HLnovel Chapter 221 - Book 23
Chapter 221 - Book 23
Felix's grades wouldn't be presented until the next morning so he spent his time until then in Ked's lab. He briefly tested the extent of his inability to cast portals and found it was very extensive. The System didn't let him use molds, it didn't let constructs powered by his own mana use molds, it didn't let him use items created by other people and powered with their mana, it was a complete lock out. Like it didn't trust him at all anymore.
He already knew he could walk through portals though so long as someone else was casting and directing them, like El and hopefully, the spires in Telviras.
Once that was done, he tested the limits of the construct he had made for his exam and realized he hadn't actually named them yet.
"Handy? Han? Bob? Li cause you were inspired by a lich?"
Grim disgustedly banged in Felix's mind, like he was knocking on a door and insisting he was heard, Those are awful. I mean, you kind of suck at naming but those are… something else.
Felix snorted, Yeah but… who doesn't?
Me, I'm great at names. A new voice cut in, not one Felix thought had permission to.
He voiced his confusion as he scanned his head, Is that you Nucleus? How are you speaking to me like this?
Grim raised his hand mentally, which really just meant drawing Felix's attention to him in his mind, That was me, I was talking with the Nucleus already and I'm just forwarding his voice around a little.
I see. Alright, let's hear your name.
Felix could feel the Nucleus smiling within him as it paused either to think or for dramatic effect, Tory.
Grim groaned and Felix smirked a little, Short for facTory?
The Nucleus nodded excitedly, Yeah. See, I told you I wa-
Felix could tell Grim had cut him off from speaking for the time being and let out a chuckle, Alright, let's hear the name you came up with.
Grim shook his head, Let's ask the construct. Maybe it has a name it already likes.
It was a good idea so Felix turned to the construct, "What have people been calling you in here?"
"Many names. Most common, Orby."
Felix desperately held onto the laugh that tried to burst out of him, "Do you like that name?"
"It's fine."
Sensing the lack of enthusiasm, Felix nodded, "Is there a name you do like?"
"Art."
"Who called you that?"
"No- No one I just… short for Artificer. It's a word I heard a few times and rather like."
Grim, any objections?
Grim shook his head, No actually, I like it.
"Alright. Art it is then."
It was impossible for Felix to visually distinguish any expressions on the construct as they were a floating orb surrounded by hands but he got the feeling through his soul that it was happy.
His testing mostly consisted of seeing how well it could inscribe and upgrade the Seeing Eye constructs he still had from the world event to integrate Adaline's improvements. As it turned out, it performed much better than Felix had expected and without his intervention, it was 90% of the way to being able to replicate her enchantments.
He still had to manually adjust the constructs and finish them himself and Art wasn't going to be coming up with these enchantments on his own any time soon but it still sped Felix's work up quite a bit. With the remainder of the time he had to wait, Felix pawned off a number of ideas he had had along with the materials and components he had picked up in the world event to Art.
His own enchantments were significantly less advanced than Adaline's and he saw no reason why Art wouldn't be able to finish the work on those constructs.
They briefly worked together on one of the ideas right up until the designated time in the morning when his grades were to be delivered.
Heading off to the library, Felix got in line behind a number of other students and waited. It didn't take long at all as El handed a small card to each student without the need to
The city itself was dominated by what looked to be almost a castle except that it was made up of distinct towers. Felix would have seen them as unique structures were it not for the fact that they were connected together with tall and wide bridges that were completely symmetrical. It was evidently a planned structure that made up the majority of the city.
In shape, the skyscrapers that were joined together formed some discrete math function Felix couldn't identify with its symmetry.
That was just the center though and the land was completely developed with roads between them leading out into a series of non-symmetrical random buildings that were beautiful in their own right but not part of a larger pattern.
Those buildings largely ended at the cliffs around the edge of the island. Across a short stretch of ocean on all sides, were other islands, each one a different biome with its own city within.
