ULTRAMagic Interlude BC - Chapter 39

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    “Hey, Blood?” Drusa said as she poked her head into his room. “What are you doing?”

    “Messing with my armor…” The bodysuit was changing properties in a calm manner. “Loose and baggy? Comfy, but I could see it getting caught on something. Tight and shiny? Neat looking, but I don’t know how I feel about it. Poofy? It’s an idea I need to sit on… Maybe I should just stick with form-fitting.”

    “Go with whatever feels the most comfortable I say. What happens when you get older and grow bigger though?”

    “Um… I don’t know. I guess I’ll go to Darkness and have it refitted?”

    Drusa stepped over and raised Blood-Wraith’s arm. “Fascinating. Who knew Eustorgio would create something this complex?”

    “But he didn’t make this?”

    “He did. You realize this is Darkness’ blood, right?”

    “Oh…” He took his arm back. “Well something neat I can do is inflate this with magic and float upwards. It’s not practical, but it’s definitely fun.”

    “You could also use it to break or cushion a fall. Trust me, me and my fellow goddesses would have loved to have something like during the battles of the Atlantean Civil War.”

    Blood-Wraith thought about it and nodded. “Huh, not a bad idea. Not sure how to test that…” He then puffed up the suit and fell down, bouncing a little. He laughed. “Okay, that’s fun.”

    “Fun is the catalyst of creativity, Blood,” Drusa pointed out.

    “You know, Vex said the exact same thing…”

    She laughed. “Well where do you think he got it from? Tiberius is very wise and we heeded his words to no end.”

    “Yeah… speaking of Vex and all that stuff, where is he?”

    “He went over to the guild to talk to Tiberius. What we found yesterday has him a little concerned.”

    “I see. Hey, Drusa? Can I ask about Vex really quickly?”

    “Sure, go ahead.”

    Blood-Wraith went over to his closet and pulled out something from a pile of clothes. It was the suit Vexation had used on him back in The Dark Grand Desert. “Why is he obsessed with suits like this?” He asked as he stretched it a few times. “Why not normal armor?”

    Drusa laughed again. “I don’t know honestly. It’s probably the influence of his studies. He tries to keep curses a secret, so that’s reflected in how he presents himself. He wants to conceal his identity and be able to slip into the shadows whenever he needs to. As to why he went with shiny and stretchy; function over form, I guess? Rich was always quirky like that.”

    “It feels so strange to wear…”

    “You’ve been wearing it casually?”

    “Uh… maybe…” Blood-Wraith felt a little embarrassed. “Anyways, It’s like it wasn’t meant for me” he remarked as went behind his closet door and put it on.

    Drusa studied the suit for a moment. The hood with the red X, glowing bands on the limbs, green outline of the abdominals, and the purple X object on his back prompted her to peer into the flow of time. “Intriguing. I’d dare say you’re right on that assertion, Blood. I’m curious to know how Rich stumbled across Teunis in the first place…”

    “Who’s Teunis?” Blood-Wraith asked as he took off the hood.

    “Well I can’t say too much, but what I can say is that he’ll join the guild in the far future and it will lead to you meeting someone very important to you… maybe on that last part. The Unlight is a little hard to read in regards to the Flow of Time.”

    Blood-Wraith thought about that as he looked at himself in the mirror. “Strange. Anyways, I kind of want a red and black suit at some point. I think red is my favorite color.”

    “Not a bad choice. Red is also Vita’s favorite color.”

    The two then went downstairs and took a seat in the living room. “Another question…” Blood-Wraith spoke. “Did Leif and the others ever get on Vex’s case for his behaviors?”

    “Only when he got out of line.”

    “I noticed that he’s a bit awkward, like he doesn’t know how to socialize at times.”

    Drusa nodded. “Yeah, that would make sense given that he spent a lot of time alone… God, I feel so bad for him.”

    After sitting down and watching some television, Blood-Wraith became curious. “Drusa? What do you stand for as a deity?”

    She was surprised by this question. “Well, truthfully I never fully applied my domains to my followers. We were more concerned with knowledge and exploring every nook and cranny of the universe for whatever we could learn.”

    “Can I be one of your followers?”

    “Of course you can! I’d love to have you as an acolyte. Come, we’ll head to my room and discuss this further.” Once there, Drusa sat Blood-Wraith down at her miniature shrine. “Alright, put your hand on the altar.”

    “Wait, you don’t mind me wearing this?”

