Salem
July 28, 18:30
The ride of the old style elevator was silent before Kent introduced himself.
"I'm Kent Nelson."
"Elliot Rath."
"Ah… you're the young man Tornado told me about. The one with the unique ability to refuse any subversive effects."
The way he said it made me feel like I'd done something wrong. I scratched my head and chuckled nervously.
"Yeah."
He kept quiet and the elevator continued to climb.
"You must be wondering why I didn't take you up on your offer. Nabu…" he said and looked at me to see if I understood. "The Lord of Order in the helmet, takes over the body of whoever wears the helmet. This isn't mind control. His soul and that of the wearer switches places. Do you get my meaning?"
"I ...do."
So I had things wrong this whole time. I always knew it was possession, but I didn't know the wearer's soul actually left their body. I reviewed the description of the ability that initially gave me the confidence to escape Nabu's clutches.
Yes, it could allow me to reject the possession and soul switching if I wore the helmet. But if I let it happen, would I be able to reverse it and return to my body anytime? From the looks of things, everything pointed to yes, but the doubt was strong with this one.
The elevator dinged and opened to reveal… more staircases. I followed Kent out and promptly ducked, bringing him down with me. A bolt of electricity soared over our heads and we looked over at Abra Kadabra and Klarion.
"What next?" I conjured a purple forcefield and asked.
"The bell," Kent groaned and I helped him to it while maneuvering the forcefield to shield us. He banged on the giant hunk of metal and dragged me into it when it began to glow.
Our locale changed to the topmost part of the tower, outside of it, where the sky was visible and the helmet we were all after was floating. Unfortunately, we weren't alone.
Spider Sense tingled and I moved in front of Kent, pushing more magic into the forcefield. Like a battering ram before dry wall, Klarion's blood red, jagged beam tore through the defenses and hit me in the torso.
Behind me, Kent chanted a spell while I staggered back, slamming the butt of his stuff down to complete his chant. A yellow forcefield grew from the brick floor and encompassed not just the two of us but the helmet as well.
"Are you alright young man?"
"I'm fine," I rubbed my chest area and straightened my back, casting a regeneration spell on myself and Kent before perpetuating both with my mystic eyes. I cast another forcefield spell and overlaid it with Kent's, making both permanent and resetting Klarion's progress of destroying it.
Red flashes of light reflected off our faces, but none of Klarion's cries could be heard. Kent looked at himself and then at me. "What was that? What did you do?"
"I can make spells run permanently. I'd love to tell you all about it, I really do, but this," I pointed up at the cracked forcefield, "won't hold for long."
Kent followed my finger to find what I referred to, looked at the helmet next, and then stuck his hand in his coat pocket, removing a pocket watch.
"My beloved Inza," Kent smiled and shut the watch with a click. "Soon my love. Soon."
He looked at the helmet and it floated into his hand. "One last time, Nabu. One last time," he said and lowered it over his head, prompting his change from normal old man to a proper Lord of Order.
Using giant construct claws, Klarion got through the forcefield and tore them apart. I summoned the Soulsword while Fate floated upward and summoned a giant ankh to shield himself from Klarion's relentless attacks.
While they fought, I glanced at the Soulsword with narrowed eyes, remembering its functions and looking at the helmet. All hope wasn't lost.
"This battle is pointless," Nabu said, his voice distorted. "You sought to take the helmet before it gained a host. But you are too late."
"Shut it you old fart."
Hidden from sight, I carefully moved about the two annoying lords. Teekl was my target. My goal was to strike the cat and hopefully kill it, but it seemed it had the same intentions toward me.
Seemingly capable of sensing me despite the layers of concealment I wore, the tiny orange cat transformed into a saber toothed monstrosity before roaring and lunging at me.
"Hahahaha!" Klarion laughed. "You've gotta choose better pets Nabu."
'I'm no one's pet, certainly not Nabu's,' I thought while evading the huge, bloodthirsty cat. It kept attacking, swiping left and right with its huge paws. I dodged them all easily, maneuvering not just myself but the familiar out of Klarion's sight.
