The reward being
imminent
pulsed insistently in front of me. I stared at it for a few moments, then made a decision on how to proceed. I need to know if how it has been working is
how I’ve been coming to think of it
.
"If you’re really responding at least partially to what I want... let’s test that theory."
I focused very intently on the
blue foxfire glow
of the Apocalypse System - and made my first wish. The wish of any land bound creature when seeing the greater
freedom
of certain other varieties of animal.
"I want to be able to fly."
Nothing. The reward remained pending. Suggesting that either than my request was
impossible
or... perhaps just not within the scope of
this particular Task’s reward
.
"Fine. I want the ability to choose which rewards you give me from a list."
Still nothing. A shame, as I’m sure I could learn a lot about
what is and isn’t possible
from this entity if I could look at that. I might even be able to determine what sort of
fae
or
deity
sent it my way.
"I want to never need sleep again."
The pulsing continued unchanged, seemingly unimpressed by my attempts at gaining incredible powers. Though truthfully,
I quite like to sleep
. So maybe it just understood that such a request wasn’t truly in my
heart’s desire
.
Vrika sent impressions of amusement from my mindscape, clearly entertained by my
ridiculous
requests. I stubbornly ignored the details of some of the ones it was pushing at me to try. I didn’t want to be affected by its
one-track thoughts
.
"Okay, something more reasonable and task related. I want to never miss a shot with any weapon."
The interface pulsed... and remained
stubbornly
unchanged. But that offbeat pulse felt like a
step in the right direction
.
"I want my hands to never shake when I hold a weapon."
A slight persistent
flicker
appeared in the blue glow around that strange wad of | ⚝ |. I thought deeper about what had just happened lately. The
meditative calm
I’d found while practicing, the way my accuracy had improved as my nerves settled.
The fact that my
nerves
had been frayed at all. That I had gone
into that deep of a shock
. Letting myself lose control of my own body. The notification blazed brighter, already knowing what I was about to say.
"I want to stay calm when I need to survive."
Probably because it
already knew what I wanted
when it
first
gave me the Task.
| Guardian’s Composure |
A warm sensation spread through my chest as the
text
unfurled, settling somewhere between my heart and my stomach before chilling and... solidifying. Not like some magical transformation into a new organ,
but a steadying presence
.
Like finding concrete ground after walking about on shifting sand. In my mindscape,
around the center of it
where Vrika so often stayed... the result was even more pronounced. A diamond shaped
slab
of consistently warm stone had taken a home.
The black wolf’s tail wagged approvingly at the new addition. Though I couldn’t help but feel
a spike of concern
. I knew that | Mother’s Intuition | seemed to affect my sense of things, but I had assumed it was mostly... on a
physical
state.
> This thing can actually alter my very spirit? I’m not sure I like that very much. No, I am not wishing for her to fall even more in love with me next time!? <
I
snapped
at Vrika and discovered a flaw in the reward. Namely, that it seems to do little to ’keep me calm’ when it comes to things like that! It
howled
in great amusement, reflecting its ability to show pictures with the blushing look on my face outside... and making me
shake and huff
.
The wolf’s amusement only
intensified
when I ran away to the real world, but I ignored it. As much as I could... now that it knows how to
smash through to me
as spiritual equals. As I started to
stomp
away, I got a little further than I’d been shooting from and turned.
I nocked an arrow one more time while
focusing on the new system perk
. This time, everything
aligned
almost perfectly. My stance was as solid as any I’d used, my draw was smooth as smooth can be, and my aim down the attached sighting was true.
All in all I calmed completely and set the
anchor-point
to my face rather quickly. Released with
confidence
. And the arrow flew and struck the dead
center
of my crude target from
something closer to thirty yards
.
"YES!"
I threw my arms up in
triumph
, bow still clutched in one hand. After hours of
gradual improvement
, that shot felt like
vindication
. Proof that Princess Citra Lomdi could master anything
she set her mind to
, even in this new world.
The satisfaction was
so immediate and pure
that I found myself
loping
over to examine it up close. Without thinking, I pulled out my phone and snapped a series of photos. Happy with the image that captured the
arrow’s perfect placement
- and the carved rings for
context
.
Of course, the impulse struck me that I wanted to share this. To show someone what I’d
accomplished
, to receive acknowledgment of my skill... and
the first person I thought of
wasn’t Ravi.
It was
Kyrie
.
My finger hovered over the screen
as my eyelashes fluttered
, suddenly aware of the
direction
my thoughts had taken. When had her opinion started
mattering
so much to me? When had I begun
craving
her approval?