Chương 37: Chapter 34 - First Assignment

Nolotl started hyperventilating as the realization dawned on him. The Ehecatl had proven to be able to interfere with the Alignment itself and had hinted some connection with the True Empyreans, but not in his life he would have expected that the creature was atemporal. When it had said that it was timeless, he hadn't taken it seriously nor literally. An anachronistic being that wasn't affected by the turning of the clock, a being that wouldn't disappear if Enantyum turned the clock back again.

He hadn't had many hopes in that, but Nolotl had prayed that the issue would have just disappeared if he waited for the next total celestial alignment to arrive. But he now knew that wasn't an option. Had never been.

"Hey, hey!" Quetiapine grabbed him and patted him on the back.

"Are you alright, boy?"

"Y-yeah…" He responded unsurely.

"I just… don't like the idea that this parasite might be permanent."

"There's no reason for that to be the case," the dryad reassured him as she spoke with a motherly voice. Unlike the Ehecatl's poor and uninformed imitation, Quetiapine's tone came as veritable.

"As you've said, this parasite is completely restricted to this second mind of yours. In that sense, you've done a fantastic job containing such a dangerous entity. But because of that, if you were to remove the enchantment, the creature would die." That's not an option, Nolotl and the Ehecatl both pondered at the same time, much to the repulsive creature's delight. The terian could tell the being's intent, it would do anything to remain 'alive', even whispering untruths to its host.

Especially whispering untruths to its host. But it found much joy that the host didn't need convincing.

"Is that really the only option?" The gnosiamancer inquired weakly like a scolded child.

"Unless you want that… thing wriggling in your mind, then yes." Nolotl found some solace in the fact that Quetiapine was equally disgusted by the Ehecatl.

"But if I do so…"

"Yes, you will either burn your Information enchantment slot or at best you will be unable to enchant yourself with Second Mind again," the dryad explained. That was yet again one of the many dangers of the rituals that involved enchantments. Self-enchanting played under the same rules of the geass of the taximancers, a clear legacy trait from being the generic casting school of Arcane.

"So what? That's why better than having a passenger in your mind with the looming if unlike potential of overtaking it, right?"

"I'm not sure…" Nolotl raised his knees and embraced his legs, covering them in feathers completely. If this was his pre-loop self, he would have instantly removed the enchantment, but that was no longer the case. For better or worse, he was a slave to Enantyum Dei, and he wanted every kernel of power he could get. Even if he couldn't use his new mind to hold another spell that required concentration, it still duplicated his computation resource and the weight of his mind.

Perhaps he wasn't a coterie by himself, but this meant that any mental sledgehammers he forced onto people would be hitting twice as hard now. And there was also the deal with that Blessing… As ominous as it was, it couldn't be denied that the effect of resisting status effects and divination targeting his mind was a powerful effect. A Boon-worthy effect, just like the Blessing he had been born with.

"I won't deny this is a first for me," Quetiapine continued patting his back, "but I've found many similar cases in my life. This is not that different from complicated pregnancies that might threaten the life of the mother or the baby," she then chuckled.

"If anything, this is scarily similar. As you might know, fetuses are just parasites." The winged terian raised his head to look at the ebony dryad and let out a dry chuckle. Such comment could only have come out of the mouth of a species that couldn't birth a child in the traditional manner, no matter if she was correct in her biological description.

"But just like in those cases," she continued, "I won't tell you what to do. I'm just informing you that there are risks with your decision, even if the benefits might be tempting."

"I am… aware," he admitted defeatedly.

"But it's not like there are much better Information enchantments, at least nowhere near my level. Second Mind is just that good." The fact that it was an enchantment he could cast at his current level after only months of training was ludicrous considering the raw amount of computational power it brought. Literally no other gnosiamancy enchantment got close.

"As I've said, this solely depends on you. I won't say anything that might lead you to take a choice, but there are dangers."

"There are dangers to both keeping my new mind and removing it," Nolotl added.

"I haven't said otherwise," Quetiapine nodded, a soft smile in her visage.

"You should be the one judging which dangers are worst."

"I will… ponder on it." For better or worse, that was the best thing he could do now after learning that the only way of removing the Ehecatl was to remove his bifid mind altogether. And he wasn't looking forward to a lobotomy.

"Can I get going?"

"I would recommend you to stay in bed, but you're sane enough that I cannot force you to stay. Yet again, it's your choice." The dryad's soft and worried tone made the terian's heart flutter. It was… weird having someone care about you. He wasn't used to that, even if it was a clinical sense of preoccupation.

"I will get going then," Nolotl stood up from bed and started flowing mana to his silvery tattoos finally contain his terian side after all this time, the wings retreating into arms. A lot of the backlogged power had been spent due to his absent-mindedness; months, if not years, of containment of his Animal Spirits just gone.

