[Rewrite] Chapter 6: Observer’s Boon

Left Direction froze, golden iris tightening. What was this little devil asking?

‘Her ancestral knowledge is incomplete!’ he decided. Only ignorance would let a newborn six-star stroll in and request a system.

Very well. If she was walking blind, he would, purely out of public service, and not at all out of loneliness, put a lantern in her hand to guide her path!

“The answer is no, little Hannya,” Left said, swaying once in the air like a headshake. “Even some archdevils would die from that wish.”

Hannya frowned. “Die?… from a system?”

“You’re mixing ladders here,” Left replied. “Devils pledge to no gods. Only those who bind their souls to a deity get an Akashic Intelligent system.” He studied her reaction, then continued. “Your six stars give you range, not immunity. Even if you reached the current peak in Neel, the mana draw for an Akashic frame would crush you; your kin have attempted plenty of times to prove that. Best case, your mind collapses and never comes back.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Are the gods really that powerful here?” That didn’t sound right to her. In the novel; gods were strong, yes, but supreme devils were equal in all but name. In fact, some devils even wiped the floor with entities like that.

Left made a small, patient sound. But to Hannya, it felt like condescension. Was this asshole looking down on her? She glared at the eye, the rotating petals demanding answers.

Noticing his patience was briskly returned with the complete opposite, Left hastily continued. Young devils, so rude. But…He needed a buddy, he was fine with enduring this much for now.

“Compared to the Master? No. Compared to most things you’ll meet? Yes, but that isn’t the point. They can grant systems because they borrow the world’s mana well to pay the bill instead of bleeding their own reserves. That’s the perk of godhood. The leash on that perk is that long term presence on Neel is restricted.”

The pieces finally clicked together in her mind. Then another thought struck her. “If it’s impossible… what about 6th Vainglory?”

As her words fell, the air changed.

A pressure sat down across the white expanse, subtle at first, then terribly heavy. The ground under the table thrummed and vibrated. Left’s iris darkened, old grief and older rage rising before he could keep it tidy. He saw hands that never washed clean, companions turning wardens, greedy fingers collecting a heart, horns, eyes; lesser races bottling a prodigy’s blood for trinkets and pills. He saw a young devil who should have shined bright, reduced to a list of ingredients.

But the emotions raging within Left, truthfully, had little to do with the loss of a young sprout with a wellspring of potential. In reality, he didn’t know the boy at all. His hatred stemmed from the bitter truth that his Master was the young devil's foremost benefactor! And the lower beings had ruthlessly stomped on his Master’s current interest with insensitive disregard!

‘Deplorables!’ His eye shook, iris filling with the retributive righteousness of a stan who'd witnessed his author's book being spat on. If Left were not jailed within the in between, he would have already sought an eye for an eye. 

Across from him, Hannya couldn’t move. The weight wasn’t aimed at her, but weight doesn’t negotiate. Her breath shallowed. Her vision blurred. Her little body forcing out all of its strength; fighting to stay in one piece under the outer rings of divine pressure.

‘Not like Earth,’ she thought, teeth gritted. ‘Here, a temper tantrum can even kill you.’

Had she possessed a mortal’s body, her bones would have long since shattered, and the rest of her ground to a fine paste. 

Finally noticing the young one's struggles, Left reeled himself back, mortified. ‘Observer's Gaze! My buddy!’ The pressure thinned, then broke with a settled silence. Hannya fell forward, palms on the edge of the table, drawing in air like a beached whale.

“My apologies,” Left said, low and cautious. “I let my righteous ire get the better of my vision...”

“...” She stared at the eye, aggrieved, but said nothing. 

The sense of helplessness began to make her devil blood boil. But she wasn’t angered at the eye, he was just an idiot; some servant locked away for his incompetence. What angered her was the weakness she felt from a simple ‘frown’. With this pitiful amount of strength, how was she supposed to rescue Vainglory? Her restlessness to leave increased. 

