Chaoter 152: Bardic Star Light

Lea got off the train, stretching and taking in the air of the farthest city from the capital. The city where there is electricity, anyway.

"Wow, the buildings here are very different...", she commented.

Most of the buildings here are entirely made of wood, since this is a plain with no mountains, and getting stone and marble is hard. Yet they still bear the distinctive architecture of Renlou's curved roofs, making the houses look like temples.

"Things are getting out of control, huh.", a passenger spoke next to her. Likely an upper-class noble.

Lea nodded, looking at the wall of crimson trees trying to reach the sky in the West.

"May the Everflame bless and the Executor protect you.", she prayed.

"Executor?", he gave her a strange look.

"The Faceless Twilight, the God of Justice's other half, had awakened.", she spoke with reverence, "She who grants power to the weak, She who hunts evil in darkness, the Hunter of Evil, the Executor of the Wicked."

Nothing like self-promotion.

"Malediction of the Depth;

Silence in Judgement;

Wandering Terror of Twilight."

"Pray to Her Honorific Title, and wish for the justice you seek."

Self-promotion.

"Haha, that's interesting.", he laughed it off awkwardly.

No doubt he views me as a zealot... Lea thought, walking past him. She needed to find a secure location to transform and head to Empire's Edge. With Veil and Cloak, she headed into an empty alley near the station. Darkness flooded the area as her song began, a hum that came instinctively to her.

"Ouis Marei..."

Armor covered her body, melting her briefcase. Her arms, which were holding The Plage Garden, transformed into a ribcage to hold it. Then wings sprout from her back, her legs become avian limbs and talons.

This... isn't menacing enough. To fit more with the legends of the Boogeyman, with some minor tweaks.

The horseman of the night, who knocks on doors to check if children are asleep. Krari Lendi, Renlou's very own Boogeyman. Her lower half grew and sprouted two more legs.

The reaper told in the Three Rings' Bible, who wears a billowing hood that flows with the winds of death - Shayel the Death Watcher. Giving herself a hood that obscured her face. She grew two more arms, summoning her bow. To embody the light slayer Houyi. Stories and tales of hunters and reapers alike made her body. 

Until her appearance was no different from a monster of old.

With hersel conceal in darkness and lies, Lea walked out of the alleyway. Her form resembled a hooded winged centaur.

She looked through a window, not reflecting her appearance at all... figures.

But Lea can "see" her own appearance. It brings her a great sense of awe, but all...

She looked very similar to...

"The Lord of Abyssal Depth, or Forest Walker for short. Are you perhaps trying to imitate Them?", a boyish voice came from behind Lea.

She turned around. And immediately drew her bow, aiming at the first anomaly she saw fifty meters away. That book, that damn fucking Tome of Light.  A humanoid creature made of white feathers, spiralling to the left, sitting on a crate. Though a single rainbow eye was peering through the snow-white plumes. Yet nobody seemed to notice them, peacefully falling into sleep because of Lea herself.

"Alsara Hikaya the Starlight Tale of Destiny, Memory, and Melody, Second Seat of the Seven Wayfarers of the Abyss.", they spoke in that airy, whimsical tone, "That little Anomaly had given me the power of this world's Reflection of the First Seat."

A Star God carrying the power of Tales. Lea tensed up, slowly backing away.

"Relax, I am not here to harm you.", they chuckled, "I cannot harm you, that is my role as the Scribe for this world's epic."

"Uh... Bashie? What do I do now?", Lea whispered.

"You don't need to worry about them!!", the Jester answered cheerfully, "The Wayfarers can only record, they cannot do anything to anyone!! They are here to observe and watch!!"

Then they added, "It is actually safer now that a Wayfarer got hold of the Tome of Light!!"

So there is no need to worry... Lea sighed in relief.

"As the Jester said.", The Starlight Tale nodded, "By the Law of Tales, under the eternal watch of the Eyes Beyond the Veil, I can do nothing."

Great... it can hear my conversation. Lea rolled her eyes.

"Then why are you here?", she questioned.

"Simple, to inform that the power of this book...", their feathers strokes the spine of the Tome, "It is up for grab, as Sinclair had add a rule that anyone can use this book's power."

"Provided that they can handle the power of stories."

"Why tell me this?", she never let go of her suspicion.

The Starlight Tale paused for a moment, contemplating what they should say.

"Sooner or later, Sinclair will announce what you were told, in her own twisted way. Because that thing freely uses the power of Tales like a freeloader, I am just ruining her schedule.", they shrugged.

They spread their arms out, their form crumbling into soaring feathers around Lea. She looked on with amazement at this spectacular show of dazzling light, the power of a Cosmic Law's servant...

