AO 6 Ch 14

I looked up at the sky of Soulgard, where energy shifted back and forth like a beautiful aurora borealis. Waves of energy touched in cataclysmic thunder, crashing down to one of the four spires that represented my four spears amid Soulgard. They came out of the corners of the central palace, the crowning jewel of the fake city that I modeled my soul and its defenses after.

Soulgard itself was constantly under change. First, it had been a small, lifeless city of white stone, built from my understanding of earthen magic. At that point, it had been a shell of a city, clearly built by somebody who did not have any concept of how a city would be built. It had the same basic shapes and outlines, but it lacked substance, such as interiors. 

Over time, I had learned to build it out even more. The buildings became whole, the spires housed each of my four spears, and Soulgard was tested for the first time. As my magic had grown, I had begun replacing the walls of stone with walls of blue steel to protect myself. That change continued, and the walls were now entirely made of blue steel, the spires reinforced with its framework. 

Meanwhile, each of my anchors, save for Aurelia, had a simulacrum within Soulgard that represented them within my soul. Maribelle and Emlyn were even capable of possessing theirs, Zuri probably could if she put her mind to it. Emlyn once entered Soulgard, believing it was a dream, and tried to turn her ‘dream’ into something a little more fantastical for herself. Who knew she had such lustful dreams? 

"This place is really something," Aphrodite said, the blonde goddess glancing around at the city in my soul. She had changed into a floor length dress that almost made it seem like she was floating rather than walking.

"Of course it's something," I smiled. "I mean, Missy’s rent is substantial." 

Aphrodite raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps I should reconsider... I didn't realize we had to pay rent." 

"Oh, in that case, rent is due now," I gave the goddess a giant grin and held my hand out for payment. 

Maribelle came to life and shook herself off, like she was adjusting to the transition between the waking world and what I guess I could call my own personal reality. 

"Oh, his anchors can come in too," Aphrodite said, watching with fascination.

"Well, if you want a condo here, it's a little pricey." I smiled. "Missy over here gave me a little charm, one that's enchanted so that I can absorb the soul juice of those that I kill." 

"Did she now?" Aphrodite turned to the other goddess who simply smiled. "You know that she's likely taking some substantial benefit from that trinket." 

"Oh, I know," I shrugged it off. "She gives me the best part, right Missy?" 

"I quite literally do, Ard. I take the part that you could never digest without risking yourself." Missy replied, appearing sitting on a ledge and looking bored.

"See?" I gestured at the goddess. "She is very good to me." 

"So I see," Aphrodite said. "Really, Hec... Missy. One of these days, you're going to tell me how this mortal won you over so thoroughly." A mischievous grin spread across her pink lips.

"You make it sound scandalous." I replied. “I’m just a pretty lovable four sphere mage.”

Missy rolled her eyes. “If I remember correctly," she glanced up at the large amount of magic crackling in the sky above, "you needed to work on that and we need to hash out some of our rules." 

"Oh, and I certainly will do that. Especially once I can convince Emlyn to come in here and suck up her portion. She loves it when I stuff her soul full of soul juice without asking." 

Aphrodite smirked. "Oh, I'm sure. From what I've seen, Emlyn loves absolutely everything about you. And when she says she doesn't, she's lying." 

I put a hand against my chest and shook my head. "I thought I knew that, but to hear it from the goddess of love really is the affirmation that I needed." 

"Oh, please, Ard," Emlyn suddenly appeared next to me. 

"Please what?" I flashed her a grin. "I'm always happy to be receptive when you use 'please'. You can go ahead and get started on this though. Took you long enough to get here.”

“I was watching your back, Ard. Literally. Aurelia is going to watch for danger. Zuri's going to stay out with her, but of course can come in if we need to be warned." Emlyn said. They always took such good care of me, making sure there was a plan of defense.

"Got it. Zuri's still getting her share. But she's going to stay outside and focus," I reiterated.

Just the idea of starting caused an effect in the sky above. The magical swirls made up of all of the soul juice that Missy had collected for me continued to churn chaotically, generating more volatile energy that grounded occasionally with a bolt of lightning at the spires. Yet the energy began to twist and turn, swirling down atop the four spires. That motion caused more and more lightning to generate with the increased volatility caused by the swirl. 

