Beacon from Beyond

‘Well, this one has a flair for theatrics, that's for sure’ Dei’s eyebrows rose at Wrath's declaration, he also noticed that Kindness was glaring at… her? Wrath definitely sounded like a woman. Despite that, Kindness did not interject, allowing Wrath to continue.

“How? Simple, they aren’t telling you about the world you’re in. Kindness and other Virtues were for your old world, but you are not in your old world anymore. As you grow and learn, you will come to understand that there are almost no Virtues anymore, they’re an endangered breed in your new world. Vices on the other hand? They permeate everything.

“A Champion of Kindness would be hunted. From kings to farmers, from monsters to animals, you would be chased to the ends of the earth so that those who catch you may torture you for the benefit of raising the strength of their Vices.

“Don’t believe me? Look at my avatar. This avatar is a monster, and a mother. It thought your people were there to kill its brood, so it sought to pick them off first. More than a mother though, it had an affinity for Wrath.” Dei was quick on the uptake after that

‘If I had been a Champion of Kindness in that fight, it would have been incentivized to target me. I would have been picked off first instead, and perished. Nobody would have been able to find it without me as the spotter, and everyone would have died.’ He shivered at the thought

“If there is any doubt in your mind, just know this: the title of Champion is not one easily given out. To become a Champion of an affinity, you must hold the highest connection to that affinity in the entire world.”

Dei, again, became shocked “Mid-Rare is the highest anyone alive in this world has achieved?”

“No” Wrath chuckled arrogantly “Mid-Rare is the highest anyone in your world has ever achieved.

“Vices are simply more suited for the environment you are in. The affinity of Wrath is to destroy anyone or anything that wrongs you. It is to stand up for yourself. When the world crashes down upon you, it is Wrath that gives you the breath to scream, to rage against the unfairness of it all.

“I’ve seen the Wrath in your heart, the hatred you hold for those who wrong you. You are no Champion of Kindness. Instead, I offer to you the contract of the [Scorner]”

[Wrath of the Scorner

Self pity holds no place on the path to victory. Despite those that beat you down, you have stood only taller knowing that, one day, you will raise yourself from the deepest pits of despair to the most unreachable of peaks. They will watch your journey to the top, quivering at every step you take. They will hate you, curse you, pelt you with stones from above, and yet you will bear it all in silence. You will bear it, for you know that when they stand before you and beg for mercy, there will be none.

Wrath is 100% easier to advance

Gain three Uncommon grade Skills of your choosing from all possible Wrath Skills

Gain one Rare grade Skill of your choosing from all possible Wrath Skills

Your Rules of Wrath are revealed to you

When someone breaks your Rules of Wrath, begin passively producing Wrath affinity mana, on top of the burst of initial mana, until you consider them properly punished.

It becomes 20% more difficult to learn and advance other affinities

When someone breaks your Rules of Wrath, you must punish them properly, otherwise your connection to Wrath will be damaged. Damage is dependent on how harsh the punishment would be.]

Much shorter, less boons, but also much less when it came to the drawbacks. “What are Rules of Wrath?” he asked.

“Every user of Wrath has a particular moral code that they will not break, and a belief for the world around them that others should not break, for fear of retribution. The Rules of Wrath are a quantified moral code, they are what causes your anger to spike. Each Wrath user's rules are shaped by their experiences in life, each is unique. To give you an example, almost every Wrath user's very first Rule that they discover is ‘I will protect what is mine’ or some variant of that.

“This Rule was the first you discovered as well, was it not?” Wrath said, and Dei was getting a better idea of it.

Essentially, it was all the things that had made him uncontrollably mad. Having a list of everything would be incredibly useful too, and he could work around it better. He didn’t know they were set in stone though, there were times in his life when he became furious over the most seemingly harmless things, so he assumed there was a bit of ‘randomness’ to it.

“Is there any other way to find the list?” Dei asked “can I get some sort of soul scan?”

