Jake had been so damn distracted by everything else going on that he hadn’t even noticed Eversmile before he was right there. Sure, he had seen the figure approach, but his aura had been entirely hidden, and with so many other notable presences filling the hall, he had managed to blend in long enough to surprise Jake.
Yeah, this type of setting really wasn’t for Jake, throwing him off this game that much. And now this…
To say Jake was taken aback by the question would be an understatement. Especially when one considered who it came from. Eversmile wasn’t some insignificant figure, and Jake’s mind began to work at high speeds as he tried to give a non-commital answer. One that could hopefully give him at least some information to go off.
”Why are you asking?”
”Karma,” Eversmile simply answered. ”Now answer me.”
Jake really wanted to tell the guy – or girl, at this point, Jake had no idea what the fuck Eversmile was - to just fuck off, but felt like that wouldn’t be a good idea. Eversmile was just too eccentric and unpredictable. Plus, the true answer shouldn’t be that suspicious.
”From the Challenge Dungeon made by the Viper,” Jake answered honestly.
”Hm? That could explain some of it, I presume,” Eversmile said, seemingly deep in thought. ”But not all of it. If these boots are indeed connected to Vilastromoz, then it appears I will need to have a conversation with him.”
By now, Jake was getting really curious himself also as he took a chance. ”Why the curiosity? Is it that odd to see boots given to a Chosen with powerful connections to their Patron?”
”You are fully aware there is something with those boots far more complicated than merely a connection to your Patron,” the Primordial didn’t even try to entertain what Jake said. ”However, seeing as you have been cooperative and the fact the Malefic Viper would likely gladly share the details of our future conversation with you, I shall give you an explanation.”Jake felt the sound of fingers snapping… as the entire world around him seemed to twist and turn. He felt like the ground beneath him fell away, as everything was replaced with an empty space that made Jake feel as if he was deep under water.
The only two things that remained were Eversmile and Jake himself. Then, the strings appeared. Multi-colored threads spread out from Jake and Eversmile, countless of them, but soon they nearly all faded. However, a few strings still existed, and Jake saw them all connected to the boots on his feet. One of these threads led to Eversmile himself, while all the others simply disappeared into the vast emptiness of the space he was in.
”As you can see, there appears to be a powerful karmic connection between these boots and myself,” Eversmile said, motioning toward the thread connecting them. ”Despite that being the case, I cannot see any reason for why this would be… much less the cause of all these other threads.”
Jake, floating in the odd space, took a moment to really get his bearings. Things were seriously freaky, especially as he also felt the conference room all around him through his sphere, making it certain he hadn’t actually been transported anywhere. In the real world, he was just standing and staring into empty space while his mind and potential soul were taken somewhere entirely different. What made everything even worse was the distortion between these two things, as time seemed slowed in the real world while at the same time overly fast within this special state.
”What are these other karmic threads?” Jake asked, confused.
”This is the second conundrum,” the god pointed out as he reached out and touched one of the threads. ”I do not know. They are obscured… no, they make no sense in the first place. As if they are misplaced within both space and time, leading to something that once was or never came to be. Some of the threads I do recognize, though.”
Eversmile began walking through the odd space as he tapped a karmic thread. ”This one leads to the Malefic Viper. Unsurprising, based on what you said.”
Jake slowly nodded. Yeah, that made sense.
Tapping a second thread, Eversmile spoke again. ”And this… this is Valdemar.”
That… was weird?
A third thread was tabbed. ”Blightfather.”
Okay, definitely weird.
And a fourth. ”Holy Mother.”
Eversmile spoke as he just continued while walking a circle around Jake, tapping thread after thread.
”Wyrmgod.”
”Starseizing Titan.”
”Rigoria.”
”Yggdrasil.”
”Stormild.”
”Aeon.”
Before he reached the last thread.
”Daofather. All twelve Primordials connected to a single pair of boots through karmic threads. And to not misunderstand. These are not weak connections. They are firm, old, and seemingly without any good reason to exist, as I cannot read their history or origin.”
By now, Jake was more than a little confused as he tried to search his brain for an explanation as he blurted out a potential cause.
”These boots did once belong to the Viper himself, like, he used them while he was a mortal…” Jake said without thinking much.
”Another potential reason, perhaps,” Eversmile said as he thought deeply. ”The connection to the Malefic Viper does appear more unique in nature than the others, so perhaps… no…”
Jake felt sidelined as he also realized that this entire thing hadn’t been done by Eversmile simply out of the kindness of his heart or to help Jake. He had done it to try and make Jake spill more information, something that had definitely worked. Perhaps it was also done to spark Jake’s curiosity and to see if he truly didn’t know.