Once I deemed our position appropriate and the distance between the two of us and Klarion enough, I sidestepped to the cat's left and brought the Soulsword down on it, targeting the link between it and its master.
Now that we were outside the tower, my eyes were working normally. Nothing related to magic could be hidden from my eyes. Even Klarion's wild and chaotic magic.
The sword passed through the cat without drawing blood. However, it shrunk immediately, the sight made better by Klarion's sudden, fading scream.
Putting some distance between me and Teekl, I looked up and watched the fading Lord of Chaos with a smile I couldn't hold back. His annoying cries became music to my ears as they grew weaker and weaker until he vanished entirely.
I unsummoned the sword and bent down near the cat and checked its vitals with a spell. Whatever magical changes Klarion induced it had been undone. For all intents and purposes, it had become a normal cat once again.
I picked her up by the scruff of the neck and walked towards Nabu, whose eyes were narrowed enough to be visible behind his helmet.
"You severed Klarion's link with the Earthly plane. What was that spell?"
"Why don't you let go of Kent and I'll tell you?"
"No."
He turned around like that was just the end of it.
'You asked for this,' I summoned the Soulsword again when he turned his back to me. He waved a hand and the floor opened up to reveal a set of stairs. Behind him, I had shrunk the sword into a thin, rapier style blade.
Channeling one of Fasut's soul spells into it, I stabbed it into the back of his head. It went through the helmet and came out of his face.
Capitalizing on the Soulsword's ability to dispel magic, I canceled the hold Nabu had on the old man's body and dragged the former's soul back where it belonged. Things clicked in place and I flicked the sword up.
The helmet flew off and I caught it. Kent, back in his rightful place and suit and the Fate costume nowhere in sight staggered and clutched his head.
"What did you do?" he turned and asked.
Telekinetically grabbing his cane, I passed it to him and smiled. "I'll explain everything. I just need to deal with this cat."
Action: Banish a Lord of Chaos.
Reward: The Mystic and the Machine (200 CP).
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Salem
July 28, 18:50
Cat and helmet in hand, Kent Nelson and I returned to the Tower of Fate's interior, a wealth of questions burning in both our minds. Before we sat down and exchanged the much needed words, we found the hapless Abra and subdued him.
Demonstrating his control over the tower, Kent simply waved a hand and took away the man's tools, clothes and freedom, the gesture teleporting him to a cell in the end.
After passing me the wannabe magician's tools like I requested, Kent teleported both of us to a living room. There, I finally laid eyes on his beloved Inza, and let's just say, the large portrait superbly explained why he longed for her so much.
He took the helmet and offered me the seat opposite his own near the fireplace. The conversation kicked on from there, his first question being how I removed the helmet.
I held nothing back and explained the concept of the Soulsword and my ability to see the intricacies of magic and enchantments to him, letting him piece it together from there.
"It's made of your… soul?" he asked.
I nodded. "Yep. Wanna see?"
"Please…"
The bright sword reappeared in its default greatsword form, bathing the room in its light. I sent a surge of magic into it and shrunk it down to the size of a pocket knife.
Kent leaned forward, hands still on his cane.
"Hmm… I have never seen or heard of such a thing. Surely, there are risks."
"None that I've discovered," I let the tiny glowstick hover above my open hand. "But, a sorcerer with a penchant for soul magic tried to touch it some time ago. Faust, I think you know him."
Kent leaned back. "Hm. You've met that foul sorcerer? I thought he'd perished long ago."
"Nope," I shook my head. "He had an apprentice and she trapped his soul in a mirror to save him. She managed to grow him a new body and he came back to life… by switching his place in the mirror with her. But don't worry she's free now, and he's been dealt with. Apparently, Hades had something to say about his resurrection."
"Not surprising. He went to the god's domain in search of magical knowledge. The Olympian god sensed his numerous crimes regarding the abuse of souls and cursed him to age rapidly, turning him to literal dust."
"Oh, I didn't know that." Now I want to meet gods even less.