“There are other ways, but no singular way to find it. In order to organically discover a Rule of Wrath within yourself, the Rule must be invoked in full and in certainty. Once a core tenant of your being is challenged, the Rule of Wrath will make itself known.”

Dei nodded, basically just be put in a situation where someone crossed a line he could never excuse. He was starting to see how he didn’t know these things in his previous life, because he honestly lived an incredibly easy life. In the short time he had been in this new world, he had to fight spiritual battles and discover monsters or risk dying.

‘That's actually pretty cool when I put it like that’ he smiled at the thought.

He looked over the contract one more time, and the only thing that he considered way too much of a drawback was the last clause, that he would be forced to give in to his anger. He had spent his entire life suppressing it, but if he took this contract, that would be an option anymore. He wouldn’t discredit it entirely, but giving up that control over himself felt wrong.

With Wraths contract out of the way, he looked towards Soul, and Wrath took it as a sign to step backwards into the lineup at the same moment that Soul took a step forward.

It was weird, seeing his old body. His face was neutral, the eyes glazed over slightly. Dei could see through him, like a fading vision of what once was. When Soul spoke, it was distant and airy, like his focus was on something Dei couldn’t see and was only partially trying to talk to him.

“You have known me for the shortest time, yet you can already see the benefits, and the power that lies deep within you. Your connection to me is the weakest of the three, but it does not have to stay like that. I offer to you the contract of the [Wisp].”

[Soul of the Wisp

Diving below, you have found power within yourself that most cannot fathom. The deepest, darkest parts of the soul have scared others away for fear of getting lost, yet you find comfort in the silence of these hallowed pathways. Alone, yet content, you have left behind the complications of life to discover who you always were.

Soul is 50% easier to advance

Gain one Common Skill, chosen for you from all possible sapient-based Soul Skills

Gain one Uncommon Skill, chosen for you from all possible sapient-based Soul Skills

Gain an absolute understanding of your own soul (Already achieved). Gain one Rare Skill of your choosing from all possible sapient-based Soul Skills]

Even shorter than Wrath, with less benefits and less drawbacks. Before Dei could comment, Soul continued

“While this is the only contract I can currently offer, I would ask that you do not accept it. Your connection to Soul is too weak right now, yet you advance quickly. I will implore that you wait until you reach Uncommon rarity in Soul, or further if you can.”

Dei thought for a second, because this contract was the only one without drawbacks, and it was potentially because it had less bonuses than the others. “Are there any drawbacks to it? I might take this one, if only because it won't change anything about me.”

“There are no Weaknesses to the contract, if that is the question” Soul responded, and Dei figured that the Weaknesses of a contract were probably just the official word for the drawbacks. He was going to ask what it meant by “sapient-based” when it came from the list of Skills, but there was a small interruption first.

“If I may?” Kindness interjected, looking between the two. Dei nodded for her to continue, but she simply looked at Soul instead of saying anything yet.

Soul stared back neutrally for a few seconds, before nodding as well and taking a step back. ‘Probably something to do with taking turns. Same with Wrath, even though she wanted to interject when Wrath was dissing her, she couldn’t or wouldn't for some reason.’

Kindness turned to Dei “While there are no official weaknesses, it should be noted that Soul is not a natural affinity for humans. I’m assuming you do not know what that means, as your previous world had a weak connection to affinities and the fabric as a whole?” Dei assumed the weak connection to the fabric just meant that it didn't have any natural mana, so he nodded in response, prompting Kindness to continue. “Natural affinities are affinities creature can have, without changing their biology or makeup. For example, Humans cannot naturally have an affinity for Fire, as it would change them in some way, but a fire elemental could. All sapient races have natural affinities for Virtues and Vices, but differ from one to another. Main branch Humans also have an affinity for Tools, Weapons, Endurance, Chase, and many others.

“Gem Dweller variants don't have Endurance or Chase, but do have natural affinities for Earth and Darkness” She paused for a moment to let Dei process everything.

‘Basically, something that naturally occurs in a being can safely become their affinity, but outside of that, its harmful?’