"And as a goodbye, I give you this plot-relevant note in the far future; be careful of those aligned with Heaven."

With that, The Starlight Tale was gone.

So, the Tome of Light can now be used by just about anyone... Lea thought. She looked around, seeing people sleeping soundly.

Though she could feel some people were dead from slipping away on dangerous objects or falling off horses...

She caused all of this. And taking on the role of a Star God, she couldn't care less.

=0=0=

"One of the most important rules for an actor is to not let the character consume you~", Sinclair smiled, flipping through the pages of the Tome.

She sat cross-legged atop a ruined building in Empire's Edge, watching the sun set over the plains, amidst the clashing of blades below. Around her, the air shimmered with faintly glowing pages - Sagas waiting to be claimed.

"You see, when you play a role too long, you forget where the character ends, and you begin.", she continued to no one in particular, "The mask becomes the face. The lie becomes truth. And suddenly, you can't remember who you were before you started pretending."

She turned a page, revealing blank parchment that slowly filled itself with words.

"Poor little Lea.", Sinclair's smile widened, though her lightless eyes held no warmth, "Playing Star God so convincingly that she's starting to believe it herself. Haser Pnimalom the Faceless Twilight, a name that is like John Doe to the Star Gods. What a wonderful character! So mysterious! So powerful!"

She giggled, the sound echoing wrong through the empty streets.

"But here's the thing about masks, wear one long enough, and when you finally try to take it off..."

Sinclair's smile turned sharp.

"You realize there's nothing underneath anymore. The actor died. Only the character remains."

She closed the Tome with a soft snap.

"I wonder when she'll notice? Or perhaps she had accepted it; masks can mean other versions of yourself, right?"

The Goddess of Stories wasn't here to just talk her mouth off, is she?

"Of course not! I may love hearing my voice to no end, but my ego isn't as big as Charlotte~!!", she talked to no one, "I'm here to find the Vessel."

The Vessel for the Admirer, a sacrifice for the return of a Star God.

"Statistically, it is near impossible for the person with the right combination of Attributes to be born. And it sucks that the Vessel cannot be a Pathstrider.", she shrugged.

And her plan to find the right person is quite despicable. Under this ruin was a cracked sword, stabbed into a rock. It was The Heavenly Slaughter, the Weakest Lord of Annihilation.

She had released it onto Empire's Edge. Letting a new owner seek it out. The swordsmen below her were all drawn to the whispers of the sword, driven mad in the hope of claiming it for themselves.

So, their blades clashed. Not knowing they were walking to their doom.

Half of this was for a fun game to pass the time. The other half was making use of the World's nature, forcing people who had yet to awaken their Attributes going through the Trials of the world, giving them back what they were supposed to have.

Soon, day turned to night.

Sinclair can feel The Faceless Twilight coming to Empire's Edge through another her, keeping a close tab on the false Star God.

And below, everything wrapped up nicely. With one singular bloodied swordsman standing, with several swords stabbed into his back. From observation, he was in his 30s, a pretty old age in this land of honor and murder.

"Now!", Sinclair spread her arms wide.

"Let us play a game, of Destiny and Despair!!"

=0=0=

It only took half a day for Lea to cross the land between Brigou and Empire's Edge, going in a straight line instead of the main road.

And she saw a village being raided by bandits; impure thoughts entered her mind. About slaughtering people, newly awakened Pathstriders testing out their powers, robbing the people...

And they have to be quick, because a patrol is coming.

With a hum in her throat, Lea walks calmly.

"I call upon the Hunter's Parade."

The story of a great storm came into her mind, of one that people close their doors and seal their windows in fear. When unnatural torch glow wanders through the streets and beastial howls, sweeping away all those unfortunate enough to stay outdoors.

Hunter's Parade, the Soulstorm that devours all in a forgotten age. A disaster no one could resist.

Winds shaped into ten wolves around Lea; their burning yellow eyes stare at the village being razed to the ground.

"Hunt those who attack the innocent, kill those who use their power for evil, feast on the impure.", she commanded the wolves.

The wolves howled.

Not a sound that mortal throats could make. These were the cries of storms given form, of disaster made flesh.

They surged forward. The first bandit didn't even see them coming. One moment he was laughing as he dragged a screaming woman from her home. The next, jaws made of wind and malice closed around his throat.

His scream cut off instantly as the wolf tore, spiritual teeth ripping through flesh and soul simultaneously. His body collapsed, but the wolf kept feeding, devouring the essence that made him human.

The others noticed very quickly.

"What the hell—!"

Another wolf leaped, its form rippling like heat waves. It crashed into three bandits at once, bowling them over. Yellow eyes blazed as it bit down on the first man's face. His features dissolved, flesh peeling away under ethereal fangs. He flailed, trying to push the creature off, but his hands passed through its body like smoke.

