“It's your soul. Dealer’s choice.”
“Copy that. Status it is.”
Arden snapped his fingers, and his crimson Status window appeared in front of each of them. Even though he knew what his new abilities were, he hadn’t seen it lain out by the Status yet. This would be a learning experience for both of them.
Name: Arden
Starborn Tier: Red
Starborn Rank: Protostar
Constellation: RedShift
- Rank: Paradox
- Description: As stars travel across the universe away from us, they take on a red appearance and are called red shifts. You too will become red with blood as you advance. The question remains as to whether your humanity will come with you, or if you will leave it behind in the name of power.
- Legacy: Arden
Innate Ability: The Blood of Billions
- Description: Due to your Paradoxical nature and possession of a Legacy, your evolution process is different from other Starborn. You do not have a Stellar Core and Stellar Essence, but a Star Core that feeds on Biomass from slain foes.
Protostar Ability: Devour
- Description: With a touch, you can devour Biomass for your own benefit.
“Damn, that's satisfying to look at,” he said after reading through it. “Almost makes me feel like everything that happened was worth it. Almost.”
“Hey Arden?”
“What’s up?”
“Are you sure you’re not evil?”
“I’m not evil.”
“You sure? Cause that sounds like something someone pretending not to be evil would say.”
“I'm not evil,” he repeated.
“Being evil isn’t that bad. Sometimes a little bit of bad is pretty good.”
Arden sighed and looked at her.
“I guess you’re right. Besides, I already have my sexy femme fatale henchwoman. All I need is a group of thugs with flat caps and pipe wrenches to really sell it. Preferably with ties to organized crime and a tendency to say ‘foged abad it’ without irony.”
“Henchwoman?” Vera asked.
“Don’t let it get to you. I’ll get you a real nice pipe wrench.”
Vera shook her head in exasperated amusement.
“I said you were evil, not a villain.”
“I’d rather be a villain than just evil. It’s more fun. Think about it. Evil people are evil for the sake of it. Villains are colorful. They are fans of the dramatic. Look at my Status again. ‘RedShift. The question remains as to whether your humanity will come with you, or if you will leave it behind in the name of power.’ That’s the flair of villainy.”
“So you’re not evil,” she reiterated. “You’re a villain.”
“Correct.”
“You’re an idiot.”
“Also correct. But I am your idiot now.”
Vera made a face like she was just forced to swallow a heap of sand with a dead wasp hidden somewhere inside.
“Ugh. I can’t even dispute that.” She turned her attention to his ability. “Blood of the Billions…what does that mean?”
“It means I don’t need star cores. I just need to devour things instead.”
“You’re going to eat Celestials?” she asked dryly.
Arden shrugged.
“No one ever said the job was easy. Just worthwhile. Besides, eating food made out of Celestials has always been an interest. I’ve heard it's to die for.”
Vera stood in thought as she looked over the strange space. Honestly, it was amazing to see something like this. Only in Stargates and soul clusters could one see the stars. And Arden’s soul cluster made it seem like he had control over them. Not to mention the little quirks of his abilities. A Starborn who didn’t need cores would completely shatter the Starborn meta. She looked at the goofy grin plastered on Arden’s face as he talked about villainy and eating monsters. It only made sense for a strange powerset to be given to an equally strange man.
“Speaking of Celestials,” Arden said. “You ready to see my Satellite collection? It’s quite extensive.”
As soon as Arden said that, eight orbs of light appeared and orbited his star core. One gray, one white, five red, and strangely, one gold. Since the last time Arden had been here, he had gained one red Satellite, and the gold one as well.
“Woah,” Vera stared. “How’d you get a yellow and white one?”
“I found the white one. Well, stole. Just like you, thinking about it. The yellow one I was given during my appraisal. Also, I’m pretty sure it's a bit more special than the average yellow Satellite.”
“What gives you that impression?”
“The name of it. Apparently, it's called a Spark of Paradox.”
When Arden said the name, the gold Satellite’s mote of light changed to reveal its true form, a golden ember. The Status appeared before both of them, displaying the Satellite’s information.
Spark of Paradox
Satellite Tier: Paradox
Satellite Rank: Protostar
Satellite Type: Consumable (1/1)
Satellite Description: The Lone Star used some of its paradoxical power to make you a Archon’s Legacy yours. However, not all of its power was used in the evolution. The remaining energy coalesced into this manifestation of paradoxical power.
