Chapter 208: Ink and Erasure.
"Breakfast... You razed an entire mountain for breakfast? No, no, no... how do you even raze an entire mountain while still being a Warden?!" Arthur exclaimed, his shocked reaction shared by the rest.
"We have seen you fight before, but it was nothing like this..." Nurah muttered, "What kind of Aspects do you wield exactly?"
Nurah and Shia had seen a video of Jasmine partaking in an international mission with her father and some agency members... In the video, it showed Jasmine was summoning an army of Ink-based sculptures flooding down a nest.
Thus, they knew her powers allowed her to bring ink-based constructs to life after painting them on the scroll.
But this? A hundred-meter meteor? An ink manifested gateway? Nah... not in their wildest dreams did they expect her powers to have this much creative freedom.
Seeing everyone crowding her with eyes burning in intrigue, Jasmine told them to relax with her hands and then sent a holographic sentence.
-I command two Aspects... Ink and Erasure... Erasure allows me to turn any piece of land into a canvas for my creations... this Aspect connects me to our reality and gives me the key to shift it to my paintings or writings, using Ink Aspect.-
"Shift reality..."
Levi and the others were left stunned, their lips parted... they wanted to disapprove of what they heard, but the meteor scene was still playing in their minds.
’Ash’Kral, Elder, is she telling the truth? Do such Aspects exist?’ Levi asked the experts in his mind.
’Well... they used to exist.’ Ash’Kral replied, his tone solemn.
’Hmm? What do you mean?’ Levi frowned.
’It means those Aspects are part of the Ancestral Aspects that require a special type of bloodline to wield them... Just like you.’
Hearing this, Levi’s heart skipped a beat as he glanced at Jasmine, who was still explaining her powers with a patient smile to her friends.
Once she felt a little comfortable being around them, Jasmine slowly started to show her patient and gentle real persona.
A persona hidden behind that deathly expressionless appearance of hers.
’This... what kind of half-blood is she?’ Levi wondered.
He already knew that Aspects were split between bloodline-locked and free-for-all... They were formally referred to as Ancestral Aspects and Unbound Aspects by everyone in the dimensional network.
Ancestral Aspects were tied to ancient lineage, such as the Sunflame Aspect, which was wielded by Radians... It was not like a regular Fire Aspect, which was considered Unbound.
This made him understand that Jasmine was also linked to an ancient lineage.
’She is Half-Inkrith...’ The Titan answered.
’Who are they? And what happened to them?’ Levi knitted his eyebrows, recalling that Ash’Kral said her Aspects used to exist.
’All we know is that they have gone extinct a very, very long time... longer than we have been living... probably existing during the Age of Origins.’ Ash’Kral said.
’Their Lineage is so ancient... I doubt anyone knows of its existence anymore, besides a select few.’ The Titan added.
’Age of Origins...’ Levi murmured inwardly.
He didn’t bother asking Ash’Kral about it, knowing that he was going to ignore him... as for the Titan? His memories were too fragmentary to count as a reliable source for now.
Though Levi understood that Jasmine’s bloodline might be as divine as Radians’... or maybe, even more.
After all, they made it sound like the Inkrith were as old as the first days of the universe. For now, he lacked the necessary information to form a decent timeline, so he noted it and left it for later.
’But... how come her nightcrawler looks the same as her? It also seems to possess the ability to manipulate the two aspects.’ Levi wondered, switching his vision to the bridge of darkness, to gaze at Jasmine’s peculiar nightcrawler... N’ibby.
’That thing... I have no clue what it is, and how it came into existence.’ Ash’Kral said.
’...’
Levi didn’t expect such a response. He was too used to having Ash’Kral having all the answers, but being an asshole and keeping them to himself.
To hear him express his ignorance? On a nightcrawler at that? Him... who had spent his entire life researching nightcrawlers and had an unfathomable level of knowledge related to them.
It made him understand more than ever... Nightcrawlers weren’t a simple race in the slightest.
Sure, his first assumption was that Jasmine’s nightcrawler ancestors must have possessed an Inkrith in the Age of Origins.
