Path to the Apocalypse

Over the next few days, Victoria focused on helping Beatrice, Ursa, and Foratuna work on developing skills for the Rune types they were missing. Now that she knew how important it was to get all three types, she wanted to make sure none of them ended up locking themselves out of the higher realms of cultivation without at least giving it the best shot they could. Ursa was the easiest to deal with. All he needed was an Essence Rune, and he wanted it to be combat focused. Specifically, he wanted to learn how to wield a warhammer. All Victoria needed to do was send him in the direction of one of the Cultivators who used warhammers, and that was that. The other two were a bit more… indecisive.

"Should I work on organization?" Beatrice asked hesitantly.

Victoria frowned at her. "Do you want to work on organization?"

"I- it would be helpful, right?" Beatrice asked. "Keeping things orderly… making sure everyone knows what they need to do…"

"That isn't the question." Victoria shook her head. "The question is do you think you would enjoy organizing? If you aren't going to enjoy it, then what's the point?"

Beatrice hesitated. "Maybe? I- I'm not sure…"

"Then maybe try something else." Victoria sighed.

Foratuna wasn't any better. She barely knew who she was as a person, let alone which skills she wanted to pursue. Thankfully, that issue was mostly on the Spirit end. For Essence, they just needed to choose a weapon and find someone to train them. At least they weren't in any real hurry at the moment. The two of them could take the time to figure out what Spirit skills they wanted to pursue while they worked on their Essence skills.

Other than that, there was a bit of awkwardness during family dinners due to the deal with the Hidden Blades, particularly when Lord Inspector Semloh joined them. Albert had difficulty talking with a man he knew he'd likely have to kill in the near future. Thankfully, Semloh just seemed to take it as awkwardness related to what had happened with Duke Duhallis, deciding to keep his distance for now. Still, even then, Albert had descended into a dark mood, which only seemed to be getting worse, making any conversation a tense, forced affair. The only times Victoria saw him brighten up was during their morning spars, when all his focus turned to helping her train.

Otherwise, things were fairly normal. Victoria continued to cultivate, making time to develop her relationships with Calvin, Melissa, and Beatrice in between. Things with Calvin and Melissa got a bit awkward once she told them about what had happened with Duke Duhallis and what AJ's part had been in it. It took Victoria a bit to get them to calm down and stop either trying to make sure she was okay or threatening to do something horrible to AJ. Then, four days after the meeting with the Hidden Blades, Victoria paused in the middle of her daily exercises as she felt spots begin to appear at the edge of her point vision, grinning slightly as she realized the Hidden Blades were finally spreading the system to their soldiers, forming the first layer of her eventual maybe subversion of the potentially evil sect, particularly since her reserve idea worked. Of course, it'd take time for those reserves to get to a point where they'd actually matter… years even.

Victoria sighed, shaking her head. “The hell am I even doing?” No matter what she did, the Hidden Blades were going to start this war, and with the help of her system, they were almost definitely going to win. Did it really even matter what happened after that? The region would already have been devastated by the war. Even if she activated her reserve plan, what would it do? Tear the Hidden Blades apart and send the region right back into another war? What good would that do? None. Unless the Hidden Blades were really evil…

Victoria sighed again, turning her attention back to the growing number of spots she was aware of, reminding her of her ability to essentially jump into someone's mind, which she had rather pointedly tried to forget after her last experience, but was honestly something she should probably pay more attention to, particularly if she wanted to know what the Hidden Blades were up to. She needed to figure out how obtrusive it was… Ursa hadn't seemed to notice, but he'd been a bit distracted at the time and she hadn't exactly stayed very long. So… who could she test it on? Someone who wouldn't be too upset by the invasion of privacy… Victoria snorted as she slipped into Beatrice's mind. If Beatrice was comfortable having sex with her, she doubted she'd care if she saw her cleaning.

Victoria grinned slightly as she found Beatrice humming happily as she cleaned the mirror in Victoria's room, before focusing on exploring this new capability, immersing herself in Beatrice's mind, finding the sensation similar to when she used her Study Rune's ability. She was still fully aware of her own body, but now she had access to more. Much more. At first it was just a vague awareness of what Beatrice was feeling, then it deepened into what she was thinking, and finally an entire mindscape opened up before her, revealing structures that Victoria instinctively connected with Beatrice's various traits. There was a tall pillar representing her relationship with her brother at her core, seeming to give the whole mindscape structure, as if without it, Beatrice would fall apart. Meanwhile, her relationship with Victoria looked more like a cloud, warm and comforting but ultimately insubstantial, representing her fear that at any moment it could disappear, leaving her with nothing. Victoria scowled when she saw the black, necrotic scar that was AJ and everything he'd forced Beatrice to do, though thankfully she could see signs of healing.

