Divine Apostasy Book 12 - Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Ting!

You have completed the quest…

Name: Path of the Harmonic

Description: The Verses bow to your music, Harmonic. Dissonance transformed into harmony—peace into conflict—a sacred duty resonates within the symphony of existence, balanced between sound and silence. Commitment a bow—insight an arrow—purpose a crescendo of strength.

Step: 3 of Unknown

Step Description: Resonate with an area at least 20 miles in diameter and exert a Harmonic force equivalent to a Tier 1 Level 4 Foundation.

Reward (Step 3): One item from the Harmonic Conductor Armor Set

Ruwen studied the quest. Previously, the only task remaining had required him to exert a force with Harmony equal to a Gold Cultivator. That had occurred when his whistling had destroyed everything in a line to the horizon.

This quest originated from an Outerverse faction which meant the reward should also contain Outerverse magic. Ruwen acknowledged the quest update and claimed the reward.

A one-foot-tall vortex of sand appeared on the ground in front of Ruwen. It swirled violently but didn’t affect the surroundings. It disappeared with a snapping sound revealing a pair of black leather boots. They were stiff enough to stand on their own but managed to look comfortable despite that. He knelt and touched them.

Tring!

The System has rewarded you…

Name: Boots of Rhythm

Set: Harmonic Conductor (1/7)

Type: Growth

Utilized Capacity: 100%

Quality: Legendary

Effect (Passive): Rhythm Shield - Reduce Luminara and Radiant damage. Effectiveness based on Harmonic Rank vs attacker level.

Effect (Passive): Friction Treads –Attempts to shift wearer out of current dimension must overcome wearer’s Willpower.

Effect (Passive): No Soliciting – Unwelcomed attempts to enter a projected Mental domain via teleport, dimensional warp, rift, or related spatial manipulation must overcome wearer’s Willpower.

Effect (Active): Pursuit of Justice – Reopen any gateway, portal, or dimensional rift detectable by the Conductor. Cost dependent on gate quality, time since formation, and wearer’s rank.

Description: Black boots constructed from harmonic silk. All Harmonics cause fear, but Conductors generate terror in enemies and friends alike. This armor scales with Harmonic Rank.

Ruwen read the brief note located at the bottom of the Notification.

Reach Harmonic Rank 1 to activate step 4 on the Path of the Harmonic.

The statement provided an unpleasant reminder that Ruwen remained at a Harmonic level of zero despite its power. He wondered briefly what the higher ranks would reveal.

Picking up the boots, Ruwen smiled at their softness. They reminded him of the Feather Boots of Grasping he’d lost long ago. He gave himself a quick wash with Scrub, dressed in a new set of Shade gear, and pulled on the Boots of Rhythm. With a thought he could make them visible or keep them hidden even while equipped.

“I love these boots,” Ruwen whispered as he opened the next Notification. It displayed updates for the Forbidden Unity quest, and he focused on the changes in the step description. The second task now showed as completed.

Step Description: The towering trees of faith and enlightenment, their roots deep in the foundations of existence and watered with Harmonic balance, spread their canopies, starving the Truth hidden in the shade of their boughs. Find the smothered notes (Completed), discover a different harmony (Completed), and the path to destroy the “truth.”

The smothered notes in the quest had referred to the sigils Ruwen had discovered on the Destruction Realm towers. When he reassembled the sigils into runes and placed them on his Meridians it had drastically increased their power. Now only one task remained, and he could finish this quest and claim the Heritage Manual reward. That manual should help him with his Harmonic leveling.

Thoughts of Meridians combined with the recent discovery of Creation Realm music, and it caused Ruwen’s Cleverness Attribute to activate.

The music Ruwen had grown up with had twelve notes in an octave. Each octave contained the same notes, only at a higher pitch, and most of the music he knew spanned eight octaves. There were twelve Meridians and each had eight sides.

Hey, Ruwen said to Overlord, Uruziel, and Lir. It occurred to me that each Meridian might be associated with one of the twelve notes in an octave. And if each Meridian had one of these twelve fundamental tones, the eight sides of that Meridian might resonate with its different pitches.

The same note, just an octave higher each time? Uruziel asked.

Exactly, Ruwen replied. So let’s say my Death Meridian resonated with C-sharp. Then each of the eight sides of my Death Meridian would resonate with C-sharp but each side would be at a different octave. Lir, have you seen any relationship like that as you reconstruct those Destruction Realm sigils?