    “Not at all. Rich made it and I’m not too picky about the attire of my followers. Truthfully I’m considering asking for his help designing new uniforms for them.”

    Blood-Wraith shrugged. “Alright then… like this?”

    “Perfect.”

    “Alright, so what next?”

    She put her hand on his. “Three, two, one… Evil spirits, be gone! May this boy see the light of the Source, no matter what shadows he must venture through!”

    There was a pause. “That’s it?”

    “Yes. You may remove your hand now.”

    He looked at his hand and wiggled his fingers. “Honestly this thing kind of reminds me of my true body.”

    “Well then keep wearing it. No one’s saying you can’t.”

    “You know what? I think I will… for now.” He focused for a second, causing all of the different colored parts to become red. “I do want to go ask him about it, however.”

    “Let’s go talk to Rich then. I’m sure he can make time for us.”

    After Blood-Wraith put on some casual clothes over his armor, the two were off. As they left the house, a bird’s screech could be heard. Looking up revealed it to be some kind of hawk entering the Singing Storm Tower. Blood-Wraith wondered whose it was, also hoping that it did not mean anything bad. After assuring the boy that everything was most likely okay, Drusa opened up a portal to the guild hall. The state of things were pretty much the same as before, with some progress having been made. Over at the tents were Vexation, Tiberius, and a blonde haired woman. She was tall, wearing armor, and had an aura of age and strength.

    “Hey, Rich! Tiberius!” Drusa called out. “How are things going?”

    “Hey, Drusa!” Vexation called back. “Things are great.”

    “Ah, Blood-Wraith, what a wonderful coincidence” said Tiberius. “I have someone important for you to meet. This is Alexia Lavoie, my wife. She’ll be joining the guild as ULTRAMagic Vanguard.”

    She shook Blood-Wraith’s hand. “It’s an honor and a pleasure to meet you, Blood.” Notably she had a French accent.

    “Same here, Vanguard.”

    Drusa studied the couple for a moment. “Wait, when did you get hitched, Tiberius?”

    “Not too long before we started working on the guild hall. We had been engaged for some time prior to Eustorgio tracking me down. Alexia and I figured it would be ideal to be wed before the start of the guild.”

    “Well congratulations, you two. Now we just need to find Eustorgio a woman…” Drusa, Vexation, and Tiberius laughed.

    “Oh, Blood, Alexia is a former primordial,” Vexation pointed out.

    “Really? Which one?”

    She smiled, feeling pride from a bit of nostalgia hitting her. “In my time I was The Vanguard of Old. Originally I was a commanding officer for the kingdom of Primum Regnum, but eventually I took to the battlefield. This was after I achieved ULTRAMagic. In fact, I was one of the few primordials that had achieved that.”

    “There were others?” Blood-Wraith questioned.

    “Indeed. While not a primordial, the most noteworthy I feel was Mind-Wraith, or ULTRAMagic Revenant. He helped lead the guild during the Epoch.”

    This blew Blood-Wraith’s mind. “Whoa, the guild existed back then? Incredible.”

    “The others and I were aware of it and figured it would pop back up at some point,” Tiberius acknowledged. “I even joined them, despite not having ULTRAMagic at the time.”

    Blood-Wraith was in awe until he realized the elephant in the room. “Hold up, Mind-Wraith? Who’s that?”

    “Mind-Wraith was a charming young man who…” Alexia paused. “Well, he wasn’t your past incarnation, that’s for certain. Think of him like an older brother.”

    “So I have siblings?”

    “Indeed,” Alexia replied. “One in the past and one in the far future. Tiberius knows more about the latter, however.”

    “Yes,” he replied. “Quite a strange occurrence we have on our hands. If you all will indulge me for a moment…”

    Tiberius explained that the Cosmos seemed to be progressing in phases. The first phase was the Epoch, with the second proper one being the present. A noticeable difference between the two was the state of the Cosmos as time went on. Many concepts had yet to be solidified during the Epoch. The third phase was speculation for the longest time until Tiberius had encountered Blood-Wraith’s younger sister, Void-Wraith. He coined the era as the ‘Entropy Era.’ The most intriguing thing about it was the properties of the Cosmos that far into the future. Unlike the great instability of the Epoch which gave way to the stability of the second era, the entropy era embodied its namesake. The only issue was that it was hard to study for Tiberius.