She needed to grow, to train, to evolve. This wasn't the earth she once knew. Plenty could kill her in an instant right now. She was lucky this eye needed her, but she was wasting time here. Get the information and leave, gaining power matters most in this world.

‘I need to build my strength.’ she thought, fists clenched.

Seeing his humble apology had no effect, Left’s worry grew. Buddy tension was bad news, and a devil holding grudges was annoying.

‘Tch! No luck huh?’ He tried again, even more cautious this time. “Consider… compensation. A boon. How does that sound?”

Her ears practically twitched at the words. Of course they did. Devils were devils. Left swallowed down a groan and continued.

“But first,” he added, “where did you learn of that name? That shouldn’t be in your ancestral knowledge.”

Hannya’s face smoothed. She mentioned Vainglory anticipating this question, the brush with death was just an unwelcome bonus. Calculated calm occupied her voice when she answered. “Vainglory’s destiny is now tied with mine.”

The sentence rang oddly in her chest. A subtle, phantom pull seemed to untangle something inside her. She set the feeling aside for now, waiting for Left's reply. Her answer was surefire; a well crafted, ninth dimensional, blatant lie that would lift her off the hook. The optimal choice.

Hearing that, Left snorted…somehow, and replied back. “I know that line. ‘Too many questions lead to too many changes.’ Fine. We’ll wait for the next path break.” He tilted, muttering to himself.

‘So that’s the answer. She has a fate mutation.’ He concluded. The young devil possessed an ability to see visions of the future, rare. Unfortunately, speaking to fate devils too frequently would change the outcome seen. Leading to a ‘path break’. 

 “Luxuria branch, fate mutation… explains the unreadable timelines, the way the pictures behaved… and the Master telling me to offer the boon during naming. Is the platform moving pieces already…?”

Hannya initially wanted to let the mumbling pass, pleased with the result of her clever tactics. But a statement in the middle of his ramblings made her fury soar.   

‘This fucking guy embezzled my birthright to pay for my damages! Shameless!’ At this point, her vision was darkening from the anger. This eye was insufferable. But that was ok, If he was going to be shameless, she would be shameless too.

She swallowed her wrath with a spiteful gulp. Then, she spoke casually; smoothly asking what she wanted to know. “Two things,” she said. “Where is he now? And how did he get a ‘system’ at all?”

Left composed himself, he didn’t want to look too excited answering her questions. They had a deal to make afterwards, of course. He wouldn’t get taken advantage of again. 

“What Vainglory had wasn’t an Akashic system. It was the Master’s boon, [Quantifier]. An encyclopedia grafted to a calculator. No quests, no store, no guidelines, only understanding. The Master gave it because the boy’s eyes were a mutation that would have eaten his mind without a filter.”

“Vain’s [All-Seeing Eyes].” Hannya said. Not as a question, a fact.

Left noticed the way she said Vain and decided to say nothing about that. “Yes.”

“And his location?”

“Bound at the edge of Greed’s domain. In the endless abyss, Avaritia’s ability [Deep Pocket].” Left answered without a care.

A cold, precise light slid through Hannya’s spinning irises. This was the window she needed. Before the scavengers came. Before ‘heroes’ turned a bound devil into a collection of parts. 

They dared to touch what belonged to her? Her everything?

Left watched the shift in mood closely, the speed with which composure turned into intent was quite the sight. ‘Attachment and devils,’ he thought. ‘Like oil on a wildfire’. Especially with young supremes.

‘From the look of things. My bosom buddy wants to make a move to change his fate.’ He figured.

“Just so you know,” he added, “Hellnia’s gates were destroyed six hundred sixty-four years ago. Nothing passes in or out for two more.”

Her mouth curved to a grin. “Then there’s time.”

With that, she rose and extended her hand; not to shake. To demand. “Now, my boon.”

‘Shameless!’ He was speechless. That information offered was to build trust! But she brushed it off without a single word of thanks or a mention of terms! 