"But thank you for your help and insights, truly."

"You're welcome," the ebony dryad with the open white dress smiled at him with a motherly warmth that the mental interloper could only dream to achieve. Like clockwork yet not any less annoying for it, Nolotl was woken up by the knocks on his door. This time around, the sounds and the lack of sleep were far more brutal in his mind as he had yet to recover from having his mind split in half and then invaded, even if he decided to keep it for the time being.

"Going, going…" The Empyrean yawned, not bothering to follow the script this time around, and slowly opened the door of his abode. And apparently, neither did Cillin follow her script as she didn't do her usual headbutt.

"I've heard about a bleeding winged terian running across the Central Tower," the Tamorean girl said with her back straight.

"And the funny thing is that I remember how I certain man sprouted wings before battling me and shamelessly stealing my Empyrean Title."

"I mean, it was never yours in that sense, but yes," Nolotl nodded.

"That was arguably me running around." Upon hearing the affirmation, Cillin's stern gaze softened and she looked at him with worry.

"What happened?"

"Nothing much, just a botched ritual and I'm already healed back to full health. Well… arguably, yet again. I would appreciate some sleep, but I'm functional."

"Ah," she clicked her tongue.

"I hate you asking this if that's the case, but could you go down to the status offices?"

"Overloaded?" Nolotl asked, already knowing the answer.

"Overloaded and overworked," Cillin nodded.

"On top of that, could you sign this?" The Empyrean of Information instantly signed the paper that she gave him, earning a frown from her part.

"What? I read fast." And I've already read this document several times over.

"Well, I guess that would be it. I really want to get my sleep but… it does look like you need it more," his fellow gnosiamancer now felt guilt.

"Don't fret about my current state, just a brief lapse. I will fulfill my duties without issues," he reassured her.

"Well, if you are still standing and being smug, then you're healthy enough. See you… some time. Better if I don't see or hear about your in a whole week."

"Fair enough," Nolotl scoffed playfully and watch her walk away, remaining in the doorframe for a while as he was deep in his own thoughts. If Enantyum is aware of any of this… well, I'm dead. I hope that Blessing carries its own weight. Even though he had already taken an elevator at the start of the loop, Nolotl didn't even think about repeating the experience to save up some time. That was enough action for a handful of days.

Like always, it took him a while to reach the status offices at the Central Tower, but he mostly aligned his arrival with his original one so he could mostly use the script to guide his repetitive work. The fact that he no longer needed to follow the script didn't mean he didn't have uses for it. And I should start investigating new spots for the total celestial alignment. I only went to the same spot for revenge, but now that I've completed my original ritual, I can opt for more secure places.

Unless I want to perform any other rituals... in that case, that cliff is just the best one available. His thoughts ended the moment Enantyum Dei appeared before him.

"You haven't made an appearance this morning," the Empyrean of Time said and the diviner immediately realized something was very wrong. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Whilst it wasn't like that time eastern blonde had pulled him into a conscious stasis, it definitely wasn't a 'correct' feeling. The moment he looked around, the weight of the situation pressed on Nolotl's shoulder. He has stopped time.

But that wasn't the problem, the Regressor had already shown such capabilities. And pulled me with him. Perhaps it Time Freeze or Time Stop were complex spells, but they were well-known due to the fact that was mostly the whole chronomancer fantasy, along with aging slower. But those spells always had one clear restriction. They only affected the caster. And this was NOT the case. Nolotl struggled to not hyperventilate and lose his cool.

It didn't help that in stopped time he couldn't feel the Cognition, something that had accompanied for over a decade, most of his life by now.

"I… managed to complete the Second Mind ritual…" The gnosiamancer said slowly and consciously, watching over his every word whilst struggling to not… to not… Deep breaths... Well, mental deep breaths.

"Though I didn't expect that it would hurt so much, so I was mostly knocked out. That's why I didn't visit you at the start of the loop."

"I see," the man who had a yoke in Time itself reacted calmly and time returned to its course, casually offering the diviner his hand for an appraisal.

"Well, it isn't like we had accorded an hour. After you are done with all this scribal business, come to my office."

"C-can do," Nolotl nodded and cast his status-reading cantrips and annotated the changes on the sheet in front of him. Enantyum didn't comment on it, simply taking it with him. Not that there was much to comment as the man had his Alignment Obfuscation Boon active and Nolotl could only see the changes in his reservoir and Alignment progression, both of which hadn't changed much. Though how did his mana increase that little when at the first loop he managed to acquire half a mana pool in a single loop?

