Chapter 90: Episode 23: Status Part 3

I was back in the study with Kanae and Svilran. I had wheeled Kanae up and sat next to her. Then, I ran her through all the basics we covered with Elma. Now, we were waiting for Svilran to finish reading Kane's Status.

"So, did you and Dorth have fun?"

"I'd say so," Kanae replied, her body rigid and still. "She took me to the watermelon jungle you all have. Oh! She also used her spores on me... It was a strange sensation."

"Yeah, but really handy once you get used to it."

"Very intimate too. I felt very close to her the entire time."

"And the rest of the place wasn't too miserable for you, right?"

"Hmm..." Kanae took a second to herself. "Well, the ground is rather dreary, but the sky is beautiful. I've never seen such a sky. So no, not miserable at all."

I leaned back on my chair. "Great... That's great."

"OKAY!" Svilran declared, startling both of us. "Let's begin the counseling!"

"I am ready to receive your blessings, Goddess," Kanae said. Her neck cracked as she bowed. She grunted and rigidly brought her head back up.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Ehh... I think my body is settling in strange ways... It doesn't hurt, though."

"Don't worry," Svilran said. "We'll fix that."

"I believe you, Goddess."

"Anyway, Kanae, you are a Yggdrahusk. Do you know what that is?"

Kanae shook her head, and I commented, "Whoa, what's that? Sounds really norse--"

"Fainn!" Svilran snapped. "Did you not read the information?"

"Sorry, everything was hectic," I nervously chuckled back. "I also have a harder time accessing and navigating all the different menus you can, Svilran."

"Fainn, I can't be your reader all the time. Our Heroes need us--"

"Yes, yes, I know."

"Please, read the information we gain from our <Observatory> more diligently. Yes, ma'am..." I grinned. "Sorry, ma'am."

"What a handful you are, Mister Fainn," Svilran said with a playful pout.

I looked over at Kanae, still recovering from that lashing. "I find the <Infirmary> the easiest facility to interface with. Everything else is a little harder."

"Oh? How interesting."

"Ahem," Svilran said, calling our attention. "Anyway, Kanae, do you know what a Yggdrahusk is?"

"I'm afraid not. I've never heard the term."

"Well, that's not surprising. According to our information, a Yggdrahusk is born on World Tree-bearing worlds, where the World Tree has died. For the record, the World Tree is essentially a life-facilitating unit."

Kanae leaned forward, her body crunching as she did. "I-Is there anything else?"

"Yes. Yggdrahusk's have a tendency to live solitary lives, but it's noted that they are generally a good race of Imaginals."

"So, there are more of me?"

Svilran smiled. "Yes. It's a little sad, but wherever there exists a dead World Tree, there is a Yggdrahusk."

"Wow... Is there anything else?"

"A little. Yggdrahusks are shrouded in mystery, it seems, but we know that you are born from the depths of your World Tree, and the knowledge you are born with is probably knowledge you inherited from your World Tree. The World Trees are able to act as an archive for the events of their world most times."

Kanae's voice seemed to become lighter, like she was being swept away. "So the World Tree is like my parent? And that's why I knew so much about my world and its people?"

Svilran nodded. "That's right." Svilran twisted her lips. "Well, it looks that way."

I, meanwhile, had finally navigated to the screen with Kanae's information on my own. I didn't have the screen visible for the other two, though, so as to not distract them.

"Wow," Kanane said, still blown away. "I... I always wondered..."

"And, Kanae, we also know about your abilities! You can grow branches from your body, you can use Blue Flames, and you even have horns that fire lasers!"

I glanced at Kanae's head and felt incredible remorse at the thought that she was so injured she even lost her horns. More importantly, however, I noticed there was something about the horns that Svilran neglected to mention.

"That's right," Kanae said. "Those are all things I can do. Is there any information regarding why I can use those powers?"

Svilran shook her head. "Unfortunately not. We just know you have them."

"That's okay. It's more than I knew before..."

"And don't worry; we'll learn more! Anyway, that takes us to your Abilities. Blue Flame, Vitality Magic, and Branch Propagation. Do those all make sense to you?"

"Yes, I can see which abilities those names would be attached to."

"Excellent, on that note, you are very proficient with your Blue Flame, but your Vitality Magic proficiency is very low at E-65. It sticks out way more because everything is so high."

"I agree... I think the Vitality Magic might be tied to my healing ability and my horn magic."

"I think it's kind of strange that they noted how proficient she is at walking," I added.

"That's because there is a correct way to walk," Kanae sniped.

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"Fair enough." I smirked. "Did you know there's a right way to breathe and an inefficient way?"

She glanced at me. I saw she tried to move her neck too, but it looked like it had stiffened up on her.

"Truly?"

"Yeah, there are breathing techniques meant to encourage certain mental states. At least, that's how it worked for people like me."

"M-May I learn some of these techniques at a later date?"

"Sure. Who knows; maybe they'll slightly improve healing... Actually, yeah, we should test it out."

It had occurred to me that with the <Infirmary> I could 100% test out various home remedies and holistic procedures and actually verify which were bogus and which had weight... And just like that, I had found a new project.

"This is so lovely!" Svilran chimed. "Please teach me how to walk properly, too, Kanae!"

Kanae giggled. "I will do my best once I can."

"Speaking of," Svilran continued. "Your tags..."

"Yes... They're concerning, but one is uplifting in a way," Kanae replied.

I read the list off of her screen. "Injured Beyond Recognition, Impaired, Powerless, Unstable, Living Miracle... It would be nice to know more about the tags, but oh well. The first one--yeah. Self-explanatory, as is the second one."

"I think the 'Injured Beyond Recognition' one may be something similar to the 'gray-skinned' tag," Svilran said.

"And the 'Powerless' tag is likely referring to the fact that I actually can't use my regular abilities," Kanae followed. "I can't grow my 'branches,' and I can't use my blue fire."

"And now we're at the strange ones." Svilran put her finger on the 'Unstable' tag. "This is concerning."

"Maybe it's related to the strange element the <Infirmary> found."

"Perhaps, Fainn... On the other hand, the Hub has recognized Kanae's miraculous circumstances. I'm very sure this will provide you something amazing in the future, Kanae!"

"Okay. I hope so too," Kanae replied.

"Once you're healed up, I think we should work on your magic! It's already so high--I can only imagine what else you'll be able to do! We'll also work on getting all your other stats up!"

Kanae nodded. "Very well. I look forward to it."

We kept the conversation going for a bit and were ultimately happy with where we left things. Kanae herself was happy that she knew she would have things she could work on. She was a little like Elma in that sense. Anyway, Kanae mentioned she would like to go and rest, so she said farewell to Svilran for the day, and I wheeled her back to the <Infirmary> while Svilran prepared for Dorthaunzee's consultation.

***

"And so ends Kanae's exciting day in the Hero Hub?"

She chuckled as I wheeled her. "I think so... Sorry. The fatigue is strange."

"It's probably accumulated stress coming up and getting out. Might also be that since you have started a healing process, your body is asking for you to rest... There's no telling what needs to happen for you to be restored. Given your state now, we might be witnessing another miracle a couple of months from now."

"Promise me it won't take that long."

"Oh? Are you excited, Kanae?"

"I am--even more than before... I'm excited to learn more."

"I'm excited that you're getting along with everyone... I really hope that when this place is more populated, we'll all still get along."

"I'm sure that Svilran's aura will help it as well."

"That's the hope... Hey, mind if I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"Your horns... What did they look like? It's scary that you totally lost them."

"My horns... They had ridges and curved gently at the time..." Kanae sighed. "I thought they were me. No one else in my world had them. Never did I think I could lose something so close to me."

"And they had jewels?"

"Yes, right at the base... I don't know what the jewels look like as the reflections in Drollfall were never so clear, but they were tingly to the touch."

"Wow... Can't wait to see them."

"Me too... You know, that Neo-Demon..."

"Yes?"

"He said that horns were the symbol of Demons."

And there it was--the information I was looking for. The <Observatory> too mentioned something about Yggdrahusks having a connection to demons, though the exact nature of the connection was a mystery. There was a unique word that came up in the entry, though--The Wicked Archetype. I had already talked to Narlivs, but she could only assume it was some unique Imaginal Realm thing.

"Well, on Earth, yeah. Demons had horns, and they were tied to goats too. Thing is, though, that was Earth. The Imaginal Realm might not follow Earth's conventions... Tons of other animals and mythical creatures had horns too. Demons didn't have a monopoly on them."

"Good. I hated the thought that I was connected to that thing in any way."

I smiled as we reached the <Infirmary>. I helped her inside and back to her bed.

"I'm sure Svilran will be back around later. If you need anything, let us know."

"Of course." I saw the faint hints of a smile. "Thank you, Fainn."

 

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