Chapter 411: Soul Recovery

I tried to follow the line as it bent into the earth, and I felt the stone grow denser, older, the world’s pressure pressing down on the line, and then the line simply ended, as if the carver had decided this was where the stroke should stop.

I gasped and pulled my perception back. The effort left me trembling, and I felt a fresh wave of pain ripple through my soul.

[Soul Integrity: 15% → 16%]

[Eldritch Perception: 11 → 14 (Initiate)]

I was a bit confused about what I was looking at, and I thought that I was looking at the stroke that dragged this mountain out of the earth. I instinctively grasped this knowledge as I looked at that line.

Is this the magic of the gods?

I opened my eyes, and the way I looked at the world kept changing; a new wave of excitement made me smile as I felt another Law Shard inside me resonate.

If magic was a way to control nature, I think the filter over my vision was now gone.

∞

I was tired of being on my knees for so long. My internal clock was shattered, but I think I had been in the same position for at least a month. Those things I saw... shapes that had an odd life and purpose; their touch still remained with me for so long.

Coming to my feet was harder than I thought, as it seemed as if my mind had forgotten how to control my body. This unexpected challenge was welcome, and I began to pour all my effort into getting back to my feet.

I made attempt after attempt. At first, I could barely move my fingers, then my entire arms, followed by my knees, and slowly, over the course of the day, I came to my feet; I smiled in victory before the hall tilted in my vision, and I found myself on my face.

Lying there with my cheek to the warm stone, I began to laugh at my present state. I had seen my body do ridiculous things that staggered my mind, but I could not even get to my feet.

You know, it was in moments like this that I appreciated the supreme irony of this world, and my place in it. I could see so many wonders, horrors, and madness, but some things did not change.

I was always out of my depth.

Anyways, it took me eleven attempts to get to my feet, and I cheered as if I had just won a major victory.

∞

Now that I was on my feet, my eyes immediately turned to the tablets on the shelf. I had endured a stupid amount of trauma just to gain access to this knowledge, and I hoped that it was worth whatever I would find inside.

I slowly walked to the shelf when I saw... no, heard footsteps approaching the hall; they were deep, as if the mountain itself was walking, and I knew that Dorrik was returning from wherever he had gone.

He entered the hall with something over his shoulder that had been an animal, but I did not recognize the creature; it resembled a deer, only its antlers were too long and glowing.

Dorrik stopped when he saw me on my feet with one hand flat against the wall, and he looked at me for a while.

"Hm," he said, "did not think you would be on your feet by now."

I nodded and chuckled, "It was more difficult than I expected, but I made it."

"Don’t be clever. You look as if you are going to die in the next ten seconds." He dumped the carcass by the forge. "Sit down before you fall down and make me feel responsible. I already feel guilty enough as it is."

I sat, and I was not ashamed that it was not entirely voluntary, and I watched the Stoneborn, whom I highly suspected was a god, butcher the animal.

His hands were extraordinary despite their size, those enormous granite fingers doing something delicate at speed, and while he worked he talked at me about nothing.

The state of the weather to the east, or that he suspected that a heavy storm was approaching from the south... meaningless conversations that felt meaningful, and I found myself nodding and smiling at his words. It reminded me of home.

He did not ask how I was; I think he stopped because he had worked out that the question made me lie. There were things I could not tell him, not until he told me the whole truth about who he was, but even then, there was too much I may not tell him... not yet.

∞

In what seemed like no time at all, a sumptuous smell was emerging from the pot in front of Dorrik. It almost felt as if he was skipping the process of cooking right in front of my eyes, and it was rather fascinating to watch because I could see many shadows of Dorrik working at the same time with my new sight.

Wow, is this the magic of the gods, or is it something that is unique to Dorrik?

When he was done, all his shadows converged into him, and he dropped a bowl of soup in front of me. It was one of the strangest foods I had ever had placed in front of me.

Well, it smelled great, but the thing was, it was glowing, and the arrangement of the meat and soup in the bowl made it look as if I was staring at a valley at night filled with many small mountains... the food was, dare I say it, beautiful.

I asked in amazement, "What is it?"

"It’s meat."

I stared at him, a bit annoyed, "Dorrik."

"It’s meat," he said. "It came from an animal that lives high up and eats the sort of moss that grows where the stone is thin, and it’s a long walk both ways, and I’ll thank you to eat it and not interrogate it. You should know that I don’t like leaving the ground and going so high up, and you have made me do that twice."

You don’t mess with the chef, so I took my spoon and ate the soup, feeling a bit upset that I was about to desecrate the work of art on my plate.

The first spoon that touched my tongue made something in me begin healing. It was as if my blood were filled with needles, and they were being dissolved.

I stopped being nice to my food and dug in like I was starving. A part of me began to worry that I was eating so well while with Dorrik; I worried I wouldn’t be able to enjoy anything else when I left here.

[Soul integrity: 16% → 22%]

22% → 27%

As I finished one bowl, Dorrik seemed ever ready to bring out the next bowl, and before long, I looked over, and there was nothing left.

[Soul integrity: 27% → 38% → 45%]

"Better," he said, while putting the dishes away. "You have stopped holding yourself as if you have a bad stomach."

I smiled and surged to my feet, feeling as if I had been reborn. "Thank you, Dorrik, I feel spectacular."

He looked at me as if he was looking at a freak. "Your soul injuries are still grave, and yet you are still so mobile... anyone else would be on the verge of madness. Elric, I am very curious to hear your story when you are of the right mind to tell me."