The Lone Wanderer

A soothing feeling massaged Percy’s mind as the totem’s gentle radiance seeped into his host’s head.

Over the next few minutes, he sensed something sprout, almost like a new window opening in his mind, waiting to be peered through. This would have probably felt bizarre if he hadn’t had access to something similar for most of his life already.

‘It’s actually happening! It’s like a brand-new Status taking shape in my head!’

Yet, his celebration was cut short when the totem’s glow died down halfway through, leaving the new Decree incomplete. Panicking, Percy tried to access it, but Ea’s Gift didn’t respond, making him fear something had gone wrong.

‘Percy, what’s going on? Why did it stop all of a sudden?’ Enki asked.

Percy didn’t say anything, not having an answer for his host. Opening his eyes, he carefully scanned the glowing pillar in front of them. It was a lot dimmer than before, its colour blinking erratically, almost as if it was unsure as to what it was supposed to do.

‘Is it because the mana was split between me and Enki?’

If Ea’s Decree affected one’s mind like he suspected, it was conceivable the totem would need twice as much mana to grant it to both of them. Had their efforts been doomed to fail from the start?

As if responding to his thoughts, the structure seemed to finally come to a decision. It flashed brightly once more, resuming its work. A new round of crimson soon emanated from it, bathing Enki again.

Percy relaxed as soon as the refreshing feeling in his mind returned. Over the next few minutes, he was content to merely wait there, enjoying the process. What worried him a little, however, was the fact that the totem almost grew entirely dark by the time it was finished.

‘Not looking forward to explaining that to the guard…’

In any case, that was a problem for later.

As soon as the procedure stopped, Percy felt a far more complete sensation in his head – something finally clicking in place. Eager to put his new toy to the test, he reached into the door in his mind, willing Ea’s Gift to manifest.

Though, that was when he ran into another issue.

Unlike before, his efforts didn’t go unanswered this time. However, what happened wasn’t at all what Percy had expected. Rather than Ea’s Gift, it was an intense wave of agony that slammed into his mind like a meteor, making him feel as if his skull had been split in half.

‘Wh-What the fuck?!’ he asked nobody in particular, folding to his knees.

‘Percy? What happened to you?’ Enki asked, seemingly oblivious to his situation.

His voice sounded normal too. The boy clearly wasn’t affected by whatever was causing his pain.

‘Does your head not hurt? Is it just me?’ Percy asked, getting a nod back.

Thinking of something, Percy fell back to his regular Status instead. He hoped that the other – more familiar – door in his mind would be able to shed some light into his situation.

Yet, he couldn’t have been more wrong…

Contrary to his expectations, it didn’t work!

For some inexplicable reason, the trusty Decree that had always followed him to the edge of the universe and back had suddenly gone silent, refusing to appear before him!

Even worse, the mere act of calling upon it only intensified his headache further, making his eyes water and his soul squirm!

‘NOOO!!! What’s going on here?! Did the two Decrees mess each other up?!’

If this stunt had somehow caused him to lose Phoebe’s Decree, he’d want to slap himself!

Ignoring the skull-splitting pain, Percy continued his vain efforts to reach to his Status, unwilling to accept this result. Yet, the Decree didn’t respond for several minutes, causing Percy’s panic to grow like a wildfire.

Just as he was beginning to lose all hope, his efforts finally caused some kind of blurry message to blink into his sight for a few seconds, before fading back out.

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[Overlapping… %!?”… detected… Calibra*(%*… unavailable… ^&)+… assimilation… underway.]

Seeing that, Percy allowed himself to calm down slightly. The pain in his head was still raging on, stronger than ever, and it wasn’t like this was guaranteed to end well. That said, his Status seemed to be aware of the problem at least. It also seemed to be actively working towards a solution. According to the message, it was currently “calibrating”, or trying to “assimilate” Ea’s Gift.

Either way, there was nothing he could do about it, besides waiting for the results.

‘Percy? You’re scaring me man.’ Enki said, his voice quivering.

It was only now Percy realized his host had been talking to him for a while.

‘I’m sorry. It’s nothing for you to worry about. I’ll deal with it later.’ he replied. ‘More importantly, can you pull up your own version of Ea’s Gift? You shouldn’t be affected by whatever is happening to me.’

Percy still had no idea if he’d end up receiving the new Decree himself, but he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t curious to see what it did.

Nodding, the boy then went silent for a second, seemingly reaching into his latest acquisition. Soon, a new panel flashed before their eyes, not unlike how Percy’s Status normally worked. Yet, it had a different owner this time.