However, even with all that, Jake wasn’t going to say anything about the First Sage. That part he was not going to volunteer. Not just because that was private history between the Viper and his first master, but because Jake wasn’t sure what to do with the implications of it all if the First Sage was somehow the cause. Hopefully, he would get some answers when they would get their fateful meeting… Jake just needed a lot more profession levels first to make that happen.
”Alas, information is lacking, and the best course of action would be to simply question Vilastromoz,” Eversmile said after a bit.
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
”What’s the current working theory?” Jake ended up asking, not really expecting an answer.
”That, as you said, the boots once belonged to the Malefic Viper, and they were infused with further Records in the process of becoming an item in one of the Challenge Dungeons created so many eras ago, leading to some sort of mutation caused directly by the system simply because of how much time passed before they were claimed. Some form of mutation that linked the boots to the Records associated with being a Primordial, thus also naturally forming a karmic connection with all who carry those same Records,” Eversmile explained, surprising Jake a bit with his straightforwardness.
”However, this is highly improbable, just the best theory till more is known,” the Primordial finished off as he threw Jake a final glance. ”You have been of some assistance. Take this experience as a reward for your help. Oh, and I say this genuinely: congratulations on beating Yip of Yore on the All-Time Leaderboards. It’s both an achievement worth recognition and something that has certainly turned this entire situation with him and the Malefic Viper far more… interesting.”
With those words, the world around Jake collapsed again, as everything returned to normal in an instant. Jake found himself back in the hall entirely, standing alone with a glass in his hand, no sign of Eversmile anywhere.
”Ree?” Sylphie chirped, confused, as Jake looked around on instinct.
”It was-” Jake began as he stopped himself. ”Eh, the woman that was just there. The one I talked with.”
”Ree?” Sylphie asked, even more confused.
Jake just looked at the hawk with confusion before shaking his head. ”Never mind, I blame the alcohol. See, this is why you shouldn’t drink.”
”Ree!” Sylphie definitely agreed, having already learned about the horribleness of alcohol.
Smiling, Jake hid his thoughts as he considered what Sylphie had said. According to her, Jake had just been greeted by some woman who said congratulations before walking off into the crowd, with Sylphie seemingly finding the encounter so forgetful she couldn’t even remember how the woman looked.
This was really odd, considering they had both just seen Eversmile’s transformed form, and as C-grades, they both had near-perfect memories… yet when Jake also tried to recall the transformed Eversmile, he just saw the ”true” form of Eversmile instead.
… I really don’t want that dude as a straight-up enemy. That would be fucking terrifying, Jake thought. A shapeshifter with such skills could cause so much chaos without anyone even realizing it…
As Jake was deep in thought, he barely noticed when two people approached him.
Only when they were nearly upon him did he snap out of it and notice it was the princess from the Regalflight and the Disciple of the Heartsoul Daolord. Quite a few people noticed the two approaching Jake as if several expected something interesting to potentially happen. The Demon Prince even threw Jake a smile from across the hall as he raised a glass.
Soon enough, the two arrived, and Jake turned to meet them. The princess was at the front, and Jake felt her aura easily from this close. He could definitely see how she had gotten such a high placement on the Leaderboards. She was powerful, and she had also gained a lot of levels, as one had to remember she wasn’t a dragonkin, but a full-on dragon. Well, soon she would be… as a C-grade, she was still not fully mature yet, very much the same as Sylphie. Though if one looked at her humanoid form, Jake definitely wouldn’t describe her as immature.
”Greetings, Chosen of the Malefic One. I congratulate you on your exemplary performance within Nevermore and can only begin to imagine the wonders you will show us in the future,” the princess from the Regalflight said while doing a curtsey. Jake didn’t even know people in the multiverse really did curtseys…
The Disciple of the Heartsoul Daolord simply smiled and nodded, not saying anything. Jake didn’t take offense, though, as he responded with a nod of his own. ”Pleasure to meet you both, and let’s not pretend like the two of you didn’t also do pretty darn well.”
”Your words bring me honor,” the princess said with a smile. ”Allow me to properly introduce myself. I am Aishalstromoz Regalflight, daughter of the Dragon of Gold and Princess of the First Golden Palace. However, you are more than welcome to simply refer to me as Aisha, as my friends call me.”