Satellite Aspects: Wish Upon a Star
Wish Upon a Star: Can be used to twist the threads of fate to grant a single wish.
Neither said anything as they read the description of the Satellite that Appeared. It boggled the mind to think that something of this caliber existed. This was something that wars were fought for. It was utterly broken. Impossible. Paradoxical.
Arden’s mind raced as he tried to think of the many possibilities that the Spark of Paradox presented to him. If he wanted, he could wish himself incredibly strong. He could wish his parents to be alive again. He could wish for his sister to be safe. Cured.
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Literally nothing was off the table. That was the power of a paradox. Anything that couldn't happen could be made real. The only limit was his imagination, and just how much juice the spark had left.
A smile slowly spread across Arden’s face, and Vera commented on it.
“That's quite the evil smile you've got going on there for someone who claims not to be evil. Mind filling me in on your little scheme?”
“Nothing's concrete yet,” he said. “But I may have an idea.”
Arden looked back to the golden ember with an enthusiastic smile. He was giddy now, as he thought of what was to come.
“You’re going to see something amazing pretty soon.”
“What are you going to do with that? I assume it has something to do with Sya, considering who you are. Are you going to try and cure Sya?”
“If she wants to,” he replied. “I’ll admit, that was one of my first thoughts. But I figured I have a ticket to literally anything. I gotta think big if I want the Spark to be used properly. Then it hit me.”
He gestured grandly to his soul cluster.
“What if Sya had this? What if I turned Sya into a Starborn? What if she became a Starborn like no other because of her connection to the Blight?”
“That’s a lot of if’s, Arden. Even if she does become a Starborn, what makes you think she’ll have Blight powers? We still don’t even know if she wants to live like a Starborn. She joined in the training because there was nothing else for her to do, not because she wanted to get stronger.”
“I know it's a longshot. That’s why I said that if she wants, I’ll just cure her instead. She’ll be a normal human. But if she wants to become something more, something like us, we can make it happen. But whatever happens, it’s her choice.”
“Do you think she’ll choose to be mundane?”
“I highly doubt it. She’s been cooped up for years. The Stargate was the most fun she had in years because she finally got to do something. I don’t think she'd be willing to give that up. I know I wouldn't if I was in her position.”
“But, as we've already established, you are a bit strange.”
“And Sya’s the one who's been with me since the beginning. She's just as weird.”
With a thought, the golden ember returned to its previous state and began orbiting his soul core again. The showcase of his Satellites was interrupted, but it was time to continue.
“What do you want to see next?” Arden asked.
“I'm thinking of that one,” she said, pointing out the grey mote of light that contained the Transplantation Boon.
Arden summoned it forward for Vera to read. When she was done, Arden returned it to its place around his core.
“After the spark, I doubt anything will catch me by surprise,” Vera said. “Don't get me wrong, that Boon is great and will definitely be helpful in the future, but-”
“It's basic,” Arden finished.
“Right. That's the problem with most Consumable Satellites. The ones that aren't used in crafting are more times than not herbs or treasure from Celestials, and will give you a nice permanent buff, but they aren't exactly showstoppers. Only exceedingly rare ones like the Spark of Paradox can do something special.”
Arden grabbed the token and rubbed his fingers across the arrow carving.
“What’s the best play?” He asked.
“Probably what you're thinking. Take a good aspect and add it to your best Satellite. Just so you know, because it's red tier, it will only work with red tier Satellites, so don't try to give the Spark an unbreakable aspect or something.”
“Damn. Well, I'll think of something.”
He threw the token in the air and it dissolved into gray sparks. In a few seconds, its orbit continued.
“I'll go next,” he said, summoning Rogier’s Tree.
After inspecting it, Vera mentioned how the Spear Shift ability would work really well against human opponents, if he could manage to learn to change its form mid-attack without ruining said attack. Afterwards, they discussed the lore implications of the Great Grave Archwood and its Maverick. Arden wondered what made the difference between a Sovereign and an Archon, but had no answers. To him, they were both deity-like bullshit entities. Neither of them had any idea what to make of Great Grave Veneration.
