Rise Of The Godking - Chapter 142 A Test End

Daniel laughed, amused by the woman’s confusion while bending his legs, as if he meant to sit. There was nothing behind him, at first, but in a flash, a throne appeared out of nowhere that cushioned him perfectly and made him look like a king waiting to pass judgment on the subjects brought in front of him.

The throne was worked in gold and silver. A dragon’s head was at the front of each armrest. The rest of each body curled around the back of the throne, framing him between their wings. The tail wound all around the throne, ending at the two front legs, and wherever there was an empty spot, creatures of legend- at least, back on Angaria- had been carved to be so lifelike that it almost seemed as if they would jump out of the throne and attack the woman at any moment.

She was so captivated by the design and the sheer workmanship of the piece of art that her jaw dropped and she stared, drool dripping out of the corner of her lips. She also seemed to be reliving that moment when he had created it in her head, and slowly, Daneel saw realization flash across her eyes as the truth dawned on her.

“Y-you’ve already been accepted by a Will before…so Larefa threw me out. But it’s so unfair! Yet…it makes sense, at least. How did you know? To be able to see through the world I created, and find me… your consciousness would have to be extremely strong-much stronger than mine, at least! Even stronger than many people on the Mainland who focus their entire lives on building their minds! Seriously, what are you? So many secrets! I can’t believe it! Well, one thing is for certain. You’re definitely not just a young slave from Graiton, as you claimed. Larefa remembers Graiton, you know, when she was first brought here. He was larger, but he was just as helpless as her. And as all the others here. It was so sad…”

It was Daneel’s turn to be surprised as he heard the woman mention the will by the name of the island, and as a ‘her’. His guess had turned out to be right, but there were still things left that he needed to discover.

He had reasoned that even if the Will might be capable of things he didn’t know, it was quite impossible for one that belonged to such a small island to develop a complete, fleshed-out personality. Hence, that left only one other option: someone had died and fed their consciousness into the crystal to coexist with the Will and take control of it.

In such a weak state, the Will was just like a child who would even go along with a stranger if they promised candy. That didn’t mean that he had taken advantage of it…but still, it was obvious how it might seem like cheating to the woman.

Seeing him think without saying anything, she pouted, again, and folded her hands. She might have looked serious if not for the messy state of her gown and her hair that stood up in all directions, but ignoring these other features and turning to her, he said, “Yes, I have many secrets, and they need to be kept secret. That is the answer to your test. I will not choose; in fact, I refuse to. With my power, I will always find a path that is unique to myself, one that is better than all those that are offered. That is who I am. That is what I am. Do I pass the test?”

She glared at him as he asked that question. Then, spitting out a curse he didn’t understand, she grumbled “For someone with so many secrets, you’re dumb. You’ve taken control of the Will, and you’re asking if you passed? The whole point was to impress the Will with your decisions, decisions that should have shown that you would always place the good of those you are supposed to save over all else! You got to the end without running the damn race…but of course you pass!”

The way she said it all with her face facing the ground and her eyes looking up while her mouth chewed out each word as if they were being pulled from her was adorable. With a smile, Daneel replied, “Good. What now? What does the prophecy say, exactly?”

“What prophecy?”

Daniel faltered, then coughed.

“It seems that you thought I would now…but I don’t. I sleep a lot, you know. I just woke up a little time ago, when you freed all the slaves. I did hear that old man collect a lot of stories, but all of them seemed like drivel. I heard a few prophecies, but I know none that deal with this. I died long ago, you know. I didn’t even know such a thing could happen. I just killed myself near the Will because I didn’t want to be captured. Imagine my surprise when I woke up here! The slaves are all descendants of a few who survived the massacre. Ah, I’m babbling. What now? Time for me to die, I guess. I heard your little discussion, so I know that you need the island to sink. When that happens, I’ll finally stop existing. Maybe it’s a boon, cos I have been bored, here, for so long, even though I was excited to find a friend…”

Still on the ground, she turned her head, trying to hide her tears from Daniel. She kept wiping them away, but they kept coming. He could almost imagine how it must feel to be someone like her. His close mentor and friend had been a dragon who had lived a life much like hers. Suddenly, he found himself wanting to grant her the gift of life, but with his limited capabilities, what could he even do?

Bending his head, he pondered on the issue. No idea came to him even after a few minutes passed, so he looked up to find that she had finally stopped crying, and seemed to be coming to terms with what was soon going to happen.

That…was when the idea came to him. The way her face was filled with determination, now, was very similar to something he had just seen. Instantly knowing what to do, he said, “Wait here,” and disappeared.

The Will was under his control, so he could go back to his body whenever he wished. He had forgotten one tiny little detail, though, in the excitement of finding a way to do something that should have been impossible, and it hit him on his head like a hammer as soon as he returned to his physical existence.

His ‘frae’, the seed that had just grown so much a day ago was suddenly bathed by the last store of energy left behind inside the crystal that held the Will. Again, Daneel had no idea what was happening…but the seed closed down on itself, then pushed outwards to cause so much pain that he closed his eyes tightly and bit his lips with so much force that he drew blood.

He almost didn’t hear the gasps of surprise from those in the room. The most pronounced of them all was from the elf, who also stood up the moment he saw what was happening. Daneel heard hasty footsteps, but he couldn’t tell who they belonged to.

The process of contraction and expansion had begun again. A few seconds after it did, he suddenly felt two hands on his back, and a pleasant, warm stream of…something flowed through them, through his back, all the way to the seed, cocooning it in a safe bubble of what Daneel now recognized as energy.

With the help of the elf, the process went by much quicker, this time. Each time the seed got tired of trying to push past its boundaries, that stream of energy would grow, nourishing it and giving it what it needed to relentlessly push forward. Daneel could tell that it would have continued despite this urging, but the pain and the sheer fraying of his senses that he would have had go through had been lessened to such a degree that he wished he could hug the elf then and there.

It felt like it went on for a long time, but in fact, only five minutes passed. With one last push, the seed burst outward…and grew to 3 times what it had been until then.

It sucked in energy greedily, then, from the vajrams at his waist. That same, short period of absolute, exhilarating clarity arrived, and along with it came the senses that were heightened so much that he could even hear the hearts of all those around him beating quickly.

He could feel the very motes of dust beneath his body, and all around his skin. He could differentiate each individual in the room by just their breathing, and he sorely wished they he could hang onto this state, but it left as soon as he felt this desire.

He opened his eyes, and the first person he saw was Seline, looking shocked, but also confused as she wasn’t a mage who could see what had just happened in his body. The elder stood up beside her, his face glowing as if everything he had hoped for had come true, but for the moment, Daneel ignored him.

When he spoke, his words echoed in the cavern and when he was done, the confusion Seline felt grew so much that she seemed convinced that her ears were defective.

“Say… what you think about accepting the spirit of one of your ancestors into your mind? She’s…fun! And you’ll always have someone to talk to, along with a nice boost of power. Doesn’t that sound great?”