Victoria paused as she found a strange… bundle in Beatrice's mind. That was the only way Victoria could describe it. It was like a part of her mind was sealed off by some strange energy, all wrapped up like some sort of package, which was slowly unraveling, and Victoria was drawing a blank on what it might represent. It honestly didn't seem to be a part of the mindscape at all… Victoria frowned as she considered what she should do about it. She should definitely tell Beatrice about it before she did anything, considering it was her mind they were dealing with, but that was going to be a very awkward conversation, because while she didn't think Beatrice would mind her sharing her senses, being in her mind was probably a step too far. What was she going to say? 'Hey, Beatrice, I was poking around in your head without permission, and wouldn't you know, I found this strange bundle there. What do you think we should do about that?' Not a conversation Victoria was particularly looking forward to.

*You- you what?!?* Beatrice asked incredulously.

Victoria's eyes widened. *Beatrice?* She messaged her tentatively.

*What did you mean when you said you were poking around in my head!?!* Beatrice sent back. *And what do you mean there's a bundle in there?!?*

*How-* Victoria began, before stopping and shaking her head. Figuring out how Beatrice had heard her was a problem for later. Her current priority was dealing with the minor panic attack Beatrice was having. *Okay, so, I didn't expect you to hear that, but- shit, how do I explain this? Basically, I can jump into the mind of anyone who has the system, because… I'm not really sure why, actually. It just started happening after I merged with the points. I thought it just let me share someone else's sense, which I was pretty sure you wouldn't mind, because it'd just let me feel your body and you let me feel your body anyway, but then I realized I could go deeper, which I'm only now realizing is a pretty significant invasion of privacy, and in there I found this strange bundle blocking off part of your mind. It seems to be going away though, so… I dunno, it's weird.*

Beatrice blinked in confusion. *You- what- huh?!?*

Victoria paused. *Let me go a bit slower. First, I recently merged with my points. If you remember when I randomly collapsed for seemingly no reason, that was what happened. I also learned I could share the senses of anyone who has the system, which was how I saw Ursa and Foratuna having sex, and due to that experience, decided to ignore the ability entirely. Second, the Hidden Blades just began to spread the system to their soldiers, causing me to be aware of a bunch of new minds I could jump into and reminding me of the ability. I then thought it might be a good idea to use it to spy on the Hidden Blades, but I wasn't sure how obtrusive it was, since the only other time I'd used it was for a split second on a very distracted individual. So I wanted to test it on someone to see if they would notice, and you were the only person I could think of who probably wouldn't mind. But that was when I thought all it did was let me share your senses, and once I got in there, I- kinda got caught up in exploring and didn't realize I was way overstepping my bounds until it was too late… Sorry. And finally, since I was in your head, I noticed a section of your mind that seemed to be blocked off by some kind of energy, the 'bundle' I mentioned earlier. I was going to talk to you about it, but somehow when I thought about talking to you about it, I ended up actually talking to you about it… might have something to do with the fact I'm actually in your mind right now, now that I think about it…* Victoria paused, before shaking her head. *Anyway, that's the situation and I'm really sorry. If you'd like I can leave now, but if you're comfortable with it, I'd really like to take a closer look at this bundle.*

*Is- do you think it's dangerous?* Beatrice asked hesitantly.

Victoria cocked her head as she studied the bundle. *I don't think so? I don't really see how it could be… it only exists in your mind, which is why I haven't noticed it until now. The only effect it could have is on your mind- actually, no, that could be a problem.* Victoria scowled. She knew how much effect she'd had on Foratuna just by messing with her mind… she didn't want anything like that to happen to Beatrice.

Beatrice hesitated. *Could- could we talk about this face to face?*

*Yeah, I'll be up as soon as I can.* Victoria agreed, quickly getting cleaned up and changed, before heading to her room, where Beatrice was waiting for her, pacing anxiously, both of them freezing as they caught sight of each other. “Hey…” Victoria greeted her awkwardly, not sure how to approach this situation. She felt like she should be doing everything she could to apologize, but she also felt like she needed to focus on dealing with the bundle first.

