Divine Apostasy Book 12 - Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Minimized Notifications blinked in the bottom of Ruwen’s vision, and his quest interface had flared brighter letting him know a quest had updated. He assumed those all related to banishing the last of the five leprechauns. Maybe its treasure had been in that tree.

Ruwen felt bad for destroying such a magnificent tree and used his Architect Role to reconstruct it.

Glancing around for loot, Ruwen froze when he heard the cursing. Since he couldn’t understand the words, he based the assumption on its fierceness.

Ten feet away, two green puddles formed as liquified leprechaun bubbled up from the ground. In seconds the fifth leprechaun reformed. It glared at Ruwen as it attacked with its loom, the bone needles weaving a frantic tempo. This attack contained far more complexity, but now Ruwen could follow the patterns.

With this new understanding, Ruwen adjusted his own Harmony, incorporating the same microtones and resonances of the leprechaun’s song. Control of the environment returned to Ruwen.

"You learn quickly, Feldhexe," the leprechaun said, its voice now tinged with concern. "But learning isn't mastery."

Ruwen didn't respond. He extended his Perception using his enhanced Harmony, looking for the leprechaun’s treasure. Daggers made from sound launched outward from the loom, but Harmony could see the attacks now, and Ruwen easily dodged them.

The newly expanded Harmony still couldn’t see the leprechaun’s treasure, but it detected a wrinkle in the Material Realm’s fabric. Ruwen utilized his Activated Sacral chakra again, and the small chest, and its contents, revealed themselves.

The treasure inside wasn't gold or gems but a collection of seemingly random objects: a child's worn stuffed bear, a tarnished wedding ring, a faded photograph, a handwritten letter, and a small wooden flute.

These weren't objects of material value but items of emotional significance—things people had cherished, mourned, and remembered.

"You're stealing memories," Ruwen said.

The leprechaun's hands stopped abruptly, and the jungle suddenly became quiet. "We harvest what humans discard. Their forgotten treasures feed our looms."

Ruwen studied the items again. With his expanded Harmony, he could sense the basic emotional resonances trapped within each object—love, loss, joy, regret—complex human experiences absorbed by common items.

The leprechaun had created music but not magic. Instead, it harvested the emotional echoes from these items and weaved them into attacks with its loom. It had weaponized human emotions using its knowledge of Creation Realm magic.

Ruwen didn't want to demolish these items. The emotional energy they contained would make casually destroying them too hard to bear. The combination of his enhanced Harmony and Activated Sacral meant he could sense and somewhat see the Creation Realm magic. And that meant he could target that instead.

Ruwen channeled the improved Harmony through his Sacral chakra and located the strings of Creation Realm magic that snaked away from the leprechaun. Ruwen plucked at the threads experimentally.

The leprechaun screeched, its fingers fumbling. The loom's bone needles stuttered and stopped before falling to the ground.

"No!" the scout cried. "Those are mine! Mine to weave!"

Ruwen shook his head. "They were never yours."

A vicious smile appeared on the leprechaun’s face. It waved a hand in front of its face, as if opening curtains.

A card appeared, floating in front of the leprechaun’s chest. The image side faced Ruwen, but like the ones he’d collected the picture was smeared and blurred.

Ruwen’s curiosity flared. “What are the cards?”

“Magic beyond your feeble mind’s comprehension. Curse the Great Fading and thrice curse you miserable humans.”

Ruwen leaned back and held out his hands. “Hey, don’t blame me. I just got here.”

The floating card looked very different using Harmony. It reminded Ruwen of storm clouds churning in place.

Jumping to the scout and interrupting him would be trivial for Ruwen, but he wanted to learn more about these cards and Creation Realm magic, so he stayed put.

“You forced me to reveal my true power,” the leprechaun said, “and I’ll bear that shame for centuries.” Greed filled its gaze. “But once your dead I’ll claim those precious cards and, shamrock willing, I’ll add them to my deck. The Clans will bow to my power. Perhaps the entire Realm.”

Ruwen summoned the five cards he’d looted and waved them in the air. “Seriously? These five and your one are enough to rule the Creation Realm?”

The leprechaun stepped forward before he caught himself. He looked ravenous, and his hands trembled.

“How did you condense those?” the leprechaun asked in disbelief.

“Is that what it’s called? I take it that’s rare.”

Green drool dripped from the side of the leprechaun’s slack jaw.