“So humans don't naturally learn Soul? But humans have souls, isn’t that enough to constitute an affinity?” Dei asked

“While humans have souls, the concept of Soul is too deep for them. Humans can draw upon Soul-derivative concepts, such as Mind or Heart, but diving into Soul itself will change someone.

“I must add though, it is still incredibly common for beings to reach outside of their natural affinities. The Gem Dweller variant as a whole was created when groups of humans moved underground and gained affinities for Earth and Darkness, two non-natural human affinities, and it changed their biologies. They are still humans, just a bit different. You will also come to understand that it changed the makeup of their minds though. Gem Dwellers are level headed and calculating, almost unnaturally so. Your mother is an anomaly, as they are oftentimes not as loving as she is, but the affinities for Earth dampened their emotions, while the affinity for Darkness made them more cold and calculating.

“It still is not a bad thing to happen, simply that by becoming closer to Soul, you will draw yourself away from your natural human state. In this case, Soul will cause you to become more isolated and anti-social, as it is a very solitary affinity. This can be counteracted by gaining more Human-derivative affinities, such as those previously listed, or by strengthening your currently existing human affinities, but it can never fully be suppressed. With each step you take into the Soul affinity, you will change.” Kindness finished her speech, and Dei started thinking more deeply about it.

Humans would not naturally learn the Soul affinity, but they could. It was also probably why the contract spoke of “sapient-based” Skills, as he would only draw from Skills that humans had created, rather than a skill that some ghost made.

From how she said it, it wasn’t unheard of for people to advance in unnatural affinities, but he just didn’t know how common or uncommon it was. As a matter of fact, all of these contracts were based on something he didn’t know, the state of the world.

He simply did not have the knowledge right now to come to a decision on something that was absolutely a major life changing decision. “You said that I was being offered these options now because of a decision I made, but I don't need to choose one right now, do I?” he asked.

“No, you may wait as long as you want. It is recommended to get a better idea of the world you are born into before choosing any. Now that the offers are made though, I must add to what Wrath said about my contract. I do not believe you should discredit it entirely. While it is true that it will be deadly and that there are currently very few Virtue affinities in the world, the power you would gain is immense, and you can use that power to set a precedent for others. Become the change you want to see in the world, Dei, I know your heart is strong.”

Dei contemplated that a bit more. It was true, he really did enjoy helping people, but the drawbacks to the power Kindness offered were immense. This wasn’t a decision he would be making for years to come, but he was glad the options were there.

“One more question, what were the Virtues? I know the Vices, but I never heard Kindness as a-”

Before he finished his sentence, Dei received a notification that he did not have the option to skip. It opened itself, mentally blaring in his face.

[You have become ostracized from your community, Class and Profession locks removed.]

‘What?’ Dei thought with a jolt of terror.

“Faith, Abstinence, Justice, Fortitude, Kindness, Patience, and Love. I am sorry for what is about to happen Dei” Kindness said with a sad smile

“If you survive, spend the next few years trying to kill her” Wrath said gleefully

Soul said nothing, before he felt himself forcefully yanked from his inner world, slamming into place in his body.

He gasped for breath, the shock of having something grab his soul and put it back in place feeling perversely wrong. He could barely see anything, despite his Darkvision. His eyes flew wildly around the room, seeing four candles around him positioned equally around a circle. Looking closer, he noticed it was a magic circle with writing he couldn’t read, but made his mind quiver.

He tried to move his arms, as tiny as they were, but they were tied in front of him. He was completely wrapped in thick rope that shined slightly, despite the oppressive darkness.

He realized he was sitting on a chair made for his size, tied to it, in a ritual circle. He couldnt see anything outside of the circle, no walls or anything, until directly in front of him when two orbs appeared.

Two glowing pale eyes pierced deep into his, and despite the fact that he couldn’t see the rest of her face, he knew exactly who it was.

“Her name is Iora, she was the one with the staff that let everyone out of town” There were many things he didn’t understand about what was happening, but only one thing that he did understand.

He should be very afraid.