No, but if this hypothesis is correct, it should reveal sigils I have misassembled. Correct reconstructions should sound pure to your Harmonic ear.

Good point. Thanks.

Ruwen wanted to get moving, he’d been in this location far too long, but he wanted to check something first. He extended his Divine Perception and didn’t detect any humans or leprechauns within twenty miles.

Satisfied nothing nearby would cause an interruption, Ruwen removed the geode cavern full of Black Tourmaline he’d taken from the mine and gently placed it on the ground.

Blinking inside, Ruwen removed the Black Tourmaline of Foundation from Inventory. It resonated with his Root chakra which spread into the surroundings. In moments he felt as immovable as a mountain, and his blood surged with energy.

Humming a “C” tone, Ruwen’s Root chakra responded by saturating the area in stabilizing waves. Activating Harmony, he turned toward the fist-sized anomaly that could no longer hide.

The lump of Creation Realm power had a strong similarity to the one Ruwen had blown up in the Carnelian cave. This time, he knelt and pressed his eye to it instead.

It took Ruwen’s eye three seconds to adjust, as if he needed to blink sleep away. Then with a snap the other side of the eyehole came into focus.

A mist-shrouded hill appeared, and rectangular stones formed a circular crown on its peak. The weathered surfaces of the rocks were covered in spiraling patterns that shifted as he watched. At the center of the ring stood a massive granite stele, covered in emerald moss and surrounded by crimson clover.

Ruwen's Root chakra burned fiercely, and he leaned back, rubbing his eye for five seconds. His vision returned to normal and the pain in his Root subsided. When he felt normal again, he opened the Notification.

Bing!

You have gained a new Ability...

Ability: Lesser Severance

Chakra: Root

Classification: Malicious

Description: The First Vortex anchors all beings to the foundation of existence. To master it is to understand that stability is neither absolute nor eternal.

Effect (Triggered): Temporarily severs target's connection to current dimension.

Warning: Use of malicious energies may alter chakra development.

Warning: Higher ability levels of Severance may cause target permanent damage or death.

Warning: The Radiant Faction forbids the use of malicious chakra energy.

Warning: Radiant Faction Reputation decreased by 100 per use.

Ruwen didn’t like his chakras absorbing these malicious abilities, but he didn’t want to pass up knowledge out of fear. Negative consequences would only arise if he used the abilities, so he’d worry about the ramifications of such a decision at that time.

Opening the map, Ruwen found the location of his next objective. It was labeled Citrine of Will, and would help with his Solar Plexus chakra development.

Ruwen jumped fifty feet into the air and sped through the treetops, his Divine Domain leaving no trace of his passage. The jungle canopy reminded him of a green sea and the wind made the humid heat a bit more bearable. The Solar Plexus vault sat near a volcano sixty miles ahead.

The yellow marker on Ruwen’s map quickly grew closer. He’d retrieved two of the eight crystals, but it had taken longer than he’d expected. If he wanted to finish this today, he needed to speed things up. The carnelian had helped pull emotional insights from his Sacral chakra and significantly increased Harmony’s progress. He wondered what the Citrine of Will would reveal.

Ruwen halted in the upper branches a massive ceiba tree. Harmony spread outward through his Sacral chakra, and his vision bloomed with color and complexity. Something felt off but he couldn’t detect anything in the dense life of the surrounding jungle.

Many hard lessons had trained Ruwen to trust his instincts, so he remained still in the treetop. He pushed Harmony into the distance, but his Activated Sacral didn’t possess the strength yet to reach that far. At the very edge of his Sacral’s reach, he felt faint scratching against his awareness

"Leprechauns," Ruwen whispered. "At least fifteen of them."

The scouts had arranged themselves in a circle around the map’s yellow marker. Their emotions seeped into the surroundings: anticipation, hate, and vengeance.

Ruwen studied the distant ambush. The jungle reluctantly parted for a steeply sloped volcano. He didn’t see any smoke or steam and the lava flows appeared old, so he assumed it was dormant. The Solar Plexus vault sat directly under it.

The leprechauns, at least the ones Ruwen detected, all sat impatiently on the surface. He wondered if he should use Dig and Melt to tunnel to the vault or face the ambushers first. It only took a moment to decide, and he dropped to the ground.