PreCursive

  From what Grey told me, we only had days before the main host of the Uprising would reach Silvercrest. We o get our individual projects finished by the time they reached us, or they would just get harder. Frey, Azarus and me, we might be able to draft and fe my new arm using Azarus’s mobile fe while traveling in a carriage. But we sure as hell wouldn’t be able to perform the surgery to graft it to my body and soul.

  With Honoka and Sylvia, I was told they would o get the Assion Ritual done now, or else they would just have to wait until they were in a major city again. Apparently, a major po of an Assion Rite was the usage of what they called an Isotion Chamber. From what I was told, these were specially prepared rooms that required exag stru. Supposedly, they were rooms that were created to block out all forms of external mystical energy and make Rituals more likely to succeed. You could perform an Assion without one, but it had a high ce of going wrong without one.

  To my surprise, I learhat the room in the Church where I’d had my failed Rite eion was an Isotion Chamber. Irospect, that made sense. Grey told me over breakfast the day that the Church en to letting others use the Chamber. For a modest fee, of course.

  During breakfast, I tried not to let the sight of Sylvia embarrass me. I think it was only thanks to my long ed Ag talent that was letting me keep a straight face. Sylvia herself was ag like nothing had happe all though, so I followed her lead and tried to treat her like normal. I mean, it’s not like anything important had happened.

  I’d only literally seen the shape of her soul, after all.

  Still, Grey and Honoka must have some kind of supernatural sense about this kind of thing. Grey kept shooting the two of us mildly puzzled looks, while Honoka was nearly gring at me over her pte of eggs and ham. I did my best not to pay her any mind.

  I didn’t see Azarus again until we had broken up into our own individual groups. Grey and I found him waiting for us in his tent, already w on the design for my arm. Sittio him on the desk he was hung over were two bars ht silver metal, shining in a familiar way. He barely aowledged us with a grunt wheepped into the tent.

  Grey and I decided to leave him to it, and got to work on the entment side of things.

  When I showed my mentor the brainst about the Sculpted entment structure I’d dohe ht, he was impressed.

  “These are some iing insights, Nathan,” Grey said, p over the hat I had brought with me. He looked up at me with a mildly puzzled look on his face when he was finished. “I must admit, I did not believe that yesterday roductive towards yoal. You seemed frustrated when we separated. Did you simply ime to collect your thoughts?”

  I coughed into my fist. “Yeah, something like that,” I said, with as straight of a face as I could manage. “Do you get where I’m going with this now? You think this is enough?”

  Grey’s gaze lingered on me for a moment, before he looked back down at my notes. He nodded slowly. “Yes, I do believe we have what we here are some observations about the Sculpted entment structure here that not even I had sidered before. With this…I see a path forward. Let us begin, shall we?”

  We got to work.

  Sylvia and Honoka fihe work on the design of the Assion Ritual that day. Grey and I had only just started to put together the framework of my new arm’s entment by that point. Aed Honoka barged into the tent midday, with a more posed Sylvia following along behind her.

  Grey and I looked up at their entraartled. We had beey deep into rune sketg, and had barely noticed the passage of time. Azarus didn’t even look up at all. He just kept his head down a w.

  Honoka didn’t care about the interruption. “We’re done! We have the design, and we have the materials. Get up. We’re getting this done now.”

  “Ah? Oh!” Grey said, standing up from his stool at the drafting table rapidly. He looked over at me. “Apologies, Nathan. We’ll have to tihis aime.”

  I bli him and shook my head, standing up myself. “No, no. I uand,” I paused for a moment, flig my eyes over towards Sylvia. She tilted her head curiously at me, causio hurriedly look back over at Grey and Honoka. “Is it all right…if I e along too?”

  Honoka narrowed her eyes at me.

  “Of course it is,” Grey said, curiously. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

  “Oh,” I said, gng at Honoka. “No reaso’s go then, yeah?”

  Before we could leave, Azarus finally spoke up, heless not looking up from his drafting. “grats.” I heard him float Sylvia’s way.

  Sylvia smiled slightly at the dwarf’s back. “Thank you, Azarus. We’ll leave you to your work.”

  Azarus grunted in reply.

  roup of four left the tent, Grey and Honoka leading the way into town. Meanwhile, Sylvia and I trailed behind the two of them in somewhat unfortable silence. I cleared my throat, desperate to break it. “So,” I said, gng at her. “Are you excited?”

  Sylvia hummed and nodded. “To a degree, yes. I’m…curious as to what it will feel like, having my own Ki. There are supposedly some other ges that will occur ohe Ritual is plete, but Honoka has told me they’re hard to put into words. She says that I’ll uand wheime es.”

  “Huh. Cool,” I said mely. Silence fell on us again, before Sylvia broke it this time.

  “Did…” She started, gng over at me. “Last night help any?”

  I flushed slightly, but nodded. “Yeah. It…did. I think Grey and I have it now. We just ime to finalize the runework.”

  “That’s good,” Sylvia said softly, eyes drifting away. “I’m gd I was able to help.”

  For the rest of the walk into Silvercrest, the sileweewo of us was more fortable. I rexed, only to be startled when Fade popped up out of nowhere before we reached the gate. He was gnawing on a bone, but fell into step with roup with no problem. He gave me a smug look wheiced my gnce.

  Whatever, you little glutton.