Ruwen didn’t figure this conversation would last long so he returned the cards to Inventory and plowed straight to his questions. “Have you heard of blood Arrays? I think your Decks are the same concept except they’re associated with the mind not the body, and that makes these cards something like blood Node gems. I’ll bet a card’s Suit is like it’s Heritage.” Ruwen pointed at the floating card. “Is that your only Deck? With just the one card?”

Ruwen realized how poorly he’d phrased those questions, but the damage was already done.

The green runes flared brightly, and the leprechaun hissed. “Such ignorant arrogance.” The scout touched his temple. “To hold even one tier nine concept is a feat you despicable humans could only dream of.”

Ruwen guessed the tiers got more powerful as the number decreased based on the fact this leprechaun implied he held a tier nine card.

“What do—”

The leprechaun interrupted Ruwen with a shout. “Mind Storm!”

The card spun in place, so quickly it became a blur. It pulsed with energy, and Harmony detected the area around the card warping slightly. The card stopped abruptly, snapping into its original upright position, before releasing a pulse of energy at Ruwen.

Ruwen smelled rain and the acrid scent of burnt air. His skin prickled as the surroundings cooled and rumbling thunder caused the ground to vibrate.

Last Breath activated and Overlord appeared in Ruwen’s vision. The world around them froze.

“Sorry for Last Breath,” Overlord said. “I wasn’t even sure I could trigger it.”

“What’s up?”

“You should see for yourself. It’s in Purgatory.”

“Caused by that card magic?” Ruwen asked.

“Must be.”

With a thought both Ruwen and Overlord arrived at the edge of the golden bamboo forest. Ruwen placed a flat palm on his fist and bowed to Prythus who silently returned it.

Overlord pointed to a small storm cloud, and then at a smoking stalk of bamboo.

“Not too effective,” Ruwen said. “I wonder if that’s because it’s magic from a tier nine card or a result of my mental situation.”

“Speaking of your mental situation,” Overlord said, “this is what I really wanted to show you. It’s at the shed.”

At the speed of thought they appeared next to the shed that housed the portal that transitioned between Ruwen’s outer and inner mind. Instead of a ramshackle structure, a polished wooden dish the size of a warehouse hovered in the air blocking the view of the portal. Sivart floated at the structure’s edge, intently studying its surface. He turned and gave Ruwen a wave.

“Hey Sivart,” Ruwen said, but the former Narrator had already turned his attention back to the dish.

“What’s that?” Ruwen asked, pointing at what had replaced the shed.

“I’m guessing its to focus or concentrate your mental defense. And by defense, I mean the mental death ray returned at anyone who attacks your mind.”

“Okay, but why did this thing appear.”

“Sivart,” Overlord said.

Sivart pointed as he spoke. “The dish looks smooth, but its not. Shallow channels crisscross the surface with occasional points of convergence.”

“I triggered Last Breath as soon as it appeared,” Overlord said. He faced Sivart. “Did you make any sense of it?”

Sivart sighed and appeared in front of Ruwen and Overlord. “It’s one of the geometric configurations the Zealot’s angels used to amplify their Soul magic.”

“A new one, or one we practiced?” Overlord asked immediately.

“One of ours,” Sivart said thoughtfully. “I hadn’t considered what a new one would mean.”

Ruwen looked between Overlord and Sivart. “Are you guys being cryptic on purpose?”

Overlord pointed at the dish. “That thing not only appeared, but its surface is etched with one of the geometric arrays we practiced. By we, I mean myself and the forest guardians. If that thing works, it’s going to increase the potency of your mental retaliation.”

Ruwen raised his eyebrows. “That’s probably not good, since it already damaged deities. Did one of the guardians make it?”

Overlord disappeared and reappeared five seconds later. “Prythus says they didn’t make it. It’s a mystery but doesn’t feel out of place and doesn’t bother the guardians at all. He said, it feels like part of the grove.”

Ruwen returned his attention to the dish. “Are you saying the bamboo grove made this?”

“It did originate in your inner mind,” Sivart said.

“And it was created with the mixture of all those different magics,” Overlord added. “It’s not out of the question.”

Ruwen forced himself to say it out loud. “Are you guys suggesting the grove is alive?”

Overlord looked around the blood red trees surrounding the clearing at the top of the mountain. “It might have started in the grove, but I think it’s this whole place now. Purgatory is alive.”