Beatrice took a shaky breath. “Victoria, I'm scared. What if- What if AJ did something to me, and-”

“Whoa, whoa, hold on.” Victoria quickly cut her off, frowning. “I don't know what this is, but it definitely wasn't AJ. Whatever this bundle is, it wasn't made with Spirit or Qi or even Essence.” She paused. “Which… Is probably worse. But don't worry! I'm not going to let anything happen to you, okay? We'll figure this out." She assured her in a firm, calm tone. Beatrice took a deep breath, before nodding, still looking anxious, but she at least wasn't panicking anymore. "Here, just… lay down and try to relax while I take a look at this thing, alright?" Victoria insisted, trying to keep a level tone as she guided Beatrice towards the bed, on the verge of freaking out herself as she realized this bundle might be a bigger deal than she'd thought.

Once Beatrice got situated, Victoria knelt by her head, cradling it in her hands and closing her eyes, all of which was completely unnecessary, but somehow felt right to do anyway. She examined Beatrice with her point vision, but she couldn't find any sign of the bundle outside her mind, pretty much confirming that the bundle was purely mental. *If that's the case…* Victoria muttered internally, frowning as she turned her focus to Beatrice's mind. She could see the bundle, but she didn't know how to actually interact with it. Since she'd used the system to affect Foratuna's mind, then points should be able to interact with people's minds, right? But how? Victoria carefully sent her points into Beatrice's head, probing slightly. Tapping into her Design Rune, she spread her points through Beatrice's brain, examining it like she'd examine a new material. She started to get a weird sort of double vision, as she began to pick up Beatrice's thoughts through both examining her brain and through her connection with her mind. However, the method given to her by her Design Rune only picked up on Beatrice's surface thoughts. It didn't even let Victoria tap into her senses!

*Well that isn't going to get me anywhere.* Victoria frowned. She felt like she was coming at this from the wrong direction. She was already in Beatrice's mind! Maybe she should start from there? Victoria turned her attention back to the bundle. *Okay, let's see… can I-* Victoria reached out mentally, trying to poke the bundle, carefully. The moment her intent crystalized, the bundle shuddered. *Oh shit.* The bundle's unraveling quickly sped up. "Shit shit shit!" Victoria cursed, trying to stop the unraveling, which only made it go faster! "No!" Victoria exclaimed as the bundle suddenly burst open.

Beatrice's eyes flew open. "Victoria, what- ah!" Beatrice exclaimed as the bundle burst open, clutching her head in pain.

"Don't move, don't move, I can-!" Victoria panicked, before suddenly pausing as Beatrice's mind calmed down, revealing… a snake? "Eh?"

The snake let out a long, weary yawn, looking around blearily, glancing at Victoria, then continuing to examine Beatrice's mind, before its eyes suddenly widened and it did a double take, refocusing on Victoria. *Who the devil are you?!? What are you doing in my master's mind!?!*

*What are you doing in my girlfriend's mind!?!* Victoria shot back.

*Your- hm, I see, female this time. Unfortunate. A rougher start, but we've had worse. There was that time we ended up as a fish. Blessedly short, thankfully.* The snake muttered to itself in a rambling, almost nonsensical manner, before looking back up at Victoria. *Still… you shouldn't be here! How dare you invade the innermost being of a person, no matter how close your relationship with them is!*

Victoria blinked. *I- she asked me to! To deal with you!*

The snake narrowed its eyes at her. *And how would she know about me unless you already intruded into her mind!?!*

Victoria flushed. *I- it was an accident!*

The snake scoffed. *You can't accidentally invade someone's mind!*

*Stop!* Beatrice's voice suddenly boomed through the mindscape. *Stop- stop arguing in my head!*

Victoria and the snake shared an awkward look. *Can you leave?* Victoria asked.

The snake narrowed its eyes. *I can. But I won't as long as there is an intruder in my master's mind!*

Victoria grimaced. *If you think I'm leaving you in here alone-*

*Both of you get out, now!* Beatrice snapped. Victoria paused as the snake immediately disappeared, quickly pulling out herself. "Ah!" Beatrice shrieked as the snake suddenly appeared on her face.

"I apologize, Master. This hooligan's antics caused me to forget myself." The snake bowed, shooting Victoria a withering glare. "Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Obanonos, the Avatar of Reincarnation."