Lots of stuff in that one... and hey, Jake knew who this Dragon of Gold was. Aurustromoz, the current leader of the Regalflight - the most powerful of all the dragonflights but also the fewest in number. Oh, and the eighth-place finisher on the All-Time Leaderboards, above even Ell’Hakan. To learn she was his daughter meant her father was an extremely powerful god, and from the looks of it, she was living up to her Lineage. As for all that stuff about the First Golden Palace and all that… yeah, Jake had no idea, but it sounded impressive.
Moreoever, Jake also kind of understood the implications of her requesting for him to call her something only friends usually do. Not that he particularly cared, as he wasn’t going to refer to her with some long title or her long name if he had an alternative.
”And you can also just call me Jake, Aisha,” Jake said politely… his answer apparently coming as a surprise for some bloody reason as the not-yet-fully-mature dragon blushed and turned her head slightly away…
”Al… alright, I shall… Jake…” Aisha said, stammering as she quickly worked to regain her composure and the volume at which she spoke his name would make even mice ask her to speak the hell up. The Disciple from the Dao Sect just smiled, seemingly finding the situation amusing as she still didn’t say anything, which… not gonna lie, Jake found kind of weird. Something Aisha likely noticed and jumped onto as it was a great change of topic.
”Please do not be offended. As the disciple of the Heartsoul Daolord, I am sure you can understand why she isn’t able to converse normally,” the dragon princess explained… which didn’t explain jack shit to Jake.
Luckily, Jake got an assist from Silverstorm, who had been observing their exchange and seemingly had an idea Jake didn’t know. ”The Heartsoul Daolord is a master of Willpower and making their will a reality. As the disciple of the Heartsoul Daolord, every word of hers is infused with the power to alter the world around her, making even a casual word effectively an attack. In fact, any way she communicates her intent toward the world will have such an effect.”
Jake listened intently… and he was pretty sure he remembered seeing something similar in a video game before the system, which instantly made Jake assume this Heartsoul Daolord was some old bearded man living on an icy mountain.
Anyway, Jake nodded in understanding as he looked at the Disciple. ”No worries, I wouldn’t want you to speak and push me back with unrelenting force by accident.”
The Disciple of the Daolord smiled and nodded, still not really communicating much. Actually, why wasn’t she just using telepathy? The Fallen King couldn’t speak, but he could still release his voice through soul magic stuff all around him, and as the Disciple of the Heartsoul Daolord, she should be able to do something similar. Soul was literally in the name.
Then again, Jake clearly had fuck-all idea how her Path worked, so he probably shouldn’t ask a question that would just make him appear ignorant. He already felt uncomfortable enough as things were with all the attention on him, and embarrassing himself definitely wouldn’t make things any better.
”Thank you for your understanding,” Aisha bowed her head slightly. ”Now… I will confess, I did not merely approach you to offer you my congratulations but for more personal reasons.”
Jake realized there was indeed something up, as he nevertheless didn’t say anything and inquired further. ”What could the princess of the Regalflight possibly need of me?”
She seemed a bit nervous as she spoke.
”I know you have had some interactions with both the Emberflight and the Azureflight, some of which haven’t been the most positive… and I just want to ensure that there is no lingering resentment or negative sentiment toward you and the Dragonflights,” she spoke, her volume a bit lower than usual.
”No worries. Truly,” Jake said, trying to sound reassuring. ”I’m not that petty as to be offended by something small. Besides, the guy from the Azureflight seemed to have learned his lesson directly from the Viper as far as I remember.”
”That he did,” Aisha nodded, looking solemn. ”It was an… unfortunate encounter. One we take full responsibility for.”
”Again, don’t worry,” Jake waved her off. ”I’m not going to hate an entire race or faction just because one of their members sucks. So relax. We just met, and thus far, you made a positive first impression, so let’s just say that balanced out all the prior negative encounters, and we’re back to neutral.”
He really didn’t want a bunch of dragon tribes to think Jake bore a grudge. He liked dragons. Dragons were cool, simple as that.
”I… that would be great,” Aisha smiled as Jake continued.
”Great, then from here, let’s create some positive encounters,” he said, with the intent to be polite and create positive relations with the Dragonflights.
”That is… if the Chosen wants, then…” the dragonkin princess suddenly blushed while hiding her face as the Disciple of the Heartsoul Daolord shook her head and elbowed the dragon in the side as if telling her to get her head out of the gutter.
Turning toward Jake, the Disciple of the Daolord smiled and bowed as she finally spoke. ”Let us meet again.”
Jake felt something odd shift in the air as the Disciple dragged away the dragon who looked like she was about to overheat with how red she was. Jake sighed internally as they left. That went well, I guess?