There was an icy island with buildings made of wood, snow and ice. There was a forest island, a desert island, a mountainous island, a volcanic island, an entirely quartz and marble island as well as one below the ocean Felix couldn't make out. He knew it was there though because each city was connected to the center city and each-other through large passageways or floating bridges.
It was, in every sense, a city with a place for everyone.
Not bothering with the stepped platforms, Felix floated down to the island where he found Peace waiting for him.
"I was a little worried you would ignore my message." Peace smirked.
"I… thought about it. Some more details up front would have helped."
Peace shrugged, "Not possible. Anyways, this-" He gestured to the man next to him, "-is Hollow Claw."
[SS - Unique] Hollow Claw (Lvl 5203)
Holy shit.
Hollow Claw was humanoid but with light blue, translucent skin that revealed subtly glowing insides within. His head was bald of hair and his ears didn't protrude at all but rather, were a built into the side of his head. He had two holes instead of a nose and completely white eyes. As his name suggested, his hands didn't seem to have human fingers with joints but instead, everything after the first joint was replaced with a claw that resembled a dagger.
Folding his arms behind his back, Hollow Claw lightly bowed to Felix, "Felix Kade. I have been waiting for you for longer than you know."
Felix winced a little but mostly held the reaction back from his face, "Uh… okay then. Nice to meet you."
Peace nodded, "Alright, let's get started then."
"Uh… what's going on?" Felix fell back a step, slightly fearful of a SS grade, Unique creature.
Hollow Claw stepped forwards and addressed Peace, "Allow me." Before turning back to Felix, "It's about time The Cult of the Reaper is explained to you, of all people. Have you ever been on the brink of death yourself? Genuinely believed your end was inevitable? What ran through your mind at that moment?"
Felix relaxed a bit as he realized he wasn't going to be attacked and shook his head, "I've never felt like it was really the end. Even when I had doubts about whether I should get back up or not, I've always known I would get back up. I always believe there's a chance."
Hollow Claw smirked, "I see. I didn't think of you as a hopeful optimist, from what I'd heard."
Felix shook his head again, "It's not hope. It's just… who I am. I will never believe there isn't a way to fight back." To punctuate his point, Felix tinged his aura with his conviction.
Hollow Claw bowed his head slightly, "I see." He turned and looked off towards the city behind him as he slowly stepped towards the edge of the small island, "I have. Many have. Even without your life flashing before your eyes, have you ever thought about what you want to leave behind? What you want your life, your impact to be?"
"Uh… Sort of. Before the integration when my life span was less than 80 epochs, I thought about it a bit but… I came to the conclusion that nothing I would ever do would really matter in terms of the universe. I was a spec of dust on a planet. Nothing I did mattered so I was content to just enjoy my life and drift off into nothingness. Now, I don't really know enough to have thought about it." Felix looked out at the ocean and chuckled a little, "The only thing that comes to mind is living forever. If that's not an option, I'll struggle and fight and… I want to know. I want to learn… everything."
Hollow Claw chuckled but didn't turn around, "While I admire your curiosity and ambition, that isn't an impact."
"I don't know… that I care?" Felix shrugged.
"I see. Many of us, with multiversal life spans, have more than enough time to ponder this and everything else. I, as many before and after me have, came to the simple conclusion that… We want to be remembered. We want our stories to be known. We want people to know our names, not famously, not everyone but anyone. I want someone to remember me and my story, no matter how insignificant it may be."
Hollow Claw turned halfway around so his side faced Felix, "That's what we do-" He looked over at Peace, "Death's Shadows and The Cult. We remember."
"So, what I am doing here and now. With the both of you then? Are you having me sign a contract to join or something?"
Peace chuckled and Hollow Claw laughed, "No. Today…" He took a deep breath, "Is the day I finally die."
Felix looked at Peace with a furrowed brow, his expression begging for an explanation.