Once the Spear was returned, Vera chose the next one to inspect. Arden grimaced and reluctantly summoned his only charm-type Satellite, Oath of Blood. When the crimson jewel appeared, Vera gasped, not noticing Arden’s expression.
“It's beautiful…”
The Status appeared and showed its Description.
Oath of Blood
Satellite Tier: Red
Satellite Rank: Protostar
Satellite Type: Charm
Satellite Description: A lost soul waited for eons to see someone one last time. She made a promise, an oath, to always stand beside that person. As she finally fulfilled her promise, she was ripped from that person’s arms. An oath of blood is not something so easily severed, even in death. She will always stand beside him.
Satellite Aspects: Blood Bond
Blood Bond: You grow stronger when alongside the person who made the oath.
“A charm-type… The most valuable type of Satellite sought after by pretty much every Starborn, and you got one during your first trial.”
“It just kind of ended up that way. Believe me, no one is more surprised about this than me.”
“I can imagine. What do you make of the description?”
Arden thought back to the trial, and the words shared by Vera’s counterpart. Her final moments. Her desperation to stay with him.
“I think they should be taken at face value. The one who dropped this said things that perfectly correspond to the description. Right before she died, she told me that she would always be with me.”
Vera noticed the agony hiding just behind his eyes. She could tell he was doing everything he could do to avoid letting it get to him, and it was failing. Vera grabbed his hand and looked into his eyes.
“Hey, hey. Let's move on. You don't have to talk about this one if you don't want to. Clearly, this is from your bad time in the trial. We can always come back to it later, when you're ready.”
Arden squeezed her hand in return, and he couldn't help the smile appearing on his face. It was just nice to have someone on his side again.
“Sorry,” he said. “When I think of what happened to that person in the trial…” he shook his head. “It's something I need to talk to you about. You deserve to know. I just don't know how to.”
Vera gave a self deprecating smile.
“I get it. It's hard bringing up the topic of your ex with your current.”
“It's not like that. You are my first. It's literally what I said. I just don't know how to let you in on it. It's confusing.”
He pulled Vera into a hug and spoke softly.
“I'm sorry for dumping all of this onto You. I wasn't the only one to go through the trial. You're hurting too. I've been on the receiving end of your care, but I haven't helped you at all.”
“Stop, Arden.”
Arden pulled away and saw Vera’s uncharacteristically serious face. It honestly scared the crap out of him.
“Don't apologize. You have every right to be cared for after experiencing trauma. Yes, I went through some stuff in my own trial, but I was raised for this. You've only just started your journey, while I've been on it for years. And besides, it's not like you're the only one getting care. I feel my heart getting lighter every minute I'm with you. You also have every right to keep some secrets. Especially after I found out some of your secrets earlier in our relationship. Especially especially when your secrets are as special as the first ones. I know that now. So don't feel bad for feeling bad.”
Arden was speechless. He just stood there with an expression that was a mix of relief, love, and awe.
Adding to his confusion was the Oath of blood which blazed to life, bathing the pair in the soft warm glow of red light.
The Status displaying the charm’s information slowly changed under the pair’s astonished eyes as several characters were added.
Blood Bond: You grow stronger when alongside the person who made the oath.
- Vera
A red intricate pattern appeared floating in front of Vera’s chest. The pattern consisted of a blood droplet above a heart with two abstract shapes flowing alongside the heart’s lower half with a curve. All of the shapes were held within a circle with an x crossing over it.
“It feels warm,” Vera said. “What happened to it?”
Arden brought his finger to the brand, but his finger passed through it. It had no physical form.
“I don’t know. I guess this shows that you’re the one that’s bound to the Satellite.”
He touched the jewel instead, and it appeared around his neck with a swarm of red sparks, just like what would happen when summoning any red-tier Satellite. When it was fully manifested, an identical pattern appeared in front of the jewel.
“Do you feel any different?’ Arden asked.
“Not really. Warmer, like I said. If I am any stronger, then it’s not noticeable at all. At least it looks nice.”
With a tap of his core, the Oath of Blood disappeared and joined the other Satellites in the sky above them, and the pattern in front of Vera vanished. They didn’t really talk about what the Oath of Blood could be used for as they still didn’t really have an idea how to use it. Until they did, it would remain as just a piece of bling.
“My turn again.”