Guidance Through The Ruins Part 2- It Was Not What It Looked Like All Along

Opening my eyes, all I could see was darkness.

“Lights on.” Uvena commanded.

Instantly, the dark room lit up and revealed… a lab. Of course, it was a lab. Or was it a workshop?

The room was enormous. As large as two aeroplane hangers combined. It was filled with contraptions of various shapes, sizes, might as well add colours for extra credit. There were vials with liquids of different colours. The room had some unexpected things as well.

Vehicles.

That's right! The things that transport people from place to place. It was like a garage; there were at least 25 of them all lined up. Each had an intricate design and look to them. They were clearly futuristic. My inner motor-head was emerging forth.

“What is this place…?” I asked in awe.

“Do you like it?” Uvena asked, “It’s my workspace.”

“It looks so… I have no words to describe it.”

“Glad you like it.”

“Why do you have all this in here?”

Uvena laughed to herself, “Mortals are truly interesting creatures. Sure they have a short lifespan, but the things they create are stupendous. This is why I like to make things… You could say, I was inspired by the mortals’ creations.”

“Mortals inspiring Gods?” I asked, “That’s ridiculous. How can a God be inspired by mere mortals? We are waay more powerful than they are. And smarter.”

Uvena rolled her eyes, “Says the guy who destroyed a dimension for fun.”

I was startled, she did make a good point.

“Can’t argue with that. But the point is. How can the strong be inspired by the weak?”

Uvena looked me in the eye. Her brown eyes showed me that she had been through a lot.

“I am the third oldest of the elemental spirits.” she started, “But I was the first to acquire my seat as the God of this place. And also the smarter ones, not to brag. I have been through a lot, Shareus. I have walked alongside the mortals, watching their exploits and helping them along the way. When the strong pay attention to the weak, only then will you understand their worth.”

I was confused, I did not understand.

“I don’t need to read your mind to understand how confused you are. You will understand one day… As you journey across lands, I assure you.”

An awkward silence followed until Uvena broke it.

“Now, where were we?” her usual cheerful but refined manner returned.

“You were about to show me what that creature I turned into was.”

“Right!” Uvena led me towards a huge monitor. She turned it on.

“Now I will show you the recording of your transformation but with my internal analysis programme that I coded myself. I’ve been at it ever since I brought you here.”

“And how long has it been since then?”

“Let me see… five days?”

I was shocked, “You coded software in five days?!”

“Yep! With all-nighters of course.”

“That’s amazing! You really are a mad scientist. A person who loves her work.”

Uvena had a proud grin on her face. “Thanks!”

She touched the screen and it shifted and showed an image of me pummelling Terrae.

“How did you get these images?”

“Well, this is Crystallomancy. The screen is made of a crystal. I can see events by touching rocks. This is one of the abilities unique to me.”

“I see. How did you read my mind back then? Telepathy used by an Earth Goddess is… bizarre.”

“You are right. In the past, I learned normal telepathy that lets you focus your mana to read thoughts. This… is an applied version which is uncommon. I can perceive thoughts of anything touching the Earth. That includes you as well. You, being a demigod-like being, can learn it too-”

“Wait, a demigod?! I thought I had no Godlike powers and was pure mortal.”

Uvena’s face turned serious. I thought that as well when you first set foot here. But we were both fooled in that regard. Let me show you.”

Uvena touched the beast form and the image grew in size. Then, I saw what looked like my internals.

“This is a kind of an X-radiation scan. But it’s more… complex. It shows your mana, your soul and other things.”

“X-radiation?”

“It’s an unknown form of radiation, and that scan we take using it is known as an X-ray. It normally shows only as far as bones… But I have tinkered with it for analysing my test subjects and specimens.”

“Intriguing. So have you considered giving it to the mortals now?”

Uvena was surprised, “What brought that question on?”

“Well, you did mention helping mortals.”

Her face turned dark, “That was in the past. Now I am here.”

“Why did you agree to become my guide then?”

Uvena sighed, “I was feeling lonely down here. No one for company. And… It’s also my job to help the mortals to solve crises...”

She said something under her breath that I couldn’t understand.

I didn’t want to pry.

“I understand,” I said.

“Good. So back to the topic.”

She pointed towards the image. I saw a mass of gold enveloping my form and there were white patches where my heart was.

“The gold mass is the mana you have. But when I analyzed the images, I noticed the whites. After hours of toiling, I came to the conclusion that you were a demigod with the ability to shapeshift into any creature. I don’t know if ‘any creature’ would apply to any and every creature including the ones in other dimensions. But let’s see.”

“Let’s see?” I asked. How can she see if I can turn into a creature from another dimension?

“My siblings and I keep in touch. There are weird things from where they come from. Weird because I have never thought that creatures and beings as per their descriptions could exist.”

“Really?” I asked, “This is turning into a rather interesting conversation.”

“Agreed. So, before you ask how I came to the conclusion that you are a demigod. It’s because we Gods have a white mana coat. This is only unique to Gods and Elemental Beings. The brown coat shows that you can use Earth Magic.”

“I see…”

I was trying to process everything that was going on.

First, I am probably a half-god

Second, I can turn into any creature

And third, based on what I had experienced, I may lose my sanity unless I learn to keep my powers under control. At least if the creature is huge.

“And learning is what you will do!” Uvena said.

I heaved a sigh, “Honestly Imarae, stop interrupting my internal monologues.”

“O-oh, sorry again. I will try my best,” she responded with a playful laugh. “And Uvena is fine. Honestly, you should try to sugarcoat your words sometimes. You will make a lady cry with your sharp remarks.”

She did have a point.

I wasn’t good with women… Or anyone in general.

“Nonetheless, I had to prepare for a few months of harsh training!”