  We reached the Church before too long, and I stood back as Grey and Honoka approached Preceptor Josha. He looked startled and wary to see us again so soon, but brightened up at what the two elders were saying to him. He nodded, and then accepted a pouch of payment from Grey. Honoka turned around and waved Sylvia forward. My Sculpted friend excused herself, and followed Honoka into the ba where the Isotion Chamber where my Rite had failed. Grey walked back over to me, to my surprise. Oddly enough, Honoka accepted a rge bucket of what looked to be soap, water, and a sponge from Preceptor Josha.

  Wonder what that was about.

  “Not going in with them?” I asked Grey when he reached me as the two of us took a seat in one of the empty pews. Fade hopped up to sit with me, and began to lick his paws.

  Grey shook his head. “No, I have no p a Cultivator’s Assion Ritual. My presence alone would interfere with the needed energy ban the room. We’ll have to wait out here to greet Sylvia when it’s do should only be about an hour.”

  I o who my uanding, and then sat back to wait.

  Grey wasn’t wrong. A little over an hour ter, Honoka opehe door to the Isotion Chamber and stepped out with a proud grin on her face. Two things seeped out of the room with her, her of them Sylvia. The first was an almost visible wave of a deep green energy that flowed around her form in whorls and spirals. It dissipated into the air of the Church, just barely reag my waiting form.

  That must be Ki. I had no experieh it, not like I did with Mana. I may not have any of my own, but I was used t with the energy by now during my time as Grey’s appreo my senses, Mana was cool, pliable and eager. It wao be shaped to the user’s every desire. Ki felt like the opposite to me. It was hot with purpose, aubborn. I almost got the sehat the very energy itself wao challehe world around it.

  The sed thing that creeped out from around Honoka was an ungodly smell. I had no idea what it was, but it was almost like rotteal. It was as if I was smelling an intense bination of rust, spoiled oil, and choking coal. I doubled over in my seat, ping my nose closed with my one good hand. To my side, I saw Fade whine and cover his h his paws as well. Oddly enough, Grey seemed to be ued by the noxious st. He just seemed proud, for some reason.

  Grey looked at my hunched-over form and just ughed. “If you think this is bad, you should smell the Vitriol from Cultivators that aren’t Sculpted.” He shook his head, still ughing, and stood up just in time to see Sylvia walk out of the Isotion Chamber as well.

  Vitriol?

  I stood up to greet her as well, still ping my nose, only to stop in surprise.

  Sylvia looked…different.

  Small imperfes that I had noticed on her over the months looked like they had been…smoothed away. Her Mithril skin was smoother, small tool marks that had been nearly imperceptible before were simply go shone even brighter in the diffuse light of the church, cast from the stained gss windows. Her golden hair somehow looked to have somehow grown a few more than a few inches, for the first time since I’d met her.

  I didn’t think that ossible for Sculpted ‘hair’ to grow. How does that happen?

  But the biggest ge had to be with her stru itself. The nearly imperceptible small gaps in her face that allowed the ptes to articute against each other and form expressions were gohey had fused together to form a solid Mithril surface. However, it wasn’t immobile now. It just looked like a normal woman's faow, only posed of Mithril. I watched as Sylvia stared down at her own hands in wonder, flexing them and marveling at something. More and more, she looked like she was just a human woman with silver skin and golden hair.

  To my dismay, I thought she was even more beautiful now.

  The smell in the Church was starting to dissipate now, helped in part by Preceptor Josha waving around a sor of strongly smelling inse. He stopped when Sylvia stepped into the Church proper and made the sign of the Gyre. “Blessings be upon you, Cultivator.” He said, smiling.

  Sylvia ined her head at him. “Thank you, Preceptor.”

  God, even her voice was a little different. It was clearer, and it was like a note of metallic dissonance had disappeared. It was still silvery and chiming, but smoother somehow.

  Grey rapidly approached his daughter and ed her in a hug, which she returned. After a moment, they separated, Grey stepping back to hold her at arm's length. “Will you look at that,” He said in wonderment. He shook his head. “It’s always fasating to me, seeing the results of a Cultivator Assion Rite on a Sculpted. So few seem to go that route. Well done, my dear. Well done indeed.”

  “Hers went really well,” Honoka cut in before Sylvia could respond, approag the Father and Daughter. She had a beaming grin on her face as she cpped Sylvia on the back. “I haven’t dohis for many Sculpted, but I’m more than happy with the results.”

  “Thank you. Both for your help, Honoka,” Sylvia said, nodding at Honoka, before turning back to Grey. “And your support, Father. It was…an experience, I say that much.”

  I tentatively approached the small family unit. “So, how’s it feel to have your own Ki? Everything you expected?” I asked, half teasingly, half serious.

  Sylvia took my question more seriously than I expected. She turned her gaze up to look at the stained gss window on the far wall ptively. “It is…” She started slowly, before stopping. She took a deep breath, even though I knew she didn’t o.

  At least, I thought she didn’t.

  I swear that I felt a slight disturban the Aether around me, as if it was being drawn toward her.

  “They are correct,” Sylvia finally said. “I ot describe it in words.” She shook her head, smiling at me helplessly. “It will be different, but perhaps you will uand when your own time es, Nathan.”

  I nodded slowly in response. “I guess I will.”

  After that, roup left the Church. It was te enough that we weren’t getting any more work done on my own project, so after a brief celebratory dinner ba camp, we all went to sleep.

  Well, presumably Azarus went to sleep.

  Hopefully not at the drafting desk in Grey’s tent.

  Because the day, we finished my new arm.