CH820

It looked like the yeti was about to say more, only stopped as two more passed through the gate. Thera returned with Mora in tow, his teacher glancing their way before doing a double take at the young spirit, shaking his head in the end.

He could see exactly what the boy was but before he could comment, Thera cleared her throat, shooting her uncle a look that screamed her expectations from behind Mora’s back while she put on a far lighter voice for her explanation.

“Uncle Falk, so nice to have you back. I guess this is your first time meeting him but this is Mora, we’ve recently taken him in so I hope you’ll make him feel welcome.”

His teacher shot him a questioning look but Ben just nodded as the yeti turned back.

“Ah, well, nice to meet you, I suppose. You heard my niece, the name’s Falk. Uh, can I ask-”

“Later,” Thera cut him off. “We had a long day and were just about to head home.”

“Ah, I need to get Delair home too,” Ben added, with his teacher stopping him.

“Not so fast, I need to talk to you both and I don’t know when I’m going to have the time again. Spare me a few minutes here.”

“I can go back by myself, Ben,” Delair chimed in. “I came without Sachel today anyway, I can go back too.”

“Mmh, you’re in my care right now, I don’t really like the thought of that.”

“I can walk with her,” Mora told them, looking at them while Ben and Thera looked between themselves. He’d put out the offer himself, something he still didn’t do often which seemed like a positive step forward but he was still a child, with Ben ultimately sighing in the end.

“Nothing here should be able to hurt either of them while he’s around, right?”

“I mean, I guess, but…” Thera hesitated, still not liking the idea of leaving him to walk through town by himself but at the same time not wanting to get in his way when it seemed like he wanted to, especially if it was because he was trying on his own to build a friendship which was the ultimate factor that caused her to relent. “Okay, but if anything at all happens, call any spirit you see to find me and I’ll come as fast as I can. And will you wait with Delair and Fontesh until we come to pick you up or would you go back home after?”

“Will you be long?”

They both looked at Falk who for his part looked like he didn’t understand what he was seeing or how it had happened in the past few weeks before he answered. “Uh, the boy might be. It’s gonna depend.”

Mora stopped to think for a moment, nothing in his expression to give it away as he looked to Delair. “Would it be okay to stay with you while I wait?”

“Sure!”

“Then I’ll do that.”

With Delair already tugging on his arm as soon as he’d said it, the two were off on their own, left to get home and already leaving Thera to fret while Falk finally asked what he’d been wanting to.

“So, that’s the great soul spirit, huh?”

“It’s a long story but Vividus and Nox were able to have a child together,” Ben explained.

“And it seems like he’s actually a kid. Doesn’t just look like that?”

“Nope.”

“And you two are looking after him?”

“Yeah, because my garbage, bitch aunt dropped him at our doorstep,” Thera sighed. “But none of this matters. Mora’s a sweet kid and he’s in our care right now and we’re doing the best we can.”

“And parenthood is stressing Thera out to no end.”

“Guardianship, not parenthood.”

“What’s the meaningful difference between the two?”

She didn’t have an answer for that so she didn’t even try, instead turning to her uncle. “So, what was it you needed to talk to me about?”

“Ahem, well, he’s actually the topic. I’ve been asked to ask you to try and get the kid to work-”

Before he could say another word the ground was shaking beneath their feet, rattling them and the shop while Thera shot daggers at him with her eyes, sounding nothing but cold as she spoke. “Uncle, think very carefully before you go on.”

“Infinite hells girl, you could just say no. I was asked to ask you, now that I’ve done it, it’s officially no longer my business.”

“And who was it that asked you? Not many people know who or what Mora is, at least as far as I know.”

“One of the soul gods. I still get lessons from them on occasion and it was brought up. Now will you quit shaking the hell outta my shop?”

The building came still as she looked to Ben, the person she knew with the most contact with the gods, perhaps on the entire planet. “Have you heard anything about this?”

“No, and if there’s something going on I’m going to assume the gods didn’t mention it to me because they already knew what I would say,” He told her before turning to Falk to give him some context. “Mora doesn’t want to use his magic. At least, that’s what Vividus said when she left him but he’ll do it in secret. We don’t know why and we’re not going to push him on it. We’re still in the whole ‘trying to get him to open up to us’ part of the relationship.”

Falk nodded as he explained, looking deep in thought before turning to his niece. “The boy’s right, you are his parents.”

“You aren’t helping yourself right now, uncle.”

“Ha, well don’t go destroying my shop’s foundation about it, I plan on coming back here a helluva lot more regularly when the war ends. Anyway, that can be one more thing for you to talk to the gods about later, boy.”

“Why, what else do I have to talk to them about?”

“Your enchanting. The skill you’ve shown me with it? It doesn’t matter that it’s not at the third tier. You should be able to create an enchanting factory with it.”

---

Enchanting factories. The same thing that kept Falk so busy and the same thing that the first soulsmith had made to create the cards everyone used to see the system information on themselves. Arguably the pinnacle of enchanting, creating a magical structure that itself was able to place an enchantment and according to his teacher, he had the level of skill needed to pull it off.

