[Path Quest Stage 2]

[Goal: Complete a Path Choice Quest]

[Reward: Transportation to Earth]

[Optional Goal: Recruit Assistance for Self or Earth]

[Optional Reward: Additional transportation to Earth]

[Penalty for Failure: Discontinuation of Path Quest]

Serenity had never been told he needed to find a Path Choice Quest before; they usually just appeared when the conditions were right. They were something Serenity knew quite a bit about; he had looked into them in his past life. Most of the time, the rewards were whatever came directly out of the actions the person took, but sometimes the Voice would add an appropriate reward.

This time, it looked like there was an additional reward - a way home. Serenity wasn’t sure why the Voice wasn’t just using the Tutorials as transportation, but the quest reward told him that wouldn’t work. The problem was that he wasn’t sure how to find a Path Choice Quest.

What he did know was that most of the time, a Path Choice Quest involved other people - especially for a Path like the one he was trying to walk this time. His immediate goal needed to be finding people. Perhaps he should wait until his Aspect healed to actually meet them, but he could start looking immediately.

After a few minutes, the flow of Death energy into his aura and Aspect slowed. He’d taken everything that he could from what his aura could reach. His Death Affinity had increased again, but beyond that he didn’t see any changes. His Aspect probably needed more.

Serenity searched the room for an exit. It took a while, but eventually he found the remains of a secret passageway in one of the walls. The tomb had clearly been broken into, but for some reason whoever came in had rolled some stones across the entryway after they left.

On second thought, perhaps it was “while” they left instead of “after”. While he was clearing the stones, Serenity found a skeleton buried in the rubble. It looked like the explorer - whoever it was - had been armed with a shortsword (now broken) and a glass lantern (also broken).

Serenity moved the corpse into the sarcophagus. Somehow it seemed more appropriate than just leaving it lying on the floor, and whoever had used the sarcophagus before wouldn’t need it again. It was possible the skeleton would reanimate when the Death energy returned, but Serenity figured that was only fair; if you raid the tombs of the restless dead, you’ve accepted a chance to become one of them if you fail.

As he went farther, Serenity had to stop periodically to let the fresh Death energy wash over him. It felt comforting and familiar; he had to remind himself that this wasn’t his Path and he needed to keep moving regardless. It was easier to move on when he drained an area.

Serenity had to clear three more old traps before he was able to reach open air. None of the later traps had caught anyone - at least, not anyone whose body wasn’t retrieved.

The outside of the tomb was a large rectangular stone structure with a steeply slanted roof. Serenity had somehow expected it to look Egyptian, but it wasn’t hidden and it definitely wasn’t pyramidal. The roof looked like something you’d find in snow country, rather than something from a desert.

Around the building was a Death-tainted wilderness. It was dense enough to be nearly jungle; usually a sign of a heavy concentration of Life energy, but all Serenity could feel was Death. Serenity looked at the trees and concentrated; he knew his eyes must have started glowing when he started seeing the vital energy of the surrounding plants. Nearly all used both Death and Life.

All except for the ones very close to Serenity. Those used only Life, because he’d stripped the Death from them. As he watched, one of the large forest giants started to tip over.It had reached the stasis of Death-in-Life, and without the Death energy to hold itself upright was falling.

Serenity made sure he wasn’t in the way.

Serenity started walking. He didn’t have a destination, since he didn’t know where he could find a Path Choice Quest. He’d just have to walk until he encountered a situation that gave him a choice. There wasn’t much of a path, but he followed what he could find, hoping that it would lead to people.

He was careful to avoid any more giant trees, but he still left a trail of devastation in his wake. Many of the plants could handle the temporary loss of Death energy, but very few of the animals could. He was attacked by undead several times - mostly undead animals - but they simply dissolved before they reached him.

The undead were the only food he saw, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to eat them until his Aspect recovered - and then he hoped he wouldn’t need to. Eat Death said the absorbed energy could be ‘consumed’, and he hoped that meant he wouldn’t have to eat undead. Eating undead sounded appetizing and disgusting at the same time, and it was obvious which was from his new Path.

After a day of walking, he found himself climbing a ridge into sparse vegetation. He felt hungry, but it was the hunger of going without eating for a couple of days, not the incredible hunger and weakness he’d felt back in the Tutorial. It was obvious those problems were caused by his Aspect, now that his Aspect was fed and not pulling from his body’s resources.

From the top of the ridge, he could see the forest thinning quickly ahead of him as it rose into hills and then mountains. Behind him, the line in the forest where he’d walked was obvious. Some things were more vibrant, but many had been destroyed. He knew it would heal; it was only so wide, and the nearby forest would reclaim it. It probably wouldn’t even take too long, even though forests of Death grew slower than forests of Life. He hadn’t been more than a minor natural disaster; in ten years, it might be possible to tell where he’d walked, but only if you looked carefully; it was likely that in twenty, only the fallen forest giant would still mark the trail.

He still didn’t know where to go to find a Path Choice Quest. If he’d found a river, he would have followed it; even on a Deathworld, people tended to gather near navigable water. As it was, he decided to head towards the mountains. The going would be easier than in the forest, other than the slope, and perhaps he’d find a stream to follow. More importantly, it was the direction he’d been going, and he hadn’t yet seen a reason to turn back. Perhaps it was the wrong way, but circles wouldn’t be any better.

He was halfway down the other side of the ridge when the Death energy rippled through him. He’d been pulling it in and it had been draining away into his Aspect, but suddenly it stopped.

Serenity nearly tripped in surprise before he sat down. Before he could investigate, the Voice solved the mystery.

[Death Aspect healed. Unity exceeded. Death Aspect (Complete) Achieved]

That wasn’t entirely a surprise. The Final Reaper had passed beyond Unity during the final war. Serenity hadn’t really expected his Aspect would be at the same level as that now, but apparently he was.

Everything that was touched by Death had been the Final Reaper’s to command. Touched by Death wasn’t as simple as things that drew their vital energy from Death, like most things here; no, most life was touched by death, and most things that had once been alive were also touched by Death. Even things that did not draw their vital energy from Life could die.

The Final Reaper had once killed stars.

Serenity would not have the sheer power needed for that now, even if he held the same Aspect. He was grateful for that; it was a power he didn’t want.

Yet something had changed. This was both more and less than what the Final Reaper had controlled. The Final Reaper had been one with Death and Death had done his bidding. Serenity felt himself become Death itself. Serenity didn’t feel an outside force; he simply was.

He could not command Death, for he was not its master. He simply was, and he was Death.

For a moment, Serenity felt everything that could be felt by Death in a bubble expanding from where he sat. It overwhelmed him. He wouldn’t see the messages from the Voice until he woke.

[Death Affinity has reached 200%]

[Death Concept is complete]

[Death Aspect is complete]

[Incarnate Ascension has started]

[Title Awarded: Incarnate]

When Serenity awoke, he had to check his SpaceTime affinity to know that only a bit over two hours had passed while he was unconscious.

End of Arc 2

Lillene

The next set of releases will be the between-arc stuff, including Character List So Far, some comparison stat blocks, my commentary and a bunch of other reference information you may find interesting; we'll start Arc 3 the following day.

Also, starting with Arc 3 I'm going to be breaking Serenity's status blocks up a bit differently. I'm going to break them into more comprehensible chunks - 'General', 'Magic', and 'Physical' (which is Resistances and Heritages). I will try to place each of them into a Spoiler to take up less space for those who don't need to examine them.

There will also be an 'Abilities' section but that may not be in the first few Statuses.

The exact form of the Status changes several times to try to fit it to the current situation.