"Ouroboros?" Victoria interjected, cocking her head.

The snake glared at her again. "No, Obanonos."

"Do you bite your tail?" Victoria asked, getting a weird look on her face.

Obanonos blinked. "I- I don't see how that's any of your business." He replied, almost sounding embarrassed.

"You do, don't you!" Victoria exclaimed.

"So what if I do! It's a natural comfort response!" Obanonos snapped defensively.

"Freaking- this world is ridiculous." Victoria muttered, shaking her head. An Ouroboros that claimed to be the Avatar of Reincarnation! With a name like Obanonos, at that! It was official. She was in some kind of crappy anime. Cultivation, magical equipment, monsters, reincarnation, a bunch of lesbians… it all checked out. Now if only the plot wasn't trying to wipe out her family… Victoria shook her head. Ridiculous or not, this world was still real, with consequences and everything. She'd just have to deal with the craziness as it came.

"Victoria? What- what's going on?" Beatrice asked nervously as she sat up, looking between Obanonos and Victoria.

Victoria shook herself out of her thoughts. "I tried poking the bundle and… well, he came out. After that, I don't know any more than you do."

"Hmph. At least you're intelligent enough to admit your own ignorance." Obanonos commented arrogantly. "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, I am Obanonos, the Avatar of Reincarnation. I am bonded to you, my master, following you through every life, learning everything you do and passing that knowledge on to your next life, allowing you to reach greater and greater heights each time."

"Unless you're a fish." Victoria muttered.

Obanonos glared at her. "That fish ruled an entire sea for over a century before it was cut down! A mighty accomplishment for a Rune Beast!"

"But was it better than she did in her last life?" Victoria prodded.

Obanonos hesitated. "Not- not in exact measurements, but comparatively-"

"Yeah, yeah, excuses, excuses." Victoria waved dismissively.

Obanonos shook angrily. "I will not be mocked! Dozens of times I have helped my master reach the pinnacle of cultivation, mere steps from godhood and immortality! Our most recent failure only occurred due to an unlucky coincidence! The Path we chose was already taken! This time, we shall find an empty Path and Ascend, taking our place among the gods!"

Victoria blinked. "Eh? Wait, gods? Like, real ones?" She paused, remembering the thing that had destroyed Earth. "Actually, no, that makes sense. What do you mean by path though?"

"The Path to Ascension." Obanonos began. "For each Dao- wait a minute! I don't owe some random interloper any explanations!"

Victoria snorted. "Fine, keep your secrets. I'm probably already immortal anyway."

Both Obanonos and Beatrice immediately turned to look at Victoria, Obanonos with an incredulous sneer and Beatrice with stunned shock. "You- you're immortal?" Beatrice asked.

"Impossible! The only way to achieve immortality is through the Path to Ascension, and you are no god!" Obanonos retorted.

Beatrice scowled, turning on the snake. "Stop talking down to Victoria!"

Obanonos's eyes widened. "Master, I-"

"No! Ever since you showed up, you've been nothing but rude! Apologize!" Beatrice demanded.

"I- I'm sorry, I just-" Obanonos began, bowing to Beatrice.

"Not to me, to her!" Beatrice snapped, pointing at Victoria.

Obanonos's expression twisted as with great difficulty, he turned his bow towards Victoria. "I apologize for my rudeness. I will endeavor to be more polite as we continue our discussion." He muttered as if he was literally dragging the words out of his mouth, each one more painful than the last.

Victoria rolled her eyes. "I don't accept apologies from people who don't mean them."

"Victoria, please, he's trying." Beatrice pleaded for Obanonos, feeling the honest effort he was putting in through the bond they shared.

Victoria sighed. "Fine. I didn't particularly mind it anyway. It's just sort of funny that you seem to know so much, yet still can't accept that you might not know everything."

Obanonos frowned. "I have followed my master through a hundred lives-"

"And I can pretty confidently say you've never encountered anything like me." Victoria interjected with a grin. "If you had, well… I don't think your world would still look like this. Unless… maybe if they went wild and got the world destroyed… then reset… hmmm."

"Victoria? Could- could you explain the immortality thing?" Beatrice asked tentatively, not wanting the two to start arguing again.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Well, ever since my out of body experience, I've been thinking. My existence doesn't seem to be tied to my body, it's tied to the points. As long as they exist, I exist, and… well, I suppose I could spend myself out of existence, maybe, but as long as I don't… even that crazy god thing that destroyed my original world didn't hurt the points." Victoria explained with a shrug. "Plus there's the fact I can change men into women and bears into humans, which makes reversing the aging process seem like a joke."

