Chaotic Craftsman Worships The Cube

Notifications filled Falk’s head as he laid the final tile of his massive weapon down, with his body lighting up in response, taking in all of the mana in the surrounding area while Abrus watched from the side, looking briefly in awe for his friend's success until the great spirit needed to rush to catch him. The months of work were hitting the yeti all at once despite the doubling of all of his attributes that came with what he’d just achieved.

After so long spent pushing his body and mind to the limit, it was like a switch had been flipped off the moment he was free of all of his work, telling him he could finally rest while Abrus said the same in Falk’s final brief moments of consciousness.

“Sleep well my friend, you’ve earned it.”

He didn’t feel as the great spirit carried him off, nor did the sounds of his hammer ring out in his dreams. For the first time in ages, Falk was at peace.

He didn’t know how long it had been, but ever so slowly the yeti felt himself beginning to wake up, even if it was against his will. It had been so long since he’d slept so peacefully, it was hard to let it go, even with an almost familiar voice calling to him.

“Come now, Falk, I know you’re not asleep anymore so open your eyes.”

“Mmh, I could still be a lil’ asleep,” He grumbled as he did as he was asked, changing his tune in an instant when he saw who it was speaking before he rushed to change his position to a bow, aiming to sound far more respectful than he had moments earlier. “Nare, it’s an honour.”

“Ha, the honour is mine, Falk, and no need to bow. You stand before me as an equal.”

An equal.

The words rang out in Falk’s mind, speaking of his success. He’d done it, he’d broken through the barrier that had been holding him back for years and achieved his dream. He had become the second soulsmith in the history of the world, with all of the benefits and changes that would entail.

Emotions threatened to overwhelm him, only being kept at bay out of his desire to maintain his dignity before the one he gave his faith.

“You don’t have to, you know. It’s okay to shed some tears, this is an emotional moment, not only for you, but myself and any of my believers. Falk, you are the first of the faith to grab your godhood with your own two hands. Be proud.”

“Thank you, but I’d rather be keeping my eyes dry if it’s all the same,” He said with a smaller bow, unable to keep himself from showing some respect no matter what the one before him said, even if he wasn’t feeling the need as fiercely as he had during their one meeting in the past. It seemed that among the other changes to him, reaching the third tier had lessened the effect of feeling a true god's divinity, even without having properly reached that level himself. While it could be argued that he was already a god now that he’d reached the third tier, he wouldn’t truly be able to stand beside Nare as an equal until his mortal body died and he ascended to that greater height.

“Well, whatever you’re more comfortable with. Given how hard you worked, you deserve that much. You’ve been unconscious for an entire day. Well, you still technically are but let’s not get into the topic of physical and mental rest when your apprentice seems to live nearly entirely without the latter.”

“Ha, hope the boy hasn’t caused too much chaos while I’ve been gone.”

“Oh, you’ll see soon enough, don’t doubt that, but for the time being there’s plenty to talk about. Really, there’s enough to discuss that you’ll be occupied for another few days, but Anailia’s oracle has already informed your friends that you aren’t in any danger for however long you might sleep.”

“‘Course not, as bad as it was, that wasn’t enough to keep me down,” He said positively, not believing it for a moment, nor convincing the god before him.

“Even with your body being healed by life and light spirits while you were working you still required more when you were carried off to Anailia. You worked yourself beyond your limits, but then, that’s almost always how it has to happen for these sorts of things so there’s no point nagging when we have so much to go over.”

“Uh, such as?”

“Pff, where to begin? What you can expect when you finally pass and all that will come with it, the interactions you’ll need to have with the other tier three skill holders while you're still technically mortal, or the fact that since you’ve gone and achieved the unusual result of gaining a third tier skill that has previously existed, you’ll be having a divine teacher as the last soulsmith will be working to educate you on all they know, as well as provide ideas they’ve had in godhood that they never got to put to the test in their mortal lives? I hope you enjoyed the rest you were allowed, Falk, you won’t be getting more for a few