Divine Apostasy Book 12 - Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Ruwen strolled through the avocado trees and considered the differences between what Pen had written in his journals and how those details had survived thousands of years. Pen hadn’t referenced the notes that supposedly resonated with the chakras or the use of crystals. Ruwen had confirmed with Harmonic Sight that Pine’s Root chakra had responded to his hummed middle ‘C.’

The hand gestures had survived as had the basic theme of each chakra. Pine’s tribe, to their credit, had retained much of Pen’s original teaching across thousands of years. Quite an accomplishment really.

All the sitting and learning had made Ruwen jittery. He didn’t want to sit again and meditate right now. Returning to the clearing, he continued to consider his next move while running through his Bamboo Viper forms. They had become a part of every muscle, and he didn’t need to concentrate on the actual movements any longer.

Hey Lir, I have this quest to collect some crystals. Can you place their locations on my map please.

Based on quality, quantity, or convenience?

Let’s start with quality. If I can’t find anything suitable, we can go the quantity route.

Done. I have color coded them to their respective chakra.

Thanks.

Opening the map, Ruwen looked for the red dots that represented locations for crystals that would help his Root chakra. He needed to zoom out quite a bit as Lir had placed the locations all over the planet.

Ruwen noted his current location was a country called Mexico. A country to the south had at least one crystal or gem for every chakra. That seemed like a great place to start. Lir had told Ruwen that the Sound of Silence field from his Avatar of Cycles Specialization masked him in every spectrum but the visible one, so he made himself invisible before using his Divine Domain to climb into the sky.

With a thought Ruwen headed toward a place called Brazil.

The wind howled around Ruwen as he soared above the clouds moving at a speed the natives would consider impossible. In minutes Brazil sprawled beneath him, a mixture of dense green jungle and brown rivers that crisscrossed the landscape.

The quest had listed three options for Ruwen’s Root chakra: red Jasper, hematite, or black tourmaline. Brazil had three red dots, one for each type of gem. Not only did Brazil contain gems for every chakra, but in the case of the Root chakra it had all three choices.

The rocks must be common as all three were listed in Ruwen’s Collector Novice Manual he’d gotten on his Ascendancy Day. He glanced through the descriptions of each and decided to search for black tourmaline first.

The quest for these items required the damage to remain under ten percent but Ruwen planned on getting as close to pristine perfection as possible.

Ruwen angled downward as he headed toward the black tourmaline mine. The air thickened with humidity as he pierced the cloud layer and his clothes once again stuck to him. Opening his map he navigated to the resource options. He’d long since unchecked everything to keep his map clean, but now he activated a few relevant choices: mineral, ore, gem, and crystal.

With a smile Ruwen cast three spells he hadn’t needed in a long time. It made him irrationally happy to use them again.

Name: Survey

Effect: Increase map details and automatically update map from all sources. Provide alternative views. Each Ability Point allows a connection to someone else's map. Updates to their map instantly update yours.

Name: Stone Echo

Effect: Sense reflected vibrations allowing discovery of buried or hidden resources. 500 feet per Ability Point.

Name: Sixth Sense

Effect: Channel Energy in a 1,000 foot radius to provide details on nearby nodes such as type, location, density, purity, etc. Every spell level increases the radius by 1,000 feet.

Yellow dots exploded across Ruwen’s map, many of which clustered around the red mark of his destination.

Ruwen’s six hundred twenty-nine levels in Prospecting surfaced and flooded his thoughts with information. Combined with the three spells it felt like the earth now whispered to him, baring its secrets. To the southwest a pulse of energy tugged at his gaze. Veins of pegmatite laced the crust like jagged scars, and he knew black tourmaline hid there.

Ruwen landed silently on a rocky outcrop. He swapped the training clothes he wore for the standard black Shade attire he’d gotten from the Quartermaster Fluffy a lifetime ago in the Black Pyramid. Instead of creating a cloak out of Destruction Essence, he made a shadow scarf which he wrapped around his head to hide his face. Only his eyes remained visible.

The jungle’s humid heat pressed against Ruwen, but the assassin thief gear did an excellent job of keeping his skin cool and dry. He smelled an odd mixture of damp earth, rotting leaves, and fumes from the nearby machinery. The equipment’s mechanical noises were suppressed by the thick air and dense trees making them seem farther away than their true position.

Ruwen extended his Mental Domain and sensed the thousands of bugs and insects that infested the ground and trees around him. He immediately rose a few feet into the air so none of them could crawl on him.