Peace nodded solemnly, "You may never get there, some don't. Hollow Claw has done everything he's ever wanted to do. Been everywhere he's ever wanted to go. He… we call it The Tranquility."
"The Peace." Hollow Claw added, "It's… a feeling of oneness with everything around me is the best way I can describe it."
"He's one of the oldest Death's Shadow though and has remembered so many… Unless they are all forgotten, unless he releases all of them… He needs to pass all of those memories on to someone else."
"Normally, us really old Shadows would have The Reaper personally unburden us but…"
Peace sighed and looked at his feet, "That's not possible right now."
"So what exactly is it you want me to do?" Felix looked at them, still unclear.
"To remember, we take in the souls of someone who has died and preserve the experiences within their core souls. Everything else, you can either use or dispose of as needed."
Felix frowned, "So it's just… a bunch of anima?"
Peace placed his hand on Felix's shoulder, "The whole point of what we do, is that it's not just a bunch of anima. It's the significant experiences and stories of real people that lived. Not what we or the uncaring universe deem significant, it's what they saw as significant."
"You want me to take your soul… and preserve the experiences within?" Felix looked at both of them for confirmation.
"Yes." Hollow Claw turned back to face Felix and smiled.
Felix shrugged, "Alright, give me a bit to move some things around in my soul. Shouldn't take more than a few minutes."
Looking inwards, Felix recreated the simple lattice tubing he had used to move all of the Rakyt souls into his mind city. He had been planning on creating something more permanent for exactly this purpose during his recruitment with Amatara anyways and had already refined and iterated on the design mentally. He would have liked to test things a little more and because he didn't have the time, he ended up with a temporary design he was certain would work.
It was just a replica of what he had used the first time with some small iterations and improvements he had thought of since.
The biggest dilemma for him though, was how to have a path that didn't also open him up to the outside permanently. His solution was to have it be either temporary or sealed most of the time. He had no idea how to make it temporary without tearing apart his soul every time he wanted to remove it so, he went with the sealed option for the time being.
The tube was like a tunnel that led into the Soular System around his core soul all the way into his left palm, the same hand that wore The Soul Devouring Ring.
For the time being, he connected that tunnel to one of the planets which he structured similarly to the one hosting his Mind City except this one, was designed entirely for stability. The anima within felt dead because he had removed its flexibility and willingness to evolve and change. The complete opposite of imbuing The Spark of Life.
Lastly, he created multiple valves or doors along the tunnel he could open and close at will.
Opening his eyes, Felix found Peace and Hollow Claw sitting next to each-other on the edge of the island, staring out at the city beyond.
"I'm ready."
Hollow Claw took a breath then stood up and walked over. He knelt down on one knee in front of Felix and looked up at him, "I've weakened my neck manually and lowered my health with poisons in preparation. All you have to do is behead me."
Felix raised a brow, "What about your body?"
He chuckled, "I have no interest in being buried. I would be happy for you to dissect it as you please."
"Awesome."
Hollow Claw chuckled then closed his eyes. He extended his neck as much as he could physically revealing a ring of what looked like bruised skin around it.
Felix looked at Peace one last time.
Peace nodded.
Reaching his left hand forwards, Felix placed it on Hollow Claw's chest then used his other hand to manually draw a Blade Spell in the air with the entirety of his focus and as much mana as he could possibly shove into it. He really didn't want it to only make it halfway through or something.
Aiming for the ring of weakened flesh, Felix's Blade Spell slipped right through his neck.
There was no Ding from The System as Felix had already suspected from the lack of static, The System didn't have any influence here. It also meant he gained no experience but, he wasn't sure it would have granted him any anyways when his target had offered themselves up to him.
Felix knew he had died instantly though as his soul immediately started flowing into the tunnel he had made and into the planet he was holding still within his Soular System.
While the actual amount of anima was impressive for a creature, it was nothing compared to The System. The density was good but nothing noteworthy, the size was big but not not System like. The overall alignment and actual strength of it, was also very good from three stable convictions of truth, protection and unseen.