Then he realized ‘Ah? I said it out loud, didn’t I?’ He spilled the beans again. If she caught that he ‘repurposed’ her boon from his Master, the emotional stonewalling was justified. 

She had the leverage. The olive branch he offered was essentially from her own tree.

He wanted to curse. He sighed instead, blinked twice, and let the authority run.

A soft chime threaded in Hannya’s mind.

[Observer’s Boon acquired.]

[Ability established: Quantifier.]

[Status: available.]

[Bestiary: available.]

[Herbarium: available.]

[Racial Encyclopedia: available.]

Light panels layered the air. Hannya’s smile cracked into something bright and feral. Not a system, not exactly; but close enough for her purposes.

‘Now for the moment of truth.’

She stood from her seat, lifted her hand and willed the page open.

“Status!”

[

Name: Hannya 6th Luxuria

True Name: (?)

Lv: 1 – Young Devil

Class: None

Age: 12

*NAA – Normal Awakened Average (at current level)

MP: 500/500 (NAA: 50/50)

CHI: 450/450 (NAA: 45/45)

ES: 0/100 (NAA: 10/10)

–––

Bloodline: Six-Star Heart Devil (Mythical Entity) (Awakening…)

Wishes: 6/6

Devil Aspects: 4

• Devil Eyes: (Unawakened)

• Devil Heart: (Unawakened)

• Devil Physique: (Unawakened)

• Devil Knowledge: (Locked)

Potential: SS

–––

Innate Abilities (Passive): Subtle Charm (S)
Innate Abilities (Active): Method Actor (S), Devil’s Whisper (B), Hasty Retreat (E , Mutable), Vicious Strike (A), Devilish Pose (EX)

Learned Abilities (Passive): Enduring Will (F - Growth), Cold Reading (C), Danger Sense (C)
Learned Abilities (Active): –

Boons: Quantifier, Promised Wish(Claimed), (??? - missing information)
Curses: Greed’s Mark, (??? - missing information)

]

She stared for another second, then curled her lips in disgust. “Is this a joke?”

Left’s iris throbbed. There it is. Devils are never satisfied! 

She ignored how bloodshot he looked and pointed to the panel. “Hey Wazowski, you see this?”

He blocked out the word he knew was some form of insult and answered. “Your eyes only,” he said. “I could look, but I won’t. The Master’s gift is private. That goes for everyone on Neel as well.”

“So no one can see my status but me.”

“Correct. Not without consent or a higher power.”

“Can I see others?”

“The Quantifier measures what you perceive,” Left said. “If you will it, what you touch, see, hear; everything gains a label. It’s not appraisal; it’s arithmetic for reality.”

“Perfect.” She let the panel fold.

Her gaze slid back to him with new appreciation. He answered every question she asked without resistance. Useful. Dangerous, talkative, but useful.

Hannya returned to her chair, crossing one leg over the other like she’d always been allowed in rooms like this. “We’ve still got an hour,” she said. “Let’s finish up with anything you like. Buddy.”

Getting a bit of Neels current happenings could be beneficial for later…and leaving with a good impression even more so.

‘Kihehe!’ She laughed in her heart.

Left lit up, all but vibrating. He didn’t question the time limit they had never agreed on, nor the deal they never completed. He launched straight into the state of the pantheons, a scandal with a desert god, three failed prophecies from the world tree, a particularly embarrassing mortal cult and the audit that followed. Names, dates, slights; whatever counted as spice in a realm with no walls.

Hannya listened for the first ten minutes, catching the few kernels that mattered and letting the rest blow past. When she had what she needed, she filed it next to the abyss, next to two years of breathing room, next to a handsome devil who shouldn’t have been left alone in the dark.

She had a system.

She had the timeline.

She had his location.

A plan began to draft itself in clean lines across the inside of her skull. Outside, Left kept talking, delighted. She was smiling and nodding to words that meant nothing to her. Inside, Hannya counted backward from two years and quietly started to sharpen the plans for the days to come.