    “... Void-Wraith lacks the fundamental knowledge to quantify our era.” Tiberius explained as he drew on a chalkboard. “Mind-Wraith has it easier because he started at the beginning of everything. Void-Wraith started at what we believe is the end of the Cosmos.”

    “So the Cosmos will start over eventually?” Blood-Wraith wondered.

    “That answer eludes me, Blood. Logically it should, like a universe in the Cosmos proper would. The only issue is that we don’t have the ability to fully grasp that kind of knowledge at the moment.”

    “That sounds annoying. Do we know anything else about the third phase?”

    Tiberius sighed. “I’ve tried to enter it before, only to get overwhelmed by the entropy. The best I can say is that it is entropic, haha.”

    “Thankfully things are not completely hopeless” Alexia clarified. “You may be able to go there, Blood.”

    This caught his attention. “Interesting. How, exactly?”

    “Once the guild hall is built, it should become a nexus of sorts that people like you can use to enter the other eras. Furthermore, your visits shouldn’t cause any problems as you don’t exist in those times.”

    Vexation considered the possibilities. “Wait, what about the entropy Tiberius encountered?”

    “We believe entities like Blood would be able to handle it as he doesn’t require a physical body…”

    “...but what if this entropy is on a cosmic level?” Drusa questioned. “Basic entropy doesn’t affect higher dimensions, but this could cause trouble for even Blood here.”

    That was certainly a conundrum. “Well, I guess we won’t find out until the guild is up and running,” Vexation concluded.

    After discussing some more things about the Cosmos, Blood-Wraith informed Tiberius about Weaver. He was pleased to hear about this and made a note of it. Since Vexation was finished with his business, he departed with Blood-Wraith and Drusa. Once back at the house, Vexation sat down on the couch and began unloading a folder on the coffee table. The documents looked very complex and important.

    “What’s all of this?” Blood-Wraith inquired.

    “Guild stuff… Hey, you’re wearing the curse armor again?”

    “Yeah. It’s starting to grow on me. Oh, shoot, Vex? What can it do?”

    “A lot, actually. The suit is like a second skin, allowing you to avoid getting caught on objects, move however you want, and wear whatever you want over it. While it can’t change properties like the blood armor Darkness made you, it’s near infinitely flexible and will never wear out. Plus it should augment your magic.”

    “Cool. The only complaint I really have is that it doesn’t feel like I'm wearing much.”

    “I mean, you can wear your armor or other armor with it. The augmentation will go dormant so you don’t overload yourself.”

    “Or!” Drusa cut in. “I could make you a uniform based on what my followers wear for you.”

    Blood-Wraith crossed his legs and rested his head on his hand. “I don’t know… hey, is the armor resistant to cutting and piercing?”

    Vexation summoned a small blade and slid it across his arm. It was completely unharmed, protecting Blood-Wraith. “Absolutely. It will even tense up when struck.”

    Blood-Wraith rubbed the spot. “Teunis is odd, whoever he is…”

    “You told him?” Vexation asked Drusa.

    “Partially. I looked into the flow of time.”

    “Ah, I see. Well, Blood, Teunis is a mage who needed something to protect himself a while back. When I met him, he asked for something sleek, subtle, and concealing. Apparently he wanted to hide his identity after the fall of Feuerland. I can certainly relate. As for the design, I liked it so much that I reused it for you. In hindsight, I don’t think he would have been too enthusiastic about that given my temporary affiliation with The Lich…”

    Blood-Wraith inspected the armor again. He then snapped his fingers, noticing it was a lot easier to conjure up a magical flame. “You know what? I’m going to give this suit a shot. Also it kind of feels like I’m a comic book hero.”

    Vexation chuckled. “I’ll start working on new versions of the armor so it’s not as worrying for you.”

    “Mind if I work on them with you?”

    “Of course you can, Blood. Two minds are better than one.”

    Blood-Wraith then took a look at one of the documents. “What’s all this about Tusk and the realm of chaos?”

    “Ah, that shindig… Don’t worry too much about it. Things seem to be all sorted out. Ideally I’d like Tusk to tell you about this rather than reading some boring document. Now if he would just stop fooling around…”

    Blood-Wraith nodded. “I see. You guys want to watch some TV?”

    Vexation packed up the documents. “You know what? Sure. All of this is fairly boring.”

    Drusa laughed. “I know the feeling, Rich. Honestly I think you need a break too.” She then kissed him on the cheek.


Next: Chapter 40

ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)

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