait…]
[Class evolved from Technomage to Technomancer]
[Your skills are evolving]
[Obtaining a new skill : [Prothean Nano-Health-Bots] ]
[Technomancer] :
- Upgrade Raise Mag by 2 to 5 per Level Up
- Raise Charisma changed to Raise Sight by 10 per Level Up
- Upgrade [Basic Mana Manipulation] to [Advanced Mana Manipulation]
- Upgrade [Advanced Self-Modification] to [Expert Self-Modification]
[13 400 EXP used]
[LEVELED UP to LEVEL 11]
“Syllena, show me the changes given by my new name.”
[Name: Akhenamen Nimearos Harkhenna]
[Title: The Unseen Truth]
[Effect]: Your mind has been touched by a Concept well beyond perception and comprehension. It has forever changed you. You’re now permanently affected by the trait: Seen by The Color.
[Seen by The Color]: ?§!/!:?lq;§:!;;:!;error
[Effect]:
- Your Perception stat has evolved into Sight
- Raise your Sight by 10
- Raise your Mag by 10
- Your Sight grants you the ability to see the Truth of all beings, mortals or earthly gods.
“Open Status, fully.”
I hope everyone is enjoying this chapter. If you spot any mistake do not hesitate to tell me in the comments. My main language isn't english so I'm more than eager to increase my level and better myself. Same for the System's current "appearance" do not hesitate if you dislike it and want something more simple and maybe easier to read!
Have a great day!
PS : Just to reassure people, those massive stat sheets will be shortened by the next chapter with the introduction of what happens once a stat is maxed out. This will be the last time you get such a big character sheet for a while