It seemed there was no hiding it now. Emiliana just tried to keep herself from sounding as panicked as she felt. ‘I don’t know,’ she said. ‘I’m--I... ah--’ When she looked up from her book, she realized that there was something else wrong.
Spots. Distortions in her vision. It was like the light in the room was bending, somehow; and it made her blink involuntarily, but nothing changed. Those spots weren’t going anywhere. She could feel her breathing becoming even more erratic.
Chergoa’s voice cut through everything. ‘Listen to me,’ the reaper said, more urgently now, yet still carrying that same calmness that she always had. ‘Emiliana, it’s okay. I’m right here. Everything is fine. You’re perfectly safe. Just listen to my voice. Now I want you to try and stand. Slowly. Don’t rush yourself. There’s no hurry.’
Emiliana latched onto those words as if she were lost at sea and they were the only thing that could keep her afloat. She gradually made it onto her feet while a whirlwind of muddled thoughts and twisting light threatened to knock her off balance.
‘We’re going to the bathroom,’ said Chergoa, suddenly much more casual, presumably for the others in the room. ‘Be right back.’
Emiliana saw the door ahead of her. She just had to make it there. To walk straight. If only the floor would stop moving.
‘Good,’ said Chergoa privately. ‘You’re almost there.’
It didn’t look like it, but after a moment, Emiliana realized that the reaper was correct. Her hand was touching the doorknob. She was leaving the room. And it almost felt like she wasn’t the one who’d done it.
All the way to the nearest bathroom, this strange sensation continued.
Then she was in front of a mirror, removing her mask in order to look at her face, at the stubby horns there.
‘Does anything hurt?’ asked Chergoa.
Emiliana had to think about it. ‘No.’
‘Good. That’s good.’
‘What’s happening?’
‘You can’t tell? Em, your power is growing.’
Emiliana’s expression twisted into a scowl. Clearly, Chergoa thought this was a good thing, and perhaps it was, but Emiliana would’ve been quite pleased to never have to deal with this again.
Chergoa had told her about this, though. One of the things that made the mutation type so volatile was that, eventually, it had to be used, whether the user wished it or not.
A dark serial novel. Set in a modern fantasy world called Eleg. Mature language. Updates every night at midnight PST by ~400 words.
...well. That sucks. I can see how this power can be useful, but for a beginner? It's a little underwhelming and has a lot of downsides...
ReplyDeleteWorse, it sounds like to have any control over mutation, you need a stable headspace when it's got to the Must Happen phase, at the very least. Now think how you're likely to become a Servant and all the weirdness that explodes into your existence after that point... Yeah: noobs are scuppered from the minute they croak. <_<
ReplyDelete"presumably for the others in the [others]". I think that second "others" should be something more like "room"
ReplyDeleteI hope she has more eyes 😥
ReplyDeleteI thought it'd be obvious that that definitely isn't the case, she would have certainly made a fuss over that.
ReplyDelete[She could feel breathing becoming even more erratic.]
ReplyDeleteFeel her breathing
If it were worded differently this could work: She could feel breathing becoming more laborious a task (for herself?) … actually I think you'd have to specify it is her you're talking about
It outright says that mutation is the toughest for a beginner, that many reapers who get mutator servants either write them off as worthless or release them on their own request when they screw up in an agonizing and irreversible manner, and that for a long time people thought that mutation was some kind of servant disease that they might get instead of a power. Interestingly, its also the only one that actually requires scientific knowledge to be better than useless, since even if a transfigurator or integrator might have trouble creating molecules they can't visualize, they can safely learn with trial and error, and the other 3 types don't need much knowledge at all.
ReplyDeleteDamn, I kinda feel bad for Em (and all the Elroys, in fact).
ReplyDeleteI thought Em only had access to keratin so far, creating an eye out of nowhere would require lots elements/compounds and lots of control on her part.
ReplyDeleteYeah. And it can't just be success by luck and flailing, because you can only enter hyper-states by choice, and can only gain new materials by using a hyper-state.
ReplyDeletePoor Em. Whose idea was it to have 14 year olds become servants anyway? They couldn't wait until they were 18 or 20 and more or less know who they are?
ReplyDeleteAlso, if the power HAS to be used, I think it makes it a little more understandable that some reapers release their mutation servants early. Can you imagine gradually mutilating your own body over a course of years until you're so messed up that you can't function? I can see how some reapers would consider a clean death to be kinder. 'Course, that doesn't apply to reapers who release their servants for having "weak" powers.
I discovered this series three days ago and I am truly saddened to realize that I am up to date. Well done Mr Frost. Well done.
ReplyDeleteAs I understand it, mutators are released about 50/50 because they screw up painfully and because their reapers write them off as worthless. I assume that as a mutator gains more power and control, it becomes easier to do or not do stuff with their power, but until then it forms a sort of "pressure" that builds up and must be vented, but at high levels they don't even bother with holding it back when they have the control and knowledge to make themselves stronger.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of becoming a servant that young is just to give them a few more years to train. They want them to grow up used to the idea of having power and being expected to use it responsibly, but not so young that they can't really understand what is going to happen to them. I think that if they waited, they might have more risk of the freshly-made servants letting their newfound status go to their head. Also, the fact that small children can be intimidated helps to reinforce the idea that they should give it at least a few years before they get into any fights they can't afford to lose.
"...for the others in the others"
ReplyDeleteI imagine that should be "for the others in the room"?
Yep. Fixed, thank you.
ReplyDelete