But besides those four columns, there was a much greater funnel beginning to pour down into the palace itself, at the very heart of Soulgard it was the crown jewel.

All of this was fascinating to watch, though it had only taken a small thought from me to put this into motion, emphasizing just how badly this needed an outlet.

Aphrodite stood next to me. "Would it disturb you if I put a hand on your shoulder to watch this more closely?" 

I shrugged. "Doesn't bother me, as long as you don't try to disturb me." Looking at that massive swirl in the sky, I was pretty sure it was in my best interest to be focused for what would come next. And of course, I was excited to play with the magic.

Emlyn and Maribelle were now seated on the ground to focus, and the energy that was flowing into their spires bubbled up within their own soul forms. Emlyn grunted, twisting where she sat before gasping. She had previously described the feeling as snorting mint, and I didn't disagree with that sentiment. 

For my own bundle of energy, I began to feel its effects. It chilled my mind and filled the space with the sort of minty sensation that Emlyn had mentioned before. I pushed the energy into Soulgard proper, sending it straight through the palace and into the ground. 

I had been upgrading the structure to that of blue steel. However, after the most recent conversation with the two goddesses, I had begun to wonder if I had not embarked on my own unique path.

If that was true, I should think about something more unique for what Soulgard was becoming. After all, it was a representation of my soul and I was nothing if not a unique individual. 

So, as the energy pulsed into Soulgard, I let it change in other ways as well, my own imagination taking hold.

Bluesteel was, of course, the most prestigious and powerful resource of Avente. The Azurbloom infused metal was not only stronger than steel but conductive to magic.

Yet, I didn't let Avente be the pinnacle of everything in my mind. No, I moved past it. I thought of Missy and Ditzy standing next to me, providing proof that everything we had built, and everything that even King Martin was building to try and become more, was still only the starting line of a higher level game.

I knew in my very being that there was something more to be gained by following my own path. I was standing next to goddesses who had forged their own way through the world. So I borrowed some inspiration from them.

The palace itself slowly took on a metallic sheen, not unlike bluesteep, except it was slightly darker. The structure was speckled with power that existed beyond the spheres, beyond soul magic, something that apparently I might possess that allowed me to mix the two together.

I could only imagine that putting two things that didn't mix in this same parcel required something of an even higher authority to force that change.

Thus, that imaginary higher authority became the magic I wanted to conduct through the palace. It took on a blue metallic sheen, speckled with gold flecks, not unlike the tapestry of night that Missy sometimes cloaked herself in to seem a little extra godly, even if the act of hers was a little silly. She was right in that it had an effect, one that couldn't be ignored.

"What are you doing?" Missy spoke from my side.

"That’s the best part, Missy, I have no idea." I peeked open an eye just to see her reaction.

She was staring wide-eyed at the changes that I wrought in the palace before us, which brought me immense satisfaction. Her lips were just barely parted, forgotten in what she was watching.

"Don't mind her," Ditzy said quickly. "She might get a little jealous, but if she gets any more than that, I'll stop her." She winked, and shifted her focus back to the display as the energy crackled down from the sky and the palace gleamed with its transformation.

Missy scowled. "Do you have any idea what you're encouraging?"

"I think we both know. And I think whatever reservation you might have needs to be put aside. Because right now, what we're witnessing is a miracle in the making." Aphrodite answered softly.

I raised an eyebrow. "This is one way to fluff my ego."

"There is no fluffing in this situation, Ard." Aphrodite stared at the palace. "But I hope you understand that I don't want to overly bias you on what you're doing. You need to do this yourself, and I'm terribly sorry that I can't be of more help."

"Well, at least you're sorry." I chuckled, going back to my work and ignoring the two to focus on what I wanted.

The goddess chuckled and watched on as the palace continued to change. I wasn't in a rush, and I wanted to get this right.

The changes started at the bottom, slowly working their way up the building. First turning to bluesteel, and then turning into... I didn't know what to call it. But if they were trying not to bias me, and letting me make my own path, then it was essentially my own metal.

