Chapter 164 – Legend of the Apex

Lilyth

Turns out that not eating for fifty-three hours makes you hungry, I thought as I devoured the fourth bowl of the delicious hot stew.

I was sprawled out on one of the couches in the upstairs salon, and the moment Aki pointed out the passage of time, all the hunger and exhaustion instantly caught up with me as if a switch was flipped, so with the rest of my strength, I dragged myself to the room and just face-dived onto the couch.

Aki then hurried off to grab Savri to give me a check-up, while Caei went to the kitchen to heat some food for me.

I immediately began to drift off, but Fluffy and Veenaya demanding my attention kept me awake well enough. Apparently, both of them were suffering from a scritch deficiency, a potentially fatal disorder that required swift aggressive treatment.

In the end, the five of us formed a bundle of warmth and love on the couch, me between my wives, Fluffy sitting on my head and Veenaya in Aki’s lap.

‘Sorry I made you worried again,’ I apologised after I set aside the bowl.

‘It’s okay,’ my blue-haired lioness smiled and hugged me tighter.. ‘Seeing what you made…’

Everyone was in awe of the staff. Personally, I wasn't sure what the hassle was about. Other than the minor flourishes I added, the staff was not much to look at, as I was never much for ornate bullshit, and the item reflected that. Still… there must have been something special about that staff that I wasn't seeing. When Sav came in to check in on me and afterwards went to see the staff, I could hear her whoop in excitement despite me being two floors above her.

Is it the apex part?

I was surprised Nyx didn't chime in there and then, but perhaps this one fell under that “no knowledge” rule. So… I had to admit my ignorance to my loved ones.

‘I am not sure we are on the same page here,’ I sighed to my wives. ‘It’s just a staff, isn't it?’

‘Oh no,’ Malika said as she and Savri entered the room. ‘No, it is not.’

Now that the mother and daughter duo were standing next to each other, I got my confirmation that Sav was changing. Their hair previously was the same shade of pink, but now the medic’s was noticeably lighter.

Sus.

Malika walked up to me and actually got on one knee.

‘Lilyth of Terra. Thank you for making such a wonderful gift for my daughter. If there is anything in my power that I can grant, just say a word and it will be yours.’

I just shook my head.

‘For starters… I would like a fucking explanation.’

‘You really have no idea, don’t you?’ Malika shook her head in disbelief. ‘Apex-grade items are insanely rare. Most people aren't even aware they actually exist and think they are just a legend. In my life, I have only seen one other - Zekuthran’s sword.’

‘Fire Arcana?’ I asked to confirm.

‘Yes,’ Malika nodded. ‘The scariest part is - in his hands, that Apex part is mostly useless. He is that powerful.’

‘So there are diminishing returns to magical amplification.’ I muttered. ‘Good to know. So what grades of items are there? Lesser, Normal, Greater and Apex?’

‘There is also the Grand grade between the last two. Wars have been waged over possession of Grand magical items since they are that powerful. Which should tell you how valuable the staff you made is and why its power will need to remain a secret.’

Lovely.

‘So… how much of an impact are we talking about here?’ I asked Sav, who just kept staring at her new toy.

‘I have no idea,’ she said with barely contained excitement. ‘There is no real way to test it.’

‘Could you use it to regenerate limbs?’ Aki asked while rubbing her metallic hand with the healthy one.

‘That is something I am unwilling to try,’ Sav replied to my blue-haired lioness’s dismay. ‘I would never use any of you as a test subject, especially since I am afraid to try it on myself.’

‘Too many things can go wrong?’ I asked.

‘Yes. There is a massive difference between healing cuts and growing new limbs. If it doesn't work… best case scenario… nothing happens.’

‘Worst case scenario, you end up with a misshapen non-limb?’

‘Yes. And… well… the prosthesis will likely be useless then.’

Aki’s eyes glistened with tears, and Caei hugged her.’

‘I’m sorry, Akster,’ Sav shook her head. ‘I wish I had a better answer for you.’

‘I know this isn’t the best solace,’ I began carefully, ‘but back on Earth, replacement limbs like the one you have… people would kill for one of those. I imagine most Dwynevians would too.’

‘It is fine,’ Aki said. ‘I guess I have to accept the fact that my hand is gone.’

‘Take your time, sweetie,’ Malika said. ‘It is not easy to accept that a piece of your body is gone.’

‘Yeah,’ Savri nodded and raised her left arm, which was made of silvery metal from the elbow down. ‘Everyone heals and grieves differently, and when I lost my left arm, it took me months to get over that. Now… I am so used to that piece of metal that it feels like I've always had it.’

Aki didn't seem that convinced, but it was what it was. Still,l I decided to change the subject.

‘So… I remember receiving electroshocks while working on the staff. What was that about?’

‘Oh, that was just Nyx trying to see if she can get to you,’ Savri answered.

‘Nyx was here?’ Caei asked. ‘When?’

Sav paled.

‘Shit,’ she said.