That massive increase unsettled him, especially because it had yet to repeat. But however it may be, the Empyrean of Information continued with his mind-numbing work. The script proved to be a blessing as it allowed him to do other things with his mind whilst he repeated the previous gestures with his body.

Lesser Alignment Assimilation Progress: - Light ▰▰▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱ 22% - Arcane ▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱ 1% - Life ▰▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱ 10% - Time ▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱ 5% - Information ▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰▰ 100% - Space ▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱ 1% - Death ▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱ 1% - Chaos ▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱ 3% - Void ▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱▱ 5% This is a massive change, Nolotl commented after inspecting the changes of his level 5 Boon. It was weird to assimilate its existence when he had barely had it for some weeks and now he boasted an additional one.

The Information slot is filled, which means that I can slot a divination into it and get a proficiency for that spell. There wasn't even a question about what spell he would slot there. Interacting with the status of Alignment was a trivial task for gnosiamancers who were used to deal information in many shapes and forms. Most people needed to meditate to level up and interact with some Boons, but his kind were not. Not that it made much difference, but it was a nice quality of life feature.

Simulacrum spell assigned to the Lesser Alignment Assimilation Information slot. Simulacrum proficiency obtained. Warning: Removing any spells from Lesser Alignment Assimilation will have their proficiency removed. Warning: Removing any spells from Lesser Alignment Assimilation will have the assimilation progress reduced by 10%. Immediately, Nolotl's understanding of the Simulacrum spell increased.

It was a weird feeling because it was like a guiding hand, even more so than the proficiencies that his Gnosiamancer Title granted him, but not less valuable for it. Whilst he didn't need a notification to know that removing Simulacrum from the slot would remove the boosts he was currently enjoying—it was an instinctive feeling—the same couldn't be said for the latter one. I will lose progress if I change spells?

Nolotl frowned at the Real-Time Status notification, much to the amazement of the person he was currently attending, her eyes screaming "My status isn't that bad, right?" as she mistook the gesticulation's target for herself. Fortunately, she didn't comment on it and stepped aside for another person in the queue. This just makes the Boon even worse but… well, I guess I just need to keep in mind that whatever spell I slot in should be semi-permanent.

Increasing his assimilation with Information could almost be trivial like he had already experienced, but the same couldn't be said about other Alignments. If anything, it's more interesting that Real-Time Status can issue such warnings about information that I didn't personally know. But not that surprising as divination cantrips that target Alignment instead of only the Cognition can do the same and this is a third tier spell, after all.

As much as he wanted to practice with the Simulacrum spell, his time for learning it to cast suddenly going down from days—if not weeks—to hours with his new triple proficiency, Nolotl was aware that he couldn't avoid his meeting with Enantyum by any means. But first, he allowed himself the privilege of going to eat at the canteen. He was banking in both the idea that the Regressor didn't know when his turn ended and that the break was short enough to ignore.

Nolotl wasn't running such risk for nothing, he was truly in his last legs. The syrup Quetiapine had fed him only countered all the blood he had lost, but otherwise, he was starving to death from all that healing and effort. He ended up picking the same food as his first loop, mostly because it was the most nutritional stuff around, and directed himself to the Empyrean's Balcony at the second floor of the canteen with an entranced mind. As expected, Clonazepam was already eating when he arrived.

"Mother be praised," the Empyrean of Life saluted him, her eyes shining with the emeralds of her Alignment.

"Good day," the Empyrean of Information saluted the dryad back.

"Eating alone?" He blurted unconsciously the original script.

"Not quite," Clonazepam responded and Nolotl was suddenly jolted awake. That's not what she said the first time…

"I actually came here in the hopes of finding you."

"F-finding me?" Perhaps it was his dealings with the Ehecatl or his encounter with Enantyum, or maybe even both things, but Nolotl was distressed to hear that. It didn't help that never before did the biomancer come to personally find him, even if it hadn't seemed to induce any chances.

"Yes," the motherly-looking dryad nodded, a lock of her ivy hair falling with the gesture.

"The tower notified me that you had some issues, but I didn't address them because you've met with one of my sisters."

"The tower… notified you?" The diviner asked sluggishly, his mind struggling to function even if he remembered hearing something similar."

"Indeed," Clonazepam fixed her air as she answered.

"I can communicate with the Life Tower, and she warmed me of your wounds as she's aware of our shared status. So, could I inquire about your wounds?"

"I see…" Nolotl took a deep breath, glad that Clonazepam didn't need something from him too. He was already aware that the Life Tower was alive and cognizant due to the events of the zeroth loop, but it was still surprising to hear speaking about it as a being.

"It was just a botched ritual, nothing to worry about."

"Sister Quetiapine was quite worried," the dryad countered.