However, while not dense or particularly strong the anima felt saturated. It was more filled with experiences, instincts, memories, stories that made up lives than he had ever experienced before. It reminded him somewhat of the curse monster that had been Talrain when they fought. It was like he heard millions of voices, all of their souls carefully merged to create a simple but tight structure just to separate them from Hollow Claw's actual core soul.
The structure was clearly enough for him but Felix never would have trusted it given how loose and simple it was.
All of the experiences poured into the planet he had directed them to without issue and examining it, he didn't find any problems. As soon as he had absorbed the entirety of Hollow Claw's soul, he detached the planet and tossed it back into orbit then sealed the tube he had used.
All the extra anima from his soul, the part that would let him increase his stats marginally, he left in the planet for later consumption at Amatara's.
He activated The Blood Ring then looked over at Peace.
Peace looked stared at him incredulously, "You okay?"
Felix shrugged, "Yeah. I feel fine."
Peace squinted, "What was Hollow Claw's Mother's name?"
Reaching inwards, Felix sifted through a number of the memories before he decided that would be impossible. If Peace were asking him, it must have been possible to retrieve information so, he decided to just try things. Reaching out into the anima, he formed a question as best he could and let it echo out into the planet.
Nothing happened.
He thought about it for a few seconds then tried to echo out a couple things at once, first was the essence of who Hollow Claw was, his convictions and the overall experience of his core soul. He also echoed out a sense of childhood and being cared for, though he wasn't entirely certain that was how mother's would act wherever he was from.
It was obviously not an issue as he got an echo in response that equated to a word he couldn't possibly pronounce.
Opening his eyes, he gave it a shot, "lkrsdr'wvg-qpelr."
Peace's face relaxed and he shrugged, "Close enough."
"Actually, there is no System here, right?"
Peace nodded.
"So… how are we speaking? Who is translating?"
Peace cocked his head, "You're speaking System common?"
"What? I am?"
I worked with the Nucleus to move over a few common and useful languages from the translation protocols in the sub System chunk. Then, I moved some thing around and set the default speaking language in your mind to instinctively be System Common. Grim explained.
Oh… I… Alright, seems fine I guess. Is it more efficient of a language?
Yes, but only because English wasn't particularly efficient. I know of others that are more efficient but System Common is designed to be as pronounceable by everyone as possible while also being the best for mapping to and from other languages. For that, it's the best I've ever encountered.
Gotcha, it's mostly about compatibility.
Yup.
We thinking about moving my thoughts and encoding my knowledge to the most efficient one we can think of?
Yes but not yet, that would be more involved and we should probably have Mark's upcoming upgrades in place before attempting it.
Okay, sounds good.
"Anything else?" Felix addressed Peace.
"Nope."
Felix nodded, "Alright, I'm heading to my first recruitment then."
"What did you choose as your first one?"
"Amatara."
Peace's eyes widened, "Oh sweet, I'll join you then. I don't have time for more than one and I was just planning on joining you whenever you decided to head there."
Felix looked around, "How do we get out of here?"
"Back the way we came." Peace hopped up to the next platform, a multiple hundred meter jump, then leapfrogged to the next.
Felix just flew himself right at the final platform and arrived at about the same time as Peace who placed his palm flat on the ground, opening a swirling vortex portal before them.
They both stepped through and Peace pushed the black, solid anima door open on the other side.
There was no attendant to greet them but Peace didn't need one. He simply led them over to another door in the bottom hallway, a red wooden door sitting within a red wooden door frame around it, built into the wall. It stood out because most of the other doors lacked customized frames.
He simply pushed on the door to open it, not needing a key at all, and stepped into the small room beyond. Felix followed and Peace tapped on the wall, almost like he was lightly knocking on a door. A moment later, a vertical line appeared in the air before them that quickly expanded into a square window, revealing a forest of red leaves with a stone path.
They both stepped through and the portal closed behind them.