‘Ah,’ Malika laughed. ‘So she is your late-night visitor. I was wondering about that.’

Savri looked completely mortified.

‘I thought we were discreet,’ she squeaked.

‘Don’t worry, I only discovered it when I had to use the bathroom at night one time. And hey… I couldn't think of a better potential daughter-in-law than a goddess.’

‘So that explains the hair,’ I mused.

‘So it wasn't just me,’ Caei muttered.

‘You noticed?’ Sav asked.

‘Hard not to, darling,’ Malika remarked. ‘The changes aren’t exactly subtle. I was just unsure how to bring it up.’

‘Soo… umm… yes,’ Savri stammered out. ‘I may have taken some essence of Air so that I could visit Nyxie in her realm.’

‘Oh, cool!’ Aki exclaimed. ‘Happy you found some happiness with her, Sav!’

‘Yup,’ I agreed. ‘Nothing to be embarrassed about. Or hide it really. We aren't the straightest bunch if you haven't noticed.’

‘It is just… I wasn't… sure…’ Sav stammered. ‘And now… now I am. I think.’

‘Discovering that part of yourself takes time, Savvie,’ Malika smiled. ‘Take it one day at a time.’

Nyx chose that moment to silently pop up in the room and pounce-hug our poor medic friend.

‘Yay,’ she said with glee and pecked Sav on the cheek. ‘I didn't mind sneaking around, but being able to hang out with you and the lovebirds will be so much fun.’

‘It is a great weight off my chest,’ Sav admitted and French kissed Nyx.

‘Go, Sav!’ Caei cheered.

A few moments later, Malika excused herself to go and rejoin the trade negotiations, leaving the five of us alone. It was nice to see Nyx and Sav visibly relax and just sit there, embracing each other.

Maybe Malika was right about the daughter-in-law thing.

‘So, I am wondering,’ Aki began, ‘how far do you think Sav’s body changes will go?’

‘That’s… a good question,’ the medic nodded. ‘I was starting to wonder about that myself.’

Nyx tapped her chin with her finger.

‘You might develop occasional eye lightning and your hair will probably become a shade or two lighter still,’ she finally said. ‘This is about as far as it will go, though. You are not like grasshair over there.’

She pointed at me, and I responded with a one-fingered salute.

Nyx raised her hands in a conciliatory gesture.

‘All I am saying is that as a shapeshifter, you are more susceptible to magical alterations of the body. If you had taken as much Cloud Juice as I gave to Savvie, you would become an adorable furry version of me in like five minutes.’

Aki and Caeileera looked at me with wide smiles.

‘No!’ I began to protest, but I knew it was too late.

The image had been planted in their minds.

‘Which brings me to a thank you gift for making this wonderful staff for Sav,’ the goddess continued with a wicked smile and conjured a small vial.

It was filled with what could be best described as liquid thunder. A small cloud appeared beneath it and began flying towards me.

‘It’s my divine essence,’ Nyx explained. ‘The same stuff you got from Ere, sans selling your soul. It will allow you to manifest my powers.’

‘I sense a but,’ I mused as I took the vial into my hands and studied it.

‘Sorry, mine is spoken for,’ Nyx laughed, but immediately got serious moments later. ‘ This is a far more direct form of absorbing essence than what Ere did. She poured it into your soul, which allowed her to, I guess, modulate the process. I am nowhere near as skilled as she is with this stuff. So this is the next best thing I can do. As you will be taking the essence all at once, the immediate effects can be far more pronounced.’

‘I see,’ I said, shrugged, opened the vial and downed its contents in a single gulp.

The substance tasted like the most intense sparkling water I have ever drunk. I felt magic coursing through my body, though to my pleasant surprise, there was no pain associated with my slime being restructured. In fact, I felt more alive than ever. All my exhaustion vanished, and the world around me felt more vibrant. This was kinda ruined.

Race Changed from: Shadow Kitsune to Storm Kitsune

New Ability Unlocked: [Storm Form]

There was also a list of new purchasable activities there, that I dismissed for “later review”.

‘Awwww…’ Aki sighed dreamily. ‘You were right, Nyxie. That is adorable.’

With barely concealed laughter, Nyx summoned a mirror, and I got a good look at myself. As suspected, my fur was now white and made of cloud stuff, and my grass wisps turned into coloured tendrils of smoke emerging out of the main mass. My eyes remained green, but there were now occasional lightnings occasionally flashing in my sclera.

Lastly, shadow energy appears to have been purged from my body as all my tattoos were gone.

Gonna miss the cheek triangles. Still… is this the [Storm Form]?

The answer to that question was “No”, as the moment I thought about the ability, my eyes changed to electric blue, my hair changed colour to grey, began to buzz and and blue lightning began to flash through it.

I quickly disabled it and turned into my elf form to see how that would look.

I really look like Nyx, don’t I? I sighed to myself when I saw that I was now sporting the same cloudy pixie cut as she was, though mine still had those blue and orange tendrils of smoke.

