Greater Blessing

It took Nemi a moment to realise that there was someone at her feet. Her concentration on the Pyroclysm spell was so absolute that she wasn’t even aware of the breath attack that Renji narrowly protected her from. However, after the brief moment of satisfaction of a spell well cast, she saw the looks on Illya and Mariel’s faces. Following their gaze, Renji lay at her feet, gasping like a fish, eyes wide open. Panic struck her immediately as she dropped to her knees, checking Renji for injuries, but she found nothing. However, from the way the irises of his eyes shimmered and the way his veins seemed noticeably darker from a distance, she could tell it was aether overflow. Though she had never seen it like this, she had seen it in those who would get addicted to consuming mana from the other elements, just as Hutch had warned Renji about when they first discovered he could absorb aether.

Illya explained to Nemi what had happened, and in response she put her hands on Renji’s chest, trying to steady his heartbeat and lessen the symptoms of aether overflow. To Renji, it was like his veins were on fire. He wanted to scream, but couldn’t. He wanted to run for cold water and dive in headfirst, but he couldn’t lift a finger. It wasn’t until Nemi had begun to treat him that he began to feel his limbs again. Even when he finally stood up and told the others he was whole, something in the back of his mind spoke to him—something he knew he shouldn’t listen to. The power he felt when the aether flowed into him—if he didn’t let it erupt, could he use that aether to make his body stronger?

“So, how did something like that get corrupted?” Renji asked as he approached the body, having retrieved his rapier. He was ready to strike if it suddenly awoke, but its struggles had stopped. It was gone. “Well, some natural corruption exists. It manifests like a cancer, but the planet is usually pretty good about removing it. If it struggles, then all nations of Aetheros are duty bound to stop it. To corrupt a manticore, however, I think we all know that there is only one being capable of doing it.”

Nobody spoke, but they all knew what she meant. The Dark Lord. He was already making moves against them. If he was able to plant such a threat in their path so close to home, then just how powerful had he gotten? How confident must he have been to be manipulating forces just beyond Aldelthorne’s walls? The revelation shook all of them fiercely, and it didn’t take much to connect the dots. If the manticore was out here, then it surely meant that the kidnapping was likely orchestrated by The Dark Lord as well, which meant that his influence reached even into the walls of Aldelthorne. It was sobering, especially to Illyandaril. She had complete confidence in herself and her father, her people, her city, and yet it had been infiltrated by dark forces so easily, nearly resulting in what would have surely been an awful fate for Renji and Mariel.

Hestia returned, blessedly unharmed. She had been observing the battle from a distance, and while she talked with the others, Renji put his hand on the manticore’s charred head. There were still patches of fur on it that still felt normal, and he petted it gently. He knew manticores were often evil entities, but seeing the creature twisted beyond recognition—forced to face such violation and be discarded in this forest, filled him with an immense pity. He wondered if the enemy was aware of Illyandaril’s power as he whispered a prayer for the fallen beast. Illya’s incredible strength hadn’t seemed to do much to halt the creature, and it made him wonder if perhaps this corruption had been cultivated to counter her directly.

He wasn’t given much time to ponder this, however, before he heard Tiamat’s voice calling to him once more. “I was right. You are worthy, my champion.” Renji turned around, expecting to see his patron, but alas, he could not see her. “You do not see monsters so differently from animals. The pity you feel stems from an empathy you extend to all beasts. Renji Naoki, I recognize you now as my champion, therefore I bestow upon you my greater blessing. I shall continue to watch over you, and pray for your success.”

Renji opened his mouth to speak, to ask Tiamat more questions, but before he could, a glow emerged from where his hand met the manticore’s head. What seemed to him like a golden form of aether flowed into his hand and became part of his body, entering him just as aether did. However, he didn’t feel stronger, he felt fundamentally different once more, just as he did when he first received Tiamat’s blessing. The others didn’t miss it, they were upon him in moments, barraging him with numerous questions, but it was Illya’s that got straight to the point. “Was it Tiamat?”

Nodding his head, Renji flexed his body in places, trying to find out what was different this time. Just as he was wishing for her to be a bit more clear, he heard Tiamat’s voice, far clearer now than before. “I am sorry I do not explain much. Please, allow me to make up for my shortcomings now that our connection has deepened. That manticore felt your prayer, Renji, it felt your kindness. This manticore was once a magnificent beast, one of the great prides of the Talrithan region. When The Dark Lord captured it, it dragged it back to Barathûn, where he subjected it to many tortures. Still, the manticore did not kneel. Evil in nature though the beast may be, it is fiercely independent, it would never work for another, no matter how strong, or what was promised in return.”

Tiamat hesitated for a moment before she continued. “When it would not kneel, The Dark Lord put its heart into stasis, killing it, yes, but leaving its spirit trapped. It was forced to watch and feel the corruption claim its body, and it begged for anything, anyone, even I, to help put it out of its misery. What you did today was a great mercy, and it seeks revenge on the one that hurt it. It trusts you now with that revenge.”

Renji could feel a tingling throughout his body. It was as if the spirit of the manticore itself had heard Tiamat and responded. Both she and Renji were silent for a moment in response, but before the question could pass Renji’s lips, she answered. “My minor blessing enhanced your senses and instincts, but my greater blessing is something far more meaningful. Whenever a willing spirit enters your body, it becomes a part of you. You’ll be able to transform part of your body now into that of the beasts you absorb, but please, heed my warning. If you do it too much, or attempt a complete transformation, you will become a beast in turn. You must only keep to one transformation at a time, a limb or two at most. You might be able to do more with total mastery, but I implore you not to risk it. I would hate to lose my champion because of my blessing.”

Looking at his hand, Renji knew how to do it now, perhaps because of Tiamat’s minor blessing. In an instant, his right hand changed to that of a great lion’s paw, large, sharp claws, and undeniably belonging to the beast they had just slain. His hand reverted to normal just as easily, and he realized that if he desired, he could conjure the manticore’s tail—the original scorpion tail it had borne before its corruption. “My champion. We shall be able to speak far more often. I worried for you at first, but now I am confident. The manticore’s spirit comes with another blessing; you should have an easier time now controlling the aether in your body. You need no longer erupt when you absorb it. Practice, hone it. I shall be watching, my champion.”

As Tiamat’s voice faded, he looked at the shocked expressions of the girls surrounding him, each asking their own questions. It seemed that when Tiamat’s voice spoke to him, his ability to hear the outside world diminished, something he felt he would need to be careful of if he were to speak with her more—and if she were correct in saying that they would be able to communicate more easily from here on, then he certainly would. This was just the first threat thrown their way, but he would certainly do his best—not just for his own sake, but for Illya. Explaining what had just happened, and why he had been so slow to answer them, would take plenty of time in and of itself.