But this would mean that nightcrawlers existed even in that distant era... and more so, how could her bloodline endure for so long, when nightcrawlers were known to have their purity easily diluted through constant merging with other species and races for survival?
Levi could accept either Jasmine’s bloodline surviving or her Nightcrawler... not both, and by some miracle, finding each other in this ever-expanding universe.
The math wasn’t mathing, as the odds of that happening were slim to none.
’Jasmine... the veil around you only thickens.’
In the end, Levi could only stare at Jasmine in silence, his brain failing to come up with an answer to explain such an enigma.
It seemed Ash’Kral was in the same boat as his eye never left her nightcrawler... many thoughts coursing through it, scourging through infinite possibilities.
Until... he found one possibility.
But Ash’Kral kept it to himself, for he knew that if it was right... the universe might just come to a halt.
’Pspsps, cutie... come, come.’
As Ash’Kral watched Jasmine’s nightcrawler N’ibby calling for him with a hand stretched like she was calling for a cat, he didn’t even seem annoyed.
Instead, he welcomed it with a wide grin.
’Those two will be vital in my grand scheme... Levi needs to impregnate Jasmine or something, anything to keep them on our side.’
If Levi were to hear Ash’Kral’s thoughts, he honestly wouldn’t know whether to curse or laugh... the f*cker wouldn’t hesitate to bring in anyone who had a shot at helping him fulfill his goal.
-Why so quiet? Have you given up already?- Jasmine signed at Levi, seeing that he had been absent-minded for a while.
Seeing this, Levi broke out of his daze and showed a faint smile, throwing everything to the back of his mind for now... he didn’t bother considering asking Jasmine about any of the things he had heard.
At least, not until he studied her from the shadows.
-Given up? It’s too soon to celebrate.-
Levi turned to Nurah and requested, "Do you have any information on another unaffiliated nest to the platform?"
"Plenty." Nurah teased, "Don’t tell me you still have hope to win this? Jasmine has obliterated the nest in less than thirty seconds."
"Ahh... just give it up, Levi." Shia shook her head while blowing a lollipop’s bubble gum, "Jasmine is at a Warden rank with Aspects I still fail to understand... clearing a nest as fast as her isn’t gonna happen with our current strength."
Even Jojo seemed to agree with her, knowing that they needed to kill hundreds of nightcrawlers in less than thirty seconds... with their current utilities, it didn’t seem feasible.
As for Jasmine? All of them had an inkling that she might have evolved using a couple of perfect evolutions, even if she hadn’t confirmed it.
Otherwise, such insane prowess couldn’t be explained under the structure of their Daywalkers’ system... unless she was a hidden Anomly-class talent.
"How can you lose faith in your captain?" Arthur sneered, "My big bro might not have evolved like us to Pathfinder rank. But, it doesn’t really matter."
"Oho? Why is that?"
Nurah and the rest showed teasing smiles, knowing that Arthur easily got offended when it came to Levi... Shit, they could curse him, and he wouldn’t react as heavily.
"He has unlocked a spiritual ability."
"..."
"..."
"..."
The moment everyone heard this, their teasing smiles froze... but Jasmine, unaware of what it meant, only blinked... her long black eyelashes fluttering in curiosity.
She had been away from the region during the assembly, and even if she hadn’t, she was never one to bother with news about it.
"Arthur..." Levi’s brow twitched... his big mouth at it again.
Although he didn’t tell him to keep his abilities a secret as he planned on showing them anyway... still.
"Cough, my bad."
Arthur swiftly sealed his mouth shut under Khu’zan’s helpless sigh in his mind.
"Levi, is that true? How strong is it?"
Shia, Nurah, and Jojo immediately crowded Levi, their eyes burning with the same intensity showered at Jasmine earlier.
They had longed for the day Levi would display his spiritual talents, knowing that as an Anomly classified talent, it was bound to be an unforgettable experience.
"I am about to find out as well."
Levi smiled as he jumped on Vyra. Nurah had already sent the new nest’s details to his Neuralens device.