“Which is what I was told to tell you,” Ben said to Nare once night had come, practically vibrating with the idea. “So, what do you think?”

The god's focus was deep, staring at Ben intently before shaking his head. “Managing it at the ninth level is unheard of but at the same time, Falk wouldn’t be wrong about this and he’s in a far better position to judge your work than I am. Divine enchanting, is it? I can’t say for sure that you’re the first one to hold that variant but the fact I’m not aware of others means it’s rather likely, no wonder it ended up named as such.”

“It’s not like he gets any normal awakenings,” Myriad sighed. “Divine enchanting, unending crafting, esoteric actualization, and a whole host of rightfully named unnatural skills. My apostle doesn’t seem to want to do things in half measures.”

“Hey, I have my knowledge skill, that’s a normal variant.”

“True but if you’d gained it a month or two later I’d bet it would have gotten the unnatural prefix too.”

“No point betting on things that are impossible to know. Now Nare, Falk said you’d help set me up for this?”

“We’ll have to, however valuable you think an enchanting factory is, it’s more so and all the more given that you’ll be the one creating it. I’ll have a… No, multiple spots set up for you by the morning in my lands and I’ll talk to the other crafting gods about getting you staffed. What matters is going to be what you’ll make in the end.”

“Well, I’m going to need to do some experiments first to see how it goes and if the structure can be made to work with my system but otherwise, what do you think I should be making? It’s not like I have limited options.”

Unlike any other enchanter who’d reached such a level, Ben wasn’t bound by the skills he held alone and left his options limitless as a result, with Nare looking deep in thought at the question.

The obvious answer was more weapons but then, Falk had that well in hand with his own factory and while Ben could potentially make different kinds with a greater variety of options, the weapons of a soul mage were nothing to turn one's nose up at. They were certain to have a nearly overwhelming effect on the vitality of their targets and while it was possible some demons could potentially resist them like Ben could to an extent with his absorption resistance and other defensive skills, those would surely still be in the minority.

“This is something I’ll discuss with the others and get back to you about tomorrow. For now though, do you already know how to construct the enchantment?”

“Of course.”

That was fifth-floor information, something he’d devoured when he got to it but at that point hadn’t expected to be able to pull off himself, at least not so soon. With the structure in his head already though he was eager to start, with the morning feeling like ages away.

That part of the talk done though, he shoved his excitement to the side for a different conversation, looking at the two with him that night.

“Okay, cool cool cool but now that that’s done, quick question for you. Why did a god try to go through Falk to get Mora to do some work? Is it just a single soul god whose church I need to burn down or are there more?”

“No arson,” Myriad sighed. “But as for if there’s more… He is the third powerful soul-entity on the planet and you’ve said it yourself, he can and will use his magic, he’s just trying to hide it for whatever reason. Plenty think it would be extremely beneficial if he were to help.”

“And can I get the names of the particular gods trying to force this matter?”

“Absolutely not, you little sociopath. No looking for more gods to try and use to awaken your sacrilege.”

“Excuse you Myriad, I’m acting as one of this kid’s guardians and I have a close, personal relationship with you guys. No god should have been coming in such a roundabout way to try and get that done. Do me a favour and next meeting you guys have, make it clear that Mora isn’t doing anything he doesn’t want to and if anyone wants to argue that, they’ll do it with me.”

“Most would say it should be through your lover,” Nare pointed out. “She is acting as his primary guardian.”

“Yeah, and you know what? They’d probably even be right if she didn’t have the same built-in reverence for you guys that all of the mortals of this reality have instilled in them from their gods. I’m still sure she’d say no but it wouldn’t be comfortable and I don’t want her to have to deal with that. Myself on the other hand? I can tell anyone up here to go fuck themselves without batting an eye.”

“As we’re all very aware,” Myriad sighed. “But yes, I will make that clear.”

“Okay, cool, thanks.”

“Of course, but with that out of the way there’s one other thing we need to discuss. As I’m sure you can imagine, the way you’ve changed yourself has drawn a lot of attention.”

“I’m sure all of the demigods get a lot of attention,” He said innocently, getting a tired look in exchange.

“We were left discussing the implications of it for hours and I’m sure that private conversations on the topic are going to be going on for years to come but that’s not what matters. You’re right, the fact that this can be done is important which means we want to make more, for whatever good or ill may come of it, which means we need more of the tools you made that allowed it to happen.”

Rings and bands and collars enchanted with the beastform skill to warp the flesh under the soul of a god. It would be impossible to replicate Ben’s results otherwise and since he was the only one who could make them, he was the only one who could allow for the process to be repeated, with him grinning at the result.

“Yeah, that’s simple enough so can do. You guys just have to make sure I get access to all of the results of this as payment, agreed? I want to know any and all changes that come from this.”

“Simpler than anything you’d usually ask for, I’ll make sure I get them done.”

“Cool, in that case, I’ll make sure I bring them with me tomorrow, and… Oh, one more thing.”

“Yes?”

“Nare, since I’m going to be back in your city tomorrow, send Nati and Xilly my way. I got them to their ninth level the last time I was there so tomorrow I’ll make sure I awaken their skills.”