Chapter 4: 3-Quid Pro Quo (II)

“Abry!”

I couldn’t help frowning when the call reached my ears.

“Abry? Where are you?”

Unfortunately, the feminine voice’s intonation made it clear that its owner was not about to let go of her quest, just because I thought of it as rather inopportune...

Godsdammit, can’t a man have a minute of peace and quiet?

Yep. That ‘Abry’, short for ‘Abramel’, happens to refer to me. Not by my choice, of course. In fact, I can’t say I’m too fond of either. Although, I guess it does beat Manius Turdus or many of the other monikers I’ve previously had to -painfully- bear. Abry. Yes, It definitely could be much worse...

“Abry!?”

Now, usually, I’d have immediately answered, just as I’d have during my previous childhoods. Nothing’s normal about this particular life of mine, though.

No, I don’t mean the stereotypical, feel-good-because-everyone-is-special kind of empty blabber. I always despised both that kind of discourse and anyone spouting it.

Rather, at the moment, a single glance at my right hand should have proven more than enough to drive the point home, even for the most recalcitrant of skeptics. By ‘special’, I meant along the lines of the couple of small, misshapen spheres of blueish light that had spent the last few minutes quietly hovering right above my palm.

Hearing Lina’s steps grow closer, I finally let the constructs dissipate. They went out in a shower of heatless sparks. A somewhat reluctant sigh escaped my lips at the sight, only to be quickly replaced by a brief, but satisfied grin.

That’s right! After months of fruitless endeavor, I had finally managed to find out the holy grail of magic! Somehow, it turned out that it all came down to breathing! True, I had previously been trying several breathing techniques, for a while, and it had proven pointless. Yet, I kept trying -granted, mostly because I had little else to do, and controlled breathing helped me deal with my various frustrations-, and, eventually, something just clicked into place.

About ten days prior, with no previous warning, I blindly focused on my lungs and life-giving air, not unlike multiple times before, and it simply was there. Everywhere, really. As for exactly what ‘it’ is...

Well, honestly, it’s a bit hard to describe. Maybe, somewhat like when, after being prompted, one suddenly becomes very aware of the feeling of one’s clothes, rubbing against the skin, even though the mind had been mostly ignoring it up to that point? Only, the ‘clothes’ here were some sort of invisible, almost intangible fluid of uncertain nature, and my sense of touch somehow turned out to be not confined to my body, but rather to a vague cocoon around me, a good couple of steps wider than my body.

Whatever the case, the ‘fluid’ in question -which, in honor of an old goat I met in Kroton, I’ve chosen to call ‘pneuma’- seems to be the vehicle of magic. Or at least, a vehicle of magic... Regardless, while breathing in, I obtain some manner of rough control over what pneuma I can feel in my ‘cocoon’ -which, again, I’ve chosen to call ‘dominion’, just for the sake of pretentiousness!-.

True, the damned thing answers my mental commands sluggishly, almost grudgingly, as if it just wanted to do its own thing. Not to mention, it all goes to hell as soon as I exhale... But! It does follow simple mental instructions as long as I’m inhaling, or holding my breath! Incidentally, I’ve found out that, by doing the latter, I can force the unruly ectoplasm into a tight ball which, for whatever reason -my best guess being ‘magic’!-, renders it visible and shiny! Hence, my shining balls.

Unfortunately, that’s all I-

“Abry, there you are! Why were you hiding from mommy?”

Yes, very unfortunately, life usually has a rhythm, and I was supposed to still be learning how to talk, not starting to delve into the mysteries this most recent life of mine had kindly shoved into my face... Then again, for what it matters, I was also supposed to be long since dead.

“Leehna?”

The high-pitched voice sounded more than a bit awkward, even to my own ears, but that much was at least half-intentional. I had already gotten a decent grasp on the language but, despite magic potentially being on the table, I had yet to find any indications that toddlers might be meant to know more than a handful of mispronounced words... Suffice it to say, playing it safe had never ended with me being thrown into a pyre by an apoplectic man repeatedly screaming ‘demon spawn!’. Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said about other, less judicious strategies.

Even as the words left my still-clumsy lips, fair hands gently wrapped around me, then, I found myself face to face with a shapely blonde that couldn’t be a day older than twenty, with eyes of a vibrant green hue that, I was fairly certain, wasn’t even possible back on Earth. I have to admit the experience would have been much more enjoyable, had she not been my latest mother, and I about as tall as her arm.

“Just what am I going to do with you?”

She playfully frowned, observing my body with care, presumably checking if I was hurt anywhere. Of course, my answer didn’t go along the lines of ‘just let me be, woman!’. I figured I was perhaps still a bit too young to be entering my rebellious phase.

Instead, I just dumbly stared at her, before chortling. Then, I deliberately let a glob of saliva make its way down the corner of my mouth. Much to her delight, if her reaction was anything to go by.

Calling upon my willpower, tempered by the inclemency of thousands of years, I forced my face to remain joyful. Even if I felt my inner self dying a little under the denigrating circumstances and the painful cooing that ensued.

“Aw! Aren’t you just the cutest little thing? But being cute won’t save you! Mommy won’t rest until she finds out how in the ten Names you managed to get out of your crib, again! You’re still way too young for me to begin pretending I don’t notice when you sneak out, mister!”

Again, instead of actually answering, I just grinned, with the kind of pure smile that can only be seen adorning the face of both toddlers and men already too senile to remember the vicissitudes of life... Or old enough that they no longer matter, I guess.