The most interesting part was, however, that I didn't feel like my connection to magic was limited in my elf form. To test this, I cast [Flickering Lights] and the spell worked as intended.

Hmmm.

As being able to camouflage myself was still a valuable ability, I tried to “smother” the cloud, which, to my immense surprise, actually worked and, other than my fur being white and the grass wisps, I looked like a normal elf.

Interesting.

I “reignited” the power and then smothered it again to see if I had good control over it, and that the “cloud form” allowed me to cast spells if activated from the elf one and once again the answer was yes. As a final check, I shifted into the fox form and confirmed it worked identically.

‘Why isn't the basic angel/avatar stuff on my character sheet?’ I asked Nyx after I decided to remain as a cloud fox for a moment.

‘Divine embodiment doesn't neatly map onto the system framework,’ she explained. ‘You are basically changing your state of being. Like… what I gave you will let you manifest multiple abilities AND traits that will appear on your sheet once you can control them and use them outside of the Avatar form.’

‘Gotcha,’ I nodded as this roughly matched my understanding of the stuff I got from Ere.

Hey. It is also stuff that should be safe to play around with.

Remembering Nyx could do that, I summoned a fluffy cloud in the room, lowered it a bit and attempted to sit on it, only to fall through it and crash onto the floor.

Relatively safe, I thought as I massaged my painful ass.

‘There is a trick to that,’ Nyx laughed. ‘I’ll let you figure it out on your own.’

‘How long can I remain in this form?’ I followed up as I wasn't feeling the same mana drain as using Ere’s essence was causing.

‘You are running it in low-power mode. So your passive mana regen should let you maintain it for hours if not indefinitely. Do bear in mind that it only gives you a moderate boost to Air Arcana and lets you use some of my powers. You want stronger effects and abilities? Either assume the [Storm Form] or learn to manifest them outside of it.’

‘I know you probably don’t know the answer, but why does the I guess Death Form not work like that?’

‘Storms vary in strength. Death is death. Which is also why Ere suggested this as a good idea for you to use as training wheels for her powers.’

‘Are you okay with Ere making me ride you?’ I couldn't resist making the joke.

‘I walked into that one, didn't I?’ Nyx chuckled. ‘Though, given you can grow a dick, I think I would be the one riding you. If I weren't in a relationship that is. The only one I am interested in riding is Sav, but don’t tell her that.’

She gave us a conspiratorial wink and kissed her girlfriend.

As we sat there and either talked or just cuddled in our love pods, life felt just right. Eventually, we were joined by Bergia, Malika, Zaiven, Ren and Ireela. Apparently, Sav’s brother became very fond of Fluffy when I was working on the staff, as he almost immediately ran over to me, shouting:

‘Fwuffy!’

I put the slime down on the floor so that the kid could reach it. Zaiven hugged poor Fluffy as if he were a gooey plushie.

Who would have thought the kid would prefer him over Chirpy and Veenaya?

I looked at the nesumi, who looked very nonplussed due to the presence of his three least favourite people - Nyx, Sav and Fluffy. So the furry douchebag was nervously sitting on Ren’s lap, watching the room for any possible threats to his sense of superiority, be they real or, as usual, imagined.

Meanwhile, Bergia was just staring at Nyxie, mouth agape.

‘A-are you r-really…’ she tried to say.

‘Yes, Bergia of Dan-Hem,’ Nyx said in a comforting tone. ‘Don’t worry. I am here to just spend some time with my friends.’

Bergia was about to say something, but the short exchange drew Zaiven’s attention to the presence of Nyx.

‘Cloud Lady!’ he exclaimed and started to carefully approach her.

The goddess got on one knee and cooed:

‘Hey there, little one. My name is Nyx.’

‘I’m Zaiven!’ the kid replied, ran over to Nyx and hugged her.

The goddess reciprocated the embrace and then reached into her suit jacket. She took a pendant with a shiny white stone carved to look like a lizard.

‘That’s for you,’ she smiled. ‘It should keep you safe.’

Zaiven stared at the gift in awe and hugged Nyxie again.

‘Tank you, Miss Nyx,’ he said and ran off to show the gift to his mother.

‘Look, ma!’

Knees buckled under Malika when she examined the item using her interface.

‘Thank you,’ she said, barely keeping control over her voice.

‘No problem, Mal,’ Nyx beamed.

I later learned that the pendant was enchanted with the [Wind Ward] spell, making it detect fast-moving objects and slowing them down with gales of wind, so in simpler terms, it made it harder for Zaiven to be assassinated with arrows, bolts and bullets. It was a very high-level Air Arcana spell, and Nyx had the item made after she and Sav started dating.

You could easily see that even if Malika previously held some carefully hidden reservations about her daughter’s choice of a romantic partner, those were gone now. In fact, it looked like Nyx got herself a new follower at that moment.

The rest of the evening passed in a pleasant atmosphere, and after supper we all started to retire to our rooms. When I finally had some privacy with my wives, I was able to ask a question that was slowly starting to bother me.

‘Where’s Deirdee?’