___

Enki

Mana cores:

• [Mana core 1 – Red – Fire]
• [Mana core 2 – Red – Pure]

Mutations:

• [???]

Alchemic principles:

• [Extraction] – Separate and condense an ingredient’s essence.

___

Percy frowned upon seeing it.

The only common section was the one listing the boy’s cores. As for bloodlines, spectral traits, spells or Decrees, there wasn’t a word on them. The first two weren’t too surprising, as the boy probably didn’t have any. But the absence of the other two was a little odd.

He could understand why the Decrees were hidden – this had originally been the case for him too. If this Ea guy was anything like Phoebe, he clearly didn’t think mortals needed to know about high-level information like that. But that didn’t explain why there weren’t any spells.

‘Does Enki not know any?’

It was certainly possible, given how little the boy had practiced with his core. Hell, Percy hadn’t obtained his first spell until after reaching Orange. Still, he had a hunch there was more to it than that. Did Ea’s Gift not even bother listing one’s spells?

Its focus seemed entirely different. For one, it acknowledged Enki’s budding understanding of the extraction principle. Percy was quite certain that his Status didn’t care about alchemy in the slightest, as it had never bothered to list his own knowledge of the three pillars.

‘Then, there’s the mutation section. I wonder what that’s all about.’

Percy didn’t even get the chance to talk to his host about it, when the boy let out a pained cry, pressing his palms against his eyes. Both Enki and Percy felt their eyeballs burn intensely, as if somebody had just poured boiling oil into their face. It almost reminded him of the time he and Gabe fought against the golem.

‘What’s happening to my eyes?!’ the boy asked, his voice shaking, as some sticky droplets accumulated in their hands.

Percy didn’t even know whether to laugh or cry. His own splitting headache had yet to go away, and now he had to deal with another – probably unrelated – source of agony.

‘What the hell is wrong with this Decree?!’

Still, seeing the boy sob made his heart clench. The poor kid didn’t deserve so much shit. He was about to speak a few words to console him, when the two heard the gate slam open.

Activating Mana Sense, Percy saw somebody – the guard most likely – swim rapidly towards them. Yet, the man stopped right in his tracks about halfway through, his head jerking in alarm towards the totem.

“Holy One have mercy! Why is the totem so dark?!”

Next, the man turned to Enki, seemingly catching sight of the boy bawling his eyes out.

“Did you actually pass the test with that shoddy cauldron?” he asked in incredulity.

Enki only nodded back.

“Mister… do you know what’s happening to me?”

The guard remained silent for a few seconds before answering, his voice a lot calmer this time.

“Kid, has nobody explained to you how Ea’s Gift works?”

Enki merely shook his head.

“Ha! That must be why you look like your mother just died. Boy, cheer up! This is a good thing!”

“How is it a good thing?” Enki asked bitterly.

Percy, on the other hand, relaxed upon hearing the guard’s words, having put two and two together by now. Sure enough, the man’s next words corroborated his guess.

“What you’re feeling right now are your eyes mutating. The pain should go away in a few eruptions. After that, you’ll have a lifetime to enjoy the new benefits they bring you. Congratulations! You’re now officially an alchemist of Atlantis!”

The man’s words didn’t fully alleviate the boy’s worries, however.

“Mutating? What sort of benefits are we talking about?”

“Have you noticed the strange glow some of our people have in their eyes?” the man asked, getting a nod back.

“Well, that’s what the Alchemist’s Eye looks like. Why do you think the Holy One even bothered disseminating His Gift on our world?”

“I don’t understand. What does Ea’s Gift have to do with one’s eyes? I thought it just listed some important information on our alchemy skills…”

“You’re telling me you worked so hard for this, and you don’t even know why?” the guard asked. “Yes, the Gift does list the alchemic principles you master, but it’s so much more than just a glorified piece of parchment!”

Enki didn’t say anything, waiting for the man to continue.

“The Gift itself is intimately connected to the mutation. Your eyes will draw from your cumulative knowledge of alchemy, allowing you to discern things you wouldn’t otherwise notice. The more alchemic principles you master, the more things you will be able to see!” the guard said with some pride in his voice.

This time, the boy finally calmed down, but Percy wasn’t paying them any attention anymore, his mind drifting elsewhere.

‘Drawing from one’s cumulative knowledge? Will this have a different effect on me when the two Decrees fuse together?’

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