Alma 54 Elder Speech

A violent, raging wave of Anima rushed out of Reed and permeated into anything it passed effortlessly. Whatever the wave touched instantly became rigid and lifeless, akin to stone. Everything around him froze in place, be it the trees, flowers, and animals, all the way down to the blades of grass around him.

Even the wind had gone silent in the presence of the Anima wave. Nothing had been spared in the sudden outburst of power that Reed had summoned. The remaining Anima blade had also vanished into nothingness in the wake of the effect. Silence reigned across the land as Reed gazed upon his unintentional work in pure shock.

Thankfully, the effects of his power did not last long and slowly faded away in a couple of seconds. It was as if the invisible grasp that had held everything in place could not persist for very long. The world trembled in protest and fiercely shook off the force that had constrained it. Life and motion quickly returned to his surroundings and everything returned back to normal.

Lu'um simply stared at Reed with an unidentifiable expression in silence. Her eyes radiated a coldness that could freeze the devil himself in place as she cautiously gazed at Reed as a hunter would look at prey.

"Speak, boy! Who has taught you the ways of Elder Speech?! Who has taught you the way to use Words of Power?! It is an affront to Heaven itself to use that knowledge without permission! Those who would freely use Elder Speech for their own reasons are rebels — traitors who have forsaken the world!" said Lacrima.

"I-It wasn't me! I don't know what you're talking about! The words just came out of my mouth after that bastard started messing with my head!" said Reed as he clutched his head in pain. It seemed that the effect of speaking whatever he had spoken came with a consequence of its own…

"Who is this bastard you speak of? There is no one other than us here; I cannot detect the presence of a foreign intruder anywhere in the vicinity. Explain yourself quickly and clearly, boy. But for now, let us go somewhere private, where prying ears cannot reach us…"

Two figures quietly gazed at the young boy out in the courtyard with differing expressions from the estate. They'd been warned beforehand by their previous master about the boy's unique habit of creating unexpected events, but this was something else.

He'd felt his heart stop beating all together when the Anima wave passed by him. His limbs had gone stiff and rigid like a corpse's. Even his mind had slowed and stagnated under the effect of the boy's power, unable to even think coherent thoughts. He, a veteran conqueror who ranked among the top five-hundred conquerors in the world, had been rendered a living vegetable by a child a fifteenth his own age.

He finally understood why Lady Violett gave the boy the estate. No one could ever find out about the boy's true abilities and potential. The consequences would be unimaginable. His heart pounded fiercely as he came to terms with the true nature of his new master.

"We've been assigned to serve a very, very special master this time, huh… What do you think, Mira? Is he good enough for you now?"

Mira roughly said, "Where the hell did Lady Violett find this boy? Is he even human? With him, Lady Violett's path to the throne is all but guaranteed. The Crown Prince and the Fellspring family are finished." Her face was abnormally flushed with excitement and interest as she gazed at Reed's tiny figure in the courtyard.

Arcano said, "I agree with you… on the basis that he is not snuffed out before he matures. Dragon whelps are not threatening, but adult dragons on the other hand, haha…"

"But that's why we're here, no? To make sure that no one touches Lady Violett's dragon whelp. Can't have someone kill or steal him away from us— I mean, Lady Violett…"

Reed grit his teeth and did the best he could to explain what had happened to him and the world from his perspective as he wrangled with the annoying, pounding headache that had arisen. About how time had frozen, about the hooded man and his cryptic warning, and about how he had messed with his mind and done something to it…

"…Is it even possible for someone to affect the world on such a massive scale, even with Anima?" said Reed as he laid down on his bed in exhaustion.

"Theoretically, yes. But the level of control and the amount of Anima required to perform such a thing would make it nigh-impossible for anyone to do it in reality. The only way to feasibly do it would be for someone to possess an extremely powerful tool or device to help them accomplish this. Even then, the user would need to have god-like skills in Anima manipulation," said Lacrima.

Lu'um sighed and said, "…I know only two people skilled and foolish enough to have attempted what you have described, Ka'an. I can immediately rule out one of them with absolute certainty, which leaves us with…"

"With who? Who's this all-power person who's gone out of his way to mess with me across time?"

"An idiot. And the last, best hope of the universe. That was probably a message he left for you, Ka'an, to receive at a certain point in time. Only someone as mindless as him would leave a spatiotemporal message for someone else to receive in the future."

"That does make sense. Those who reach another shore of time can see the past, present, and future at will. Only someone who has climbed the staircase can earn such a right and, well, there are only two such people in this current cycle that have done such a thing…" said Lacrima in a solemn tone.

"Again, who are these two people you two are talking about? Are these your gods or something? Can't speak their names, or what?"

"It is not as if we cannot speak their names, boy, but rather you are not ready to learn about them. Not even remotely. It is on you to uncover the truth on your own — that is your punishment and your journey. The girl and I are merely here to assist you in that journey, not to carry you to your destination. Never forget this. You are a sinner."

"...But if you must know, I can offer you a smidgen of knowledge. The First One is a coward and traitor who forsook everything and has become our greatest enemy. He sold himself in order to foolishly protect what he loved… and ended up losing it all because he cast his soul aside. What remains of him is a miserable shade of what he once was."

"The Second One is a fool and who forsook himself in order to protect what he loved, against the wishes of those who loved him. Blinded by hatred and fear of loss, he saved the world — or rather, prolonged the coming of the end by doing something very reckless. It is he who the three moons wait for, and he who will correct the mistake of the First…"

Reed said, "Those are some messed-up gods, to be honest. Don't you have any better stories to tell? You know, something less… depressing?"

"You're the one who asked, boy, so you can't complain when you hear the awful truth. If you don't want to hear, don't ask. Keep your nose out of stuff you aren't ready to learn about yet."

Lu'um interjected and said, "For now, don't even think about using what you learned about from the hooded man. You aren't ready to use something as powerful as Elder Speech. It requires a certain level of finesse with Anima that you do not even remotely possess. That is why when you unintentionally used it, it affected everything around you without distinction."

"She's right, boy. You'd only be putting everyone around you at risk if you used it in a fight. Both friend and foe would suffer the same fate if you misused Elder Speech. We can teach you how to use it when you are ready for it, but for now, it is best that you focus on your fundamentals first. Do not bite off more than you can chew."

Reed shrugged and said, "Fine, I get it. It's not like I wanted to use it again; I'm not interested in getting another damn headache again…"

"That is a common after-effect for those who use Elder Speech without proper training. The stronger the words, the greater the risk that comes with the power you draw from them. Stronger words can drive practitioners insane, or even kill them outright depending on the backlash, Ka'an. Be grateful that you only spoke something relatively simple…"

Reed suddenly felt a lump in his throat. He felt that it was not to learn something as dangerous as Elder Speech. Dying because he spoke incorrectly sounded like the dumbest way to go.

He preferred not to accidentally kill himself one day… via mispronunciation.

Chapter end