Overlord and Uruziel appeared now that Ruwen’s Mental Domain made it completely safe. If the Minions they inhabited were destroyed the Mental Domain would ensure they remained in contact with Ruwen’s mind.

Instead of the normal battle Minions they usually materialized in, they appeared in Minions that duplicated their real appearance.

Overlord looked like Ruwen from before the Destruction Realm experience. Overlord retained intense blue eyes, dark hair, and stubbled beard over sharp features. In the Destruction Realm Ruwen had been reborn as a Saraph. He’d figured out how to regain his human form, but it had changed. Now he’d grown at least four inches and while he’d kept his dark hair it now had a midnight blue hue near the ends. His face had also become more defined and angular if that was possible. Instead of copies, he and Overlord looked more like brothers now.

Overlord frowned as he looked Ruwen up and down. A moment later Overlord grew four inches taller.

“Stop cheating,” Overlord said when he reached eye level again with Ruwen.

“I didn’t choose these changes,” Ruwen replied. “And you still have the beard so quit complaining.”

“Why do I feel like last year’s model,” Overlord said.

Uruziel hadn’t been tall before and even though she wore boots she now appeared really short compared to Overlord’s new height. She increased her height by four inches and slapped Overlord’s shoulder. “Stop making changes. You’re fine the way you are.”

Uruziel wore a khaki shirt and pants. They had multiple pockets, and a hat covered her red hair. She looked like a treasure hunter. Overlord created a similar outfit, replacing the black clothes that had mirrored Ruwen’s.

“Where’s Sivart?” Ruwen asked.

“He’s talking with Deryssa,” Uruziel said.

Overlord raised his eyebrows and Uruziel slapped his shoulder again.

“Stop that,” Uruziel said.

Overlord tried an innocent look, but Uruziel shook her head at him before turning to Ruwen.

“Deryssa loves strategy, war, and political plots as much as Sivart. It’s not surprising at all that they’d spend a lot of time together discussing them. Especially when some people are terrible friends.”

“I’m not a terrible friend,” Overlord said defensively. “I just have a short attention span which is his fault.” The last was said while pointing at Ruwen.

“Oh no,” Ruwen said. “Don’t somehow make this my fault. You were made from a perfect template. I can’t help that you’ve managed to screw it up.”

“Hardley perfect,” Overlord responded. “Do you know how many things I’ve needed to fix because—”

Uruziel interrupted Overlord by pulling him away. “We’re going to explore, but we’ll stay in the Mind Domain.”

“Sound’s good,” Ruwen said.

Overlord pulled something off the tree he passed and flicked it at Ruwen.

Ruwen managed to stop himself from yelping as he knocked a colorful snake to the ground. His skin prickled but he avoided a shiver.

Overlord’s voice floated back to Ruwen. “Perfect template? You’re a literal god and you’re still scared of the wildlife.”

Ruwen didn’t respond. Technically it wasn’t fair because Overlord had been created inside Ruwen’s head without the concept of fear. An engine Ruwen could use when the fear became too much. Plus, he hadn’t been a god that long. As he glanced around, he decided this was the last place he’d pick to live. Tens of thousands of crawling and slithering things surrounded him, and the dense foliage made it feel cramped. This time he did shiver, and used his Divine Domain like a shield to keep anything from touching him.

“I’m not scared, exactly,” Ruwen muttered. “I just don’t want things crawling on me. I think that’s very reasonable. Even for a god.”

Ruwen moved through the jungle toward the sound of machinery.

Lir, how many people don’t like crawly stuff?

Could you be more specific?

Centipedes, spiders, and things like that.

Precise data is difficult to determine as studies tend to focus on specific phobias rather than a broad category like “crawly things.” A fear of spiders, defined as going out of the way to avoid them or panic at the sight is estimated between three and fifteen percent. Forty-eight percent display some fear of “crawly things.” Lumping centipedes into the general fear of insects and lowering the reaction to mild unease creates a range of fifty to sixty percent.

Ruwen couldn’t tell if Lir was making fun of him or not. Had he imagined the way Lir had said “crawly things?” Lir’s growth as a person was making their relationship more complicated.

So, Ruwen said. What I’m hearing is most people are just like me. I’m normal. Overlord isn’t.

I suppose that is one interpretation.

Thank you. Remind me to rub those statistics in that weirdo’s face.

Lir didn’t respond but that was fine, because the black tourmaline mine had come into view.