"Though she refused to elaborate why." Quetiapine, your standing in my favorite people list has risen quite a bit. Celestials, I love patient confidentiality. Nolotl couldn't even begin to describe how happy that it made him that his eldritch possession secret was safe. This reminds me that I need to check what are the limits of that Blessing. Cillin wasn't able to notice any difference in my mind, and she knew it beforehand, but will that be the case with Xanax? Questions, questions…

"Nolotl?" Clonazepam looked at him with worry. Focus, Nolotl. Focus, he lectured himself and sighed.

"Don't fret, I just dozed off a bit. I'm perfectly healthy, but a good rest wouldn't hurt me."

"I will trust your words but… you should take care of your body. And mind," the dryad added.

"Mother Nature preaches that the mind can be as important." Yet again she talks about nature as if she's a real person… I wonder what's the deal with that. Is it something like with the Life Tower? Yet as much as he pondered about that, he really wanted to eat. The term starving was falling short as his stomach grumbled. Clonazepam giggled softly and made a gesture for him to eat. Conversation died down the moment he started shoving food into his mouth, the dryad delighted in seeing him eat with such zeal.

"I am going to go back to the healing ward, if it is not too much of a problem," the dryad stated as soon as she finished with her own meal, a Perfect Recollection -born déjà vu assaulting him.

"Of course," he bid her farewell, leaving him alone on the balcony, sighing in relief.

"Oh, all this looping will be the death of me… A trivial conversation shouldn't be that heavy on my psyche. And the worst still remains…" Once he was done with his meal, Nolotl directed himself to the Time Tower with the heaviest of hearts. The way there was slow for a plethora of reasons. He was still exhausted, the post-meal doze was hitting him hard, and most importantly of all, he really didn't want to meet with Enantyum. Not that he had a choice.

"Enter," the diviner didn't even have the time to knock before Enantyum him ordered to make his way in. Before doing so, Nolotl took a handful of deep breaths, lowering his heartbeat. You have resisted Madness. Didn't I permanently increase my resistance beyond also getting that Blessing? He mentally sighed, albeit a bit thankful of the notification as it helped him gather his thoughts and relax. Well, I guess the Ehecatl's Blessing wouldn't target any madness born from myself.

The gnosiamancer gulped down saliva and opened the door, finding Enantyum in his armchair and drinking from his brazen gemstone-inlaid flask.

"Considering you've managed to succeed with getting the Second Mind enchantment, you've completely assimilated Information, right?" Enantyum instantly went down to business.

"Mm-yes," Nolotl nodded gingerly, somewhat alleviated that Enantyum didn't seem to detect the interloper in his mind. At least with a cursory glance. The man wasn't a gnosiamancer, but he was ancient enough that he was bound to know something about minds.

"How did you know?"

"Ah, little prince," the Regressor chuckled, a sound that only infused fear in the Interlooper's mind.

"I've been around for a while, so not only do I know a lot of Boons, but also how they interact and progress. On that tangent, which Boon did you pick on your new level up?" The Empyrean of Information instantly froze.

"H-how do you know that I leveled up?"

"If you didn't level up Information of all things after casting a sixth-tier enchantment at your age and level, I would be disappointed and killed you on the spot." Something told Nolotl that last sentence was a joke, and that was the worst part. It all was a joke for the chronomancer of inconceivable power in front of him." Second Mind was sixth-tier?" He asked, mostly to change the subject.

"You didn't know?" Enantyum frowned.

"W-well, the tier system is not something reliable, and the author of the spellbook where I got the ritual from never specified anything about it. I just could tell myself that it was a difficult ritual."

"I guess you couldn't even fathom how difficult of a ritual it is considering that people always have an additional proficiency when enchanting into their main slot, and Second Mind also is way easier to people with Cognition Connection, but we are digressing," the Empyrean of Time corrected his posture and sat in a more dignified manner in his armchair.

"It's time for you to get your first assignment."

"I'm a-all ears," Nolotl exhaled deeply as he spoke, not having any idea of what to expect, which only stressed him further.

"Oh, don't panic," the Regressor smiled, his brazen eyes shining.

"It will be a simple task, though I will admit it's potentially one of the most perilous assignments I will give you. You're quite expendable at this time, wouldn't you agree?"

"R-right." He wanted to puke. He wanted to puke so badly. Nolotl had only pondered it in the confines of his mind, but the chronomancer truly saw him as a disposable pawn. Or even worse, a disposable slave. It was so simple for the master of the time loop to simply remove the Interlooper Title that bound him to this cyclical coiling of time…

"Well, enough preamble," Enantyum stood up.

"Your assignment will be to assimilate your Boon to Void as soon as possible with the help of our lovely Beta Methasome."