The wolf bit again. And again. Each bite taking more than flesh.

"Run! RUN!"

The bandits scattered, some dropping their weapons, others turning to fight. A newly awakened Pathstrider summoned fire, hurling a bolt at the nearest wolf.

The flames passed harmlessly through the spirit-beast. It didn't even pause, just continued its loping pursuit.

The Pathstrider tried to run, but the wolf was faster. It pounced, driving him to the ground. Jaws closed around his spine. The man's back arched in agony as the wolf pulled, extracting something invisible from his body.

His screams turned to gurgles become silence.

The remaining wolves fanned out through the village, hunting methodically. They ignored the cowering villagers, focused solely on those who'd come to harm.

A bandit tried hiding in a barn. A wolf walked through the wall as if it weren't there and found him.

Another attempted to flee on horseback. Two wolves gave chase, their wind-form bodies easily keeping pace. They leaped in tandem, one taking the rider, one the horse.

Within three minutes, it was over.

The wolves returned to Lea, their forms flickering, satisfied with the hunt. Wisps of stolen essence still clung to their muzzles, the souls of the wicked, consumed completely.

Lea stood at the village edge, watching smoke rise from burning homes. The patrol she'd sensed was still minutes away. The villagers huddled together, staring at the corpses of their attackers.

Bodies torn apart. Faces missing. Some reduced to empty husks, as if their insides had been scooped out.

One villager, braver than the rest, approached Lea cautiously.

"Who... what are you?"

Lea looked down at him through her hood, her monstrous form towering over them. She didn't say anything, just merely giving them a glance. Humming her song, as a whisper carried in the wind, coming to the people below. A lullaby that is both child-like and chilling...

"Hush now, child, and close your eyes,

The twilight falls where evil lies,

She walks the night on silent feet,

Through shadowed lanes and empty streets.

Knock-knock, tap-tap, at your door,

Have you been good? She's keeping score,

Tell the truth or tell a lie,

She'll know which one before you die.

Faceless watcher, twilight's bane,

Comes for those who cause the pain,

Golden eyes that see your sin,

Knows the darkness deep within.

Did you steal? Did you cheat?

Did you make the innocent weep?

Better pray and say goodnight,

Before She comes in fading light.

One, two, She's coming for you,

Three, four, lock the door,

Five, six, She knows your tricks,

Seven, eight, it's far too late,

Nine, ten, She'll come again.

Hush now, hush, don't make a sound,

The Twilight hunts on sacred ground,

Close your eyes and rest your head,

Tomorrow you'll wake... darkness behind."

Her eyeless gaze stared at them, and she vanished. Leaving the song stuck to their head in repeat, a never-ending loop in the back of their mind...

They all fell asleep under her curses.

...

Lea was far away enough for her power to wear out eventually, heading deeper into Empire's Edge.

"Thanks for the song, Bashie.", Lea smiled, talking to The Shapeless Comedy.

"That was a song I composed from your hums!!", the ring replied, "Congrats, you now have a theme song!!"

A theme song, huh...

Yes, the one who sang that was The Shapeless Comedy. Lea doesn't have the vocal training to do that, in body or mind.

But it had achieved its purpose; the World had acknowledged her as a god, yet not a true god yet. She could hear them now, the ring's Order had expanded... She could hear prayers directed at her, calling for justice all across Renlou. Chanting her Honorific Title, hoping for her blessing.

So Lea, using the newly found Order's power, sent them her curses, so they may be fearless.

Two-thirds of her ritual had finished.

She just needed to cause a large enough bloodshed for her infamy to grow... to the point nobody could ignore her.

Though Lea has a question.

Where is the Ego of the World?

=0=0=

"Finally!!", the black shadow slammed the board in front of it.

A puzzle consist of 420 moving pieces, two dots on opposite ends of each other. The rule was simple: create a path connecting both, but the path must consist of all pieces. 

Messtorrin stood behind it in their humanoid form, watching with her arms crossed, "Congratulations on passing the first trial to gain the Authority of the World."

She then clapped her hands happily.

Theia had spent 5 days trying to solve the first trial. Messtorrin had given the Other Ego of Earth the full instructions on how to get the Throne of the World. Just pass through a series of trials. That was what the Mist Lord did. Though it didn't set up another grand trial, that was why Messtorrin could take the Authority back in the Fog Wall. She was more angered by the lack of trials than losing her Authority.

"You just have to complete thirty-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine more, and I will be yours.", she stated, "The next trial should be easy for an Ego from a world built from corpses. You just have to match the sounds with the correct picture, as before; there is no time limit!"

The Endless Path of Pain is very enthusiastic about this whole ordeal.