Whatever the case, her viridian eyes affectionately stared into mine, for a while. Then, seemingly possessed by a horrible, despicable urge, Lina decided that booping her poor son’s nose was not only acceptable, but fully enjoyable. I, for one, begged to differ but, sadly, no one present asked for my opinion. Though, I must confess that, for the shortest of moments, the casual display of familial love, that -despite my best intentions- I knew full well I’d never be able to fully reciprocate, might have given me a bit of a heartache.

My silly smile never faltered, however.

“Leehna?”

I cutely tilted my head. And no, that’s not my ego showing its ugly head. Perhaps the only advantage to being a baby is that, somehow, even farting comes out as ‘cute’.

Anyway, I swear I’ve rarely thought of a grown woman’s pout as cute, not in an innocent way anyway, but the one shown by my new mother after my single word, did manage to make my smile feel a bit more sincere.

“Mom!” She stated, no doubt, with all the gravitas she could muster. “Not, ‘Lina’. ‘Mom’!” She added, waving a finger in front of my face. “Come on, Abry, say it with mommy: ‘Mooom’.”

“Moh-”

For a moment, seeing the light of hope twinkling in her eyes, I almost felt like entertaining her wish. My inner devil got the better of me, though.

”-Leehna.”

I clapped my hands, giggling.

“Nohleehna.”

Puerile? Why, of course! But I’d dare anyone to try and judge me for desperately clinging onto one of the few ways I had found to amuse myself!

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I’d spent a bit over a year in that new body of mine, and I’d barely done anything aside from sleeping, suckling, and shitting myself! The woman had proven tenacious beyond reason, she’d barely even taken an eye off of me since the day I had opened my eyes!

Where have all the negligent parents gone to when there’s a need for them!?

I gave her my best glare, trying to intimidate her into leaving. The woman proved fearless, however, probably even capable of walking into a dragon’s den without flin-

No! Stop kissing my belly, you sadistic warden! I’m a ticklish ma- baby! Whatever! Stop, I say! Just, put me down already, mercy!

Lina who, quite obviously, was completely oblivious to my inner monologue, remorselessly kept trying her best to torture me.

Fuck everyone, everywhere, raspberries should be universally considered a war crime!

Curse you, woman, my revenge shall be legendary!

Alright, let’s just try to focus on something else, like the magical ball, lest I end up souring my own mood.

I’d love to know exactly what the hell I’m doing, though. Perhaps further condensing the mana would bring on some sort of change, but there’s major resistance after a certain point and I don’t dare to push it too far, lest I end up inadvertently blowing up my head.

Dammit, it’s kinda frustrating! To think that I would get so used to holding the key to access the sum of human knowledge -and the occasional cat picture- in my pocket that I almost started taking it for granted...

At the very least, I really could use a book on the topic... Then again, I’d first need to learn how to read the language, and I’ve yet to see a single book. In fact, I wouldn’t bet on my parents having access to any. Munok does seem to belong to some sort of minor nobility, but I’m not even sure that either he nor Lina are literate. Not to mention, I’d bet on books being hand-copied, so prohibitively expensive. From what I’ve seen so far, I’d guess my newest family is probably decently well-off, but certainly far from rich enough t-

 

Congratulations! Thank you for your patience, your soul-signature finally has been incorporated into Sophia.

Welcome to Zabal!

Congratulations! Your affinity with the Astral has been noticed, you have acquired the Trait Astral Guidance.

Congratulations! After repeatedly interacting with Pneuma, you have acquired the Skill Terribly Primitive Pneuma Manipulation.

 

Trait: Astral Guidance

Subtler Realms are hard to access. A suitable reward is due for the suicidal fools who manage to scratch their surface.

Effect: Grants personalized access to non-restricted sections of Sophia Register, and a small probability of receiving Guidance.

 

Skill: Terribly Primitive* Pneuma Manipulation [Passive]

“-Magic? Bah, no way dude!

-Have I ever lied to you? I swear on me mum my fart was shining!”

Vriya, 369 B.G.E.

Effect: Slightly enhances control over Pneuma and insignificantly reduces expenditure while casting.

 

What the hell?

I couldn’t help dumbly staring at the runes floating before my very own eyes. Truly, after a moment, I found myself wondering if I was becoming insane -or, well, insaner, depending on who’s asked-, or if souls could actually grow senile over time.

Eventually, though, I did manage to regain some manner composure. In a way, the shock I got wasn’t all too dissimilar from the first time I used the telephone. Plus, from experience, the best way to deal with problems I’ve no control over is to ignore them. So, I chiefly decided to ignore the shit out of that notification. And, surely enough, it eventually vanished into thin air.

Ha! Take that, reality-changing revelation!

A handful of things became apparent to me right away, though.

One, although I could intrinsically understand the strange runes, their shapes were completely alien to me, which was quite confusing, to say the least.

Two, whether the runes were real or not, my subconscious clearly sucked at picking names and coming up with descriptions.

Three, both the old crone, Grisella, and Munok had come into the room too, somewhere down the line, and the looks thrown my way made me think of white coats and lab rats -actually, that last part might have only applied to the old lady, but that’s beside the point-.

Lastly, but definitely most importantly, all the squirming and the surprise had made it so that I really needed Lina -who was now rather gingerly holding onto me- to change my swaddling clothes.

I couldn’t help but grinning.

Woe is you, woman, my revenge has only just begun!

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