Probably noticing he knew more about the object than they did, the Melodians all looked at Percy eagerly, clearly impatient for an explanation. But he’d rather figure out what exactly he was dealing with before placating them.
‘Because of your soul affinity?’ Percy asked.
‘It’s your turn to answer. Your rules, remember?’
Percy rolled his eyes. The old fox had clearly left his response incomplete on purpose, to bait more information out of him. But he didn’t mind playing along. On one hand, he held all the cards here, as the ring seemed entirely powerless to do anything by itself. On the other, he actually felt a little bad about this person. He had no idea what he’d done to get on Svarog’s blacklist, but he wasn’t sure there was any crime severe enough to warrant spending an eternity trapped inside an object.
‘A friend of mine told me about the rings. Not sure it’s a good idea to share his identity with you, but he’s a god too. And yes, my bloodline allows me to possess dying souls.’
‘A god? Friends with a mortal?’ the ring scoffed. ‘Because of your ability?’
Percy couldn’t help but crack a smile.
‘Yes, yes and yes. Well, acquaintance might be a better term though.’
‘I guess it’s not that surprising he’d take an interest in you. That’s something I couldn’t have even dreamt of doing at the height of my power. Exiting and entering my body at will? Sure. Even surviving on my own for a while. But this…?’ the entity said, clearly not having realized his gaff.
Percy’s grin only grew wider, however.
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‘I believe you owe me four more answers now.’
The ring grumbled something unintelligible for a couple seconds, but then sighed in defeat.
‘It’s not just my soul affinity. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have retained my sense of self if not for my primary concept – the concept of permanence.’
Percy’s lips curled upwards.
‘I think we both know what my next question is.’
The former deity sent back the mental equivalent of a shrug, before elaborating.
‘The concept of permanence is the one this ring has inherited from me. It’s tied to the soul affinity, so both you and the natives of this planet are eligible to obtain it.’
“Percy, do you mind explaining what is going on?” Doh suddenly asked.
From his and Latt’s perspective, Percy and Sol had gone silent as soon as they put on the ring, so Percy didn’t exactly blame them for getting worried. He said a few words to calm them down, promising to bring them up to speed later. Next, he shifted his attention back to the ring.
‘So, what does this concept even do? I mean… it’s not like I get to be too picky – I doubt I’ll get another chance to obtain a blessing in my life… But it would be nice to know what I’m shoving into my core.’
‘Pour some mana into the ring. It’ll be easier to explain once you get a feel for the mana.’ the entity spat.
He still didn’t sound happy about getting caught, but he probably understood he would be hard pressed to convince a mortal to just give up on such a monumental opportunity.
Percy did as he was told. The soul mana changed upon passing through the object, soon obtaining the same grey hue he’d seen in the lake earlier. Only, it was under his control this time. He’d lost a fraction of the mana in the process, as it seemed the conversion wasn’t perfect, but he guessed that should go away if he internalized the blessing into his core in the future.
The mana itself felt denser. Heavier. Not in the advancing-to-the-next-grade sense though. Nor in the making-his-fused-mana-corporeal way either. It was a different feeling entirely. Perhaps, saying it was more compact was closer to the truth.
‘It won’t help you release stronger attacks, if that’s what you were hoping for. The concept’s effects are indirect.’ the former god said, eliciting a disappointed frown from him.
‘Indirect how? And don’t think you’ll get us to let the ring go by lying or downplaying its effects.’
‘Wasn’t counting on it…’ the entity said. ‘The benefits are passive. By constantly washing your soul in the augmented mana, you’ll enrich it in ways you can hardly fathom. For example, it’ll make it a little more durable, allowing it to sustain more damage before falling apart. In theory, your soul should become less dependent on your body to exist, though I still wouldn’t expect a mortal soul to survive on its own for very long. Then again, this is the first time I’ve seen a bloodline like yours. I’ve no idea how the two will interact.’
Percy felt like rubbing his hands in anticipation already, but the entity wasn’t done, seemingly remembering something else.
‘Ah, it should also let you absorb more spectral fiends. Three instead of one.’
Hearing that, Percy drew a sharp breath. Or maybe it was Sol? It was hard to tell, as both were equally shocked by the revelations.
Having a more durable soul was quite niche, as it would only help them protect themselves from spectral fiends and soul attacks, but absorbing more fiends was a very tangible benefit. Even a single one was valuable beyond belief, and they could get two more? Each? Not to mention what other benefits Percy might get when using his bloodline, though that would require some experimentation.
‘Don’t get ahead of yourselves. I don’t recommend absorbing more fiends until you internalize the blessing. Until its embedded firmly inside your core, the effect on your souls will be temporary.’
As if he got doused by a bucket of cold water, Percy couldn’t help but shiver at the insinuation. Indeed, what would happen to him if he were to absorb three traits, only to lose his blessing at some point? Would his soul just collapse upon itself?
Noticing their distress, the god chuckled.
‘Listen, internalizing the trait should only take a couple years. Even between the four of you, it won’t be longer than a decade. How about I co-operate with you until then, but you let me go afterwards? I have no interest in exchanging hands for the rest of my existence, so I would really appreciate it if you kept me a secret.’
Percy raised an eyebrow. From what he’d been able to piece together, years on Melodia were a little longer than those on Remior, but this was still a very reasonable timeframe. Sadly, he wouldn’t be able to get the new traits in time for his battle with Acton, nor did he expect the Holy Child to fire any soul attacks at him, so it didn’t look like the ring would benefit him much before then.
But he very much intended to walk out of the Thirsty Valley alive and with all of his companions with him, so the priceless artifact would no doubt prove indispensable at the time.
However, what he did with it wasn’t solely up to him. First of all, the ring had a soul of its own. He didn’t know if its owner had been a good person or not, or whether he deserved his predicament, but he didn’t want to come to a decision without consulting with him.
And he also had to discuss this with the Melodians. All things considered, he’d found the ring on their planet, and with their help. This would have never been possible without them sharing information about the Mirror Lake and the grey blot, or the countless sacrifices they’d made to get here. Certainly not without possessing Sol’s body.
What happened moving forward was something that all five of them would have to agree on.
‘I’m Percy and the owner of this body is Sol, by the way. The two guys over there are Doh and Latt. I imagine you have a name too?’
‘Ah… a name… what a privilege it is… to speak it again… a few thousand years more, and I might have even forgotten it…’ the god replied, some genuine amusement seeping through their connection.
‘…I’m Zoris.’
A/N: Chapter 341 – Ring