"Alright kid. There's no confusion between us any longer. Let's talk business. How would you like to be the helmet's new master? That's why you came here isn't it?"
I blinked once, eyes wide in surprise. "You want me… to be Doctor Fate?"
"Seriously kid, how are you surprised? You satisfy all the conditions I've been looking for in a successor. You're on the side of good, you have a decent aptitude for magic, and you can take off the helmet whenever you wish."
Huh… I satisfied only two of those conditions, but let's see what he was really talking about.
"Uhh, what do you mean by I can take the helmet off any time I wish?"
"The problem with your initial plan was the inability to kick Nabu out once you'd given him your body, right?"
"Yeah," I nodded attentively.
"Good. This is where your fancy sword comes in. If it is really your soul and you can indeed see the invisible layers of magic, using it in the helmet's mental space to free yourself should not be a problem."
"Ohh… I see. Instead of manifesting the sword externally, I do so internally. Something that should work due to its spiritual nature."
"You get it. So what say you kid?"
"Hmm," I exhaled and leaned back, thinking for a bit.
"I can't. Sorry. I have too many things to take care of. Becoming Sorcerer Supreme… it sounds tempting, no doubt. But naah," I shook my head.
"I do have a counter proposal though," I hastily added upon seeing Kent's expression.
"Let's hear it."
"What if we altered the enchantments on the helmet?"
On a normal day, this would've been difficult without the Soulsword and my mystic eyes. Nabu was just a soul bound to the helmet, he couldn't use any magic unless someone wore it.
The enchantment that swapped his and the host's souls was baked into the helmet, and he only gained active control of this function only if again, someone wore it.
"The helmet was created by Nabu himself. And I assure you, he put safeguards in place against this. Unless…"
I spun the tiny Soulsword around and understanding dawned on him.
"Yes. I can undo anything that pops up. What comes next is the nature of the alteration. I'm thinking instead of full possession, Nabu takes on an advisory role. Or maybe we make it a joint control effort where he and the host are both fully in control."
"You present a strong argument. But I'm not comfortable discussing this without him."
"Nabu? Then let's add him to the conversation," I pointed at the helmet. "He can hear us can't he? Let's hear what he has to say. May I?"
Kent floated the artifact over to me and I held an open hand over it. I chanted a spell to manifest Nabu's soul, granting it a visible form and the ability to produce sound.
A purple wave washed over the helmet before golden light began to rise from it. It wriggled as it grew and took the shape of a muscular dark skinned man in the same helmet.
Nabu took stock of his manifestation, the room and then finally me. "You," he said, his voice deep and his tone icy.
"Yeah, I get that a lot. Now focus."
"Nabu, I must say, it is finally good to see what you looked like when you were alive."
"It is of no importance," the arrogant sorcerer said and distanced himself from me. "This… boy, cannot be allowed to—"
"First of all," I cut him off. "You will call me by my name, as I've called you by yours. Two, no one is allowing me to do anything. Three, it seems you misunderstand what this meeting is about.
We are here to find a solution where you no longer hijack your host bodies just so you can emulate your father's undeservedly long life. Yes, I know who your father is. And yes, I'm making you and him my personal projects.
So long as I'm alive, you will never take over another person's body ever again. There are villains who've been imprisoned for less. If you somehow weasel your way out and find a host, I will find you, liberate them, and toss you somewhere dark and empty. Somewhere where no one can ever reach you.
So, are you gonna contribute meaningfully, or should I skip straight to the part where I separate your soul from the helmet?"
-New Perk-
Name: The Mystic and the Machine
Description: The argument between mystics and technology is a faulty one. There is no need to choose one as they enhance and complement one another. Like a certain Mad Titan you have unlocked mastery of combining these two pathways to power. You can always find ways to combine any mystical knowledge you have with any scientific or technical knowledge. This differs from Fine line in that it is all about creating magitech. It also allows you to make a technological version of any magic you know, or a magical version of any technology you can build. All power sources between the two become cross compatible as well. Only fools choose one when they can have both.
Cost: 200 CP
Source: Celestial Forge
A/N: Updated full perk list.
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