It deserved a powerful name that called to the skies above the endless earth underneath. Something that would make gods kneel and weep when they heard it.

I would call it Ardinium. I smirked at the name, knowing I probably shouldn't say that name aloud. Emlyn’s head might explode.

I had expected this whole process to move slower, but with the material transition I was completing, the energy above dwindled quickly. Whatever Ardinium did, it was incredibly costly to produce.

It was as if every inch of Ardinium was swallowing several times what my anchors were using to make large strides in their own progress.

I even hesitated, wondering if I was taking too much. It might be better to let Emlyn and Maribel grow stronger, rather than soak it all up for myself. I slowed down the palace’s transformation. The foundation was complete, and small spiderwebs of Ardinium were spreading up the walls.

"Don't stop," Missy encouraged. "Keep going. In fact, push yourself to the point that you're hungry for more. It'll help when we go to fight Freya."

I cracked an eye open. "How so?"

"If you're hungry enough, maybe we can get you to try and eat Freya to feed this," Ditzy suggested. "In fact, Missy, I think it's about time that you trigger whatever connection you have to Freya. I think watching it for himself will help Ard incredibly."

"I was hoping to wait for him to finish," Missy said but then took another glance at what I was doing. "But perhaps you're right. At the end of the day, fighting other gods has never been my forte. My connection to most has been tenuous at best."

I cracked an eye open, those words piquing my curiosity.

Aphrodite answered the look. "Missy came from a mortal, raised to a god on her own, a very rare exception amongst gods. Thus, she had no family that could try and take her power. Instead, the only people that could touch her were those who went after her through her aspects, which of course meant they were largely from other pantheons, rather than the continuous fights that broke out within our own."

"So Missy had no natural predators, if you would," I said.

"An astute way to put it, Ard," Aphrodite smiled.

"It's best not to inflate his ego too much," Missy cracked a smile. "And on that note, let's show him what it's like when two gods vie for authority. Ditzy are you with me?"

“Of course, we’ll figure out the rules later.” Aphrodite said quickly.

Missy’s eyes swirled with power as she waved a hand. "I hope you don't mind, but we'll use your soul as a place to launch from. After all, going from a mortal to a mortal is far easier than jumping up and down. And there’s the rule where we're not supposed to screw with the believers of other gods directly,"

Aphrodite rolled her eyes. “I think that's a minor detail, considering what we're about to do."

Missy smirked, and something opened up inside of my soul. Like a tunnel that stretched out between two points.

“Alright, then. In we go," Missy said, pulling out three fragments, and crushing them in her hand, absorbing something from them, and drawing myself and Ditsy through the tunnel, pulled by some unseen force that I couldn't resist.

We passed through something, and Missy took a deep breath, absorbing energy from the walls.

Aphrodite chuckled. "This is your turn, Ard. Use your connection right now to drink from this other soul and empower yourself."

"Is this... King Martin, I asked?" Feeling a little wary.

"If that's the soul we're connecting through to Freya, then absolutely," Ditzy said. "We're using him as a way of passage. At the end of this, Freya is most likely going to collapse this passage, so that Missy can't use it again. So don't feel bad about absorbing and potentially disrupting any of it."

I took Aphrodite's words to heart, breathing in deeply. I began absorbing all the energy I could sense around me, drawing it in to fuel the growth of the palace at the center of Soulgard.

Bonus points if this hurt King Martin at all.

Missy flashed me a heart-melting smile, but I ignored it to focus on my own concerns. My main concern was that somehow I had exposed myself to whatever madness might have already stricken King Martin. 

That was a terrifying thought. Given what he had done to his country, he was so far down the rabbit hole that I wanted absolutely nothing to do with anything like what he was doing. But the tether became firmer under Aphrodite's guidance, and I could feel myself quickly siphoning away power from King Martin's soul into my own, further bolstering Soulgard.

In the future, I'd have to thank him. After all, it wasn't every day that the same man trying to kill you gave you such a lavish free meal.

My journey, however, came to a sudden end when he ripped out the other side of the portal and into a domain that reeked of some pompous woman. I lifted my head through the gilded golden hall to find who I could only assume was Freya sitting on a throne three times too large for her.