Obanonos snorted. "There are many who have managed to discover the secret of eternal youth, but eternal youth does not grant eternal life. No matter how young you look, age will always catch up with you. Believe me, we have tried every method possible. Only the Path to Ascension can provide true immortality."

Victoria cocked her head. "How does that work? If your body doesn't fail you, shouldn't you be able to live as long as you want?"

Obanonos sighed. "One would think, but no. Once you reach a certain age, the wasting takes hold. For seemingly no reason, your strength begins to drain from your body, slowly at first, and then progressively faster and faster, until you can barely even lift a finger, or breathe. Then, as you lie there, a shell of what you once were, you die."

"Huh… depressing." Victoria muttered, frowning as she considered what Obanonos had said. Why would something like that happen? Were their methods missing something? Not truly reversing the aging process, but only superficially fixing things? Or was it something else? "Gotta remember to experiment with that one at some point."

"You do that." Obanonos rolled his eyes, turning to Beatrice. "Master, I apologize, but I must insist we begin working on your cultivation. We must work quickly to Acquire all three Rune types so you can begin the Path to Ascension."

"We're already doing that." Victoria commented. "She already has her Qi Rune, she's working on her dagger forms for Essence, and she just needs to pick a Spirit skill to work on."

Obanonos blinked. "You- You're already Awakened?" Beatrice nodded. "But- how is that possible?!? You shouldn't have Awakened until I emerged!"

"I did it." Victoria replied. "Or, at least, I gave her the system, which allowed her to Awaken."

Obanonos scowled at her. "If your meddling has hurt my master's chances at Ascension, I will-"

"Victoria has only ever tried to help me!" Beatrice interjected fiercely. "You will not threaten her for that!"

Obanonos's expression twisted again, before he let out a groan, bowing toward Beatrice. "Yes, Master, I understand. I apologize for letting my passion for your Ascension get the best of me."

Victoria snorted at the non-apology, but Beatrice accepted it, so she didn't comment any further. "Look, she's only been Awakened for like a week. I doubt she's done anything all that terrible in that time, and I'm positive the system can help her get back on track even if she has." Victoria explained.

Obanonos frowned. "What is this 'system' you keep mentioning? How is it supposed to aid my master's cultivation?"

"The system is… well, it's a system." Victoria replied with a shrug, not sure how to explain it any better. "It gives you tasks, which let you earn points, which you can then spend on various things, like Awakening, increasing your Capacity, helping you learn skills, increasing your cultivation, healing… probably more, but I haven't figured it all out yet."

Obanonos blinked. "It increases your- It- it helps you learn skills?!?"

Victoria nodded. "It sort of deepens your understanding of what you're doing. Instead of needing to practice hundreds of times, you just spend a few points and you get it."

"That- how-" Obanonos paused, his eyes narrowing. "May I see these 'points'?"

Victoria frowned, before shrugging and sending out a small cloud of points. "Go for it."

Obanonos stared at the cloud of points blankly. "This- this is just energy."

Victoria cocked her head. "Yeah? What was it supposed to be?"

"No, it's just plain energy! Look around, it's everywhere!" Obanonos exclaimed.

Victoria looked around with her point vision. He had a point… the points were unshifted, just like the energy which swirled all around them. "I suppose, but that's just their base state. They shift when they need to actually do anything. Like so." Victoria shifted her points to Spirit, then Essence, then back.

Obanonos's eyes widened. "How did you- that's impossible!"

Victoria raised an eyebrow at him. "Obviously not, right? I mean, I just did it."

"Well, yes, but- you- you shouldn't be capable of doing it! Energy doesn't just change! Or at least, it doesn't change back!" Obanonos groaned, rubbing his head with his tail. "Energy continually shifts as it is drawn through Runes, but it never loses an aspect! It simply continues to become more and more complex!"

Victoria frowned at him. "Okay… but that doesn't change the fact that I can."

Obanonos paused. "No. No, I suppose it doesn't." He gave Victoria a strange look. "I apologize… when you said you were unique- I have been a fool." He bowed, true sincerity in his apology.

Victoria shrugged. "It happens. Don't worry about it."