Chapter 257: Sabbatical – Chapter 237: A Home Between Realities

On a more serious note, I have once again entered the final stretch of a semester, so things will be hectic for a bit. Perhaps less so than usual though, as I was able to finish my computer graphics (it's just maths in disguise, don't be fooled!) course early. I'll try to keep things on time, but uni might disagree with my plans.

"Visit?" Teg asked, its six eyes blinking in rapid succession. "Not Fae cannot enter."

"I can go where I please," Aperio replied as a slight flex of her mental muscles tore the fabric of reality apart and brought herself and her newly acquired tiny companion into her Void. "It will take a moment to find it however, as I doubt you would want to go there while I observe you, and you likely cannot give me an accurate description of the place."

"Spirit strong, but spirit not Fae," Teg said. "Only Fae enter Álfheimr."

The All-Mother ignored the tiny being and simply looked past the reality everyone else lived in. Finding this 'Álfheimr' would require her to tap into more of her perception than she usually liked, but it was for a good reason this time.

Aperio took a deep breath of the nothing that filled her Void as she let herself see each and every reflection of Earth in perfect clarity. Seeing the many versions of the various mortals she had met before go about their days again and again was a weird sight to behold; doubly so because new copies of reality came into being with every passing moment while others simply vanished. So far, she had not been able to see any specific reason as to why a new reality was made or destroyed. They simply came to be, then started to drift away from the main instance — the one she had been to — before they vanished again. Perhaps because the actions taken by the mortals get too different from the main one?

It was something she would have to investigate. Figuring out how these varying realities came to be and how they were destroyed was rather important for her plans, but it didn't matter that much at the moment. What she was trying to find was something that sat between all these worlds.

Aperio sat herself down on the nothing of her Void, crossing her legs and spreading her wings. She closed her eyes and, for the first time in quite a while, truly focused on Earth and its copies.

Teg was seemingly frozen in place as she observed the flow of mana throughout her creation. How it streamed away from the sun to bring life to the otherwise unyielding vacuum of space, and how it came from the very core of Earth itself to nourish the land and the creatures that lived upon it. Aperio also saw how the mana split just before it would be made real in the realm Earth called home and went slightly off course.

Each of these small strands that missed their target were chased by another tendril of mana that, once it had reached the rogue energy, caused them to flare to life and create an entire version of the world it should have given itself to.

While the movements of these tendrils seemed at first to be mostly random, what stood out to Aperio was the fact that many of the tendrils that did the chasing intersected, passing through a single point that sat in the miniscule not-space existing between her own well of mana and Earth itself.

"How interesting," she said, loosening her grasp on reality and her own senses just enough for the material world to move at an appreciable speed. "Your kind would not happen to be trying to make new realities that are better suited for them?"

"Make reflection?" Teg asked and tilted its small head.

Aperio gave a nod.

"Cannot," it replied. "Fae visit reflection. Fae not make reflection."

"We shall see," the All-Mother replied as she reached for the seeming catalyst of Earth’s many variants.

The tiny section of space outside of physical reality was easy enough to grasp, a simple thought all Aperio needed. What was not as easy was understanding how this maybe-world was structured. It did not follow the same rules Verenier or Earth did. There was only a single plane — not a world, per se, as there was no galaxy, no stars, no planets. Just a vast flat expanse, filled with warped forests and boundless fields. It did have a lot of tiny beings scattered over its surface, however, so she was definitely looking in the right place.

The only thing that made her hesitate was the fact that Teg looked quite a bit different than most of the presumed Fae she could see there. A few of them had more than two arms — a few even sporting more legs — but basically none of them had six eyes and no mouth. But Teg did say that all Fae are unique…

Aperio simply shrugged, a small flex of her mental muscles breaking reality apart and transporting herself and her Fae companion into what she assumed was their home.

"Did I pick the right place?" she asked, spreading her wings slightly as she looked around at the many floating beings that tried to hide themselves with their magic. "Certainly seems so."

"Yes," Teg replied, crossing all four arms in front of its chest. "Was not supposed to come. Should not be possible."

"You will learn that I can do what I please," Aperio said. "Coming here also improved your speech, which is an unexpected but most welcome boon."

"More mana to use. Make easier to get past dense you." Two of its four hands covered its small face before it dragged them down. Its chest puffed out for a bit, as if it took a deep breath, before it spoke again. "Make easier to get past your dense mana."

"Perhaps you should simply get a bit stronger. Even the mortals of Earth had no issue with my mana." She let her eyes wander across the Fae present, letting the System inform her of their levels. "You certainly are a bit below the average."

Teg was in the low two hundreds, while most of the Fae present boasted levels of around four hundred. Perhaps Teg was a young Fae? It would certainly explain why its first action was to wake a being like the Desert Dweller.

Aperio turned to the various other Fae, offering them a wave and a spread of wings. "Greetings," she said, folding her extra appendages behind her back again. "I did not expect to find an entire realm hidden in my creation. It is quite impressive."

"Your creation?" one of the many Fae asked, its voice remarkably deep for its tiny frame.

"Yes," Aperio replied. "You may believe me or not, it does not change the truth."

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"Why are you here?" the same Fae asked.

The All-Mother offered a shrug of her arms and wings. "I encountered this one” —she pointed at Teg— “and they mentioned that your kind lives between the various versions of Earth. I found the concept most interesting and wished to see it for myself." And I want to know why the mortals thought I was a Fae.

All the examples of Fae she could see around her were fragile, small things. Essentially, they were the opposite of herself, and she had a hard time seeing how anyone could think she was one of them. Probably means that they have never actually seen a Fae. If they truly all hid here most of the time, it was no surprise that the mortals of Earth had no idea what the tiny beings looked like. And even if they left, all of them were actively trying to hide themselves; it simply did not work on Aperio.

"I have not come to destroy this realm, if that is what you think," Aperio said, raising a brow as the Fae that had talked to her glared at Teg. "It might be moved as I work to stabilise all the reflections into a more cohesive whole, but you should still be able to move between them as you please." She smiled slightly. "Punishing someone for advancing their understanding of magic and making an entire realm to live in is not what I wish to do."

The only thing Aperio was a little wary of was the fact that it seemed like the different versions of Earth only existed because the mana required had to flow through this realm. It also lined up with what Teg had said about the Fae not really liking Humans. She didn't know for certain why they felt that way, but the All-Mother could think of more than a few reasons to explain the behaviour of the tiny beings. The most obvious thing would be the fact that the Fae seemed to prefer their forests to possess at least a little mana, something that Earth was certainly lacking before she showed up to change things. The planet hadn't been entirely manaless, but given the extent to which the Fae needed mana, it might as well have been. They probably also do not like cities… That was a sentiment she shared. They were far too noisy.

The shoulders of the Fae that had talked to her slumped a little, the motion happening just moments before another Fae moved, disappearing from what Aperio could only describe as a castle sitting at the heart of their forest and reappearing in front of her.

Compared to any of the other ones around, this Fae was quite strong. Powerful enough that it should easily beat Adam and at least last a few moments against her love. It also looked like a king or queen with its flower crown, staff, and long cape.

It looked her up and down, Aperio tilting her head slightly in response. She did not mind that it tried to gauge her strength, but it should be obvious to anyone present that she could do what she wished. I even told them that they live in my creation… How much more obvious could she be?

"My name is Oberon," it finally said. "Who are you and why do you wear the guise of an Elf when you are not one? Know that it does not curry our favour despite our intertwined ancestry."

Aperio raised a brow at the words. "This is very much not a guise. It is who I am, though you may be forgiven for thinking that I am related to the Elves you know. I am not.

"As for who I am… My name is Aperio," she continued. "But I doubt you know me by that name. All-Mother might be a title remembered here, but I am also not sure about that. The people of Earth like to make up many names and titles, and I do not care enough to figure out which ones are meant for me."

Oberon tapped its chin, the flowery crown it wore shifting from the greens it had shown to reds and browns. Almost like it’s going through the seasons, Aperio mused as she waited for the Fae to reply.

"There are mentions of a being that fits your self-description," Oberon finally said. "But how can we be sure you are what you claim to be?"

Aperio simply spread her arms and wings and let her aura run a bit wild. Seeing every minute detail of what made up the Fae, the grass, the trees — everything — was an unfortunate side effect of not restraining herself as much as she usually did. It was, however, a good way to show her true self, even if it was nothing more than a minuscule fraction of her actual power.

It seemed to do the trick, however, as many Fae simply fell to the ground, seemingly overwhelmed with the mana that rolled off of her. The rest of the realm reacted in a vastly different manner. The grass surrounding her took on a blue hue which sparkled with a silver sheen when the light caught it just right. The trees, too, had a change of colour, and grew taller as they greedily took in the mana Aperio provided.

"You know that I speak the truth," she said, letting her voice echo through the realm of the Fae. Why do they always need a demonstration? Luckily, Aperio did not mind. In fact, she quite enjoyed the few times she got to show off.

Aperio clapped her hands together and folded her wings behind her back. Her aura also subsided, restrained to its usual level as she did not want to cause unnecessary harm to any of the Fae present.

She was a little annoyed that she had to show them what she was in this way, but it perhaps also meant that her attempts at blending in were actually bearing some fruit. Not that she understood how. She was still a giant Elf that exuded more mana than basically any mortal would ever see in their entire life. Not going to question it.

"Why have you returned?" Oberon asked, not a shred of awe or reverence to be found. "Our people were forsaken by creation long ago and the world was left to the Humans and their madness. They do not know how to care for the world they were given; how to bring a balance to all its people."

"I have left this world alone, yes," Aperio said without bothering to hide her annoyance. "But I did not abandon it. Had I done that, I would not be here now. It would no longer exist." She shook her head and let out a sigh. "I had hoped I could learn from your people, but it would seem you are no different from the other mortals you so detest."

Teg had been angry, perhaps rightfully so, but meeting this gaudy Fae that seemingly fashioned itself the ruler of their kind had changed her view of the situation. They were just as angry at everything as the other mortals she had found. The only difference was that the Fae actually had — at one point, at least — the means to enact their wishes.

They still had it, or so it would seem to Aperio, given what she had found below the castle at the centre of the realm. At first glance, the knot of mana looked no different than the ley line conjunctions she had seen on Earth, but a closer inspection revealed something far more interesting. It was not directing the mana of this realm, but that which passed through it on its journey towards Earth.

It was exactly what she had expected to find, and also hopefully the clue that would help her understand how to make the multiverse she had planned a reality without having to dissect her creation to figure it out.

I will have to punish them for this, won't I? Aperio thought to herself as she glared at Oberon. Why can't mortals just be nice for once?

"I will have a look at the realm your kind has created nonetheless," Aperio said, her next words coming from empty space as she had simply disappeared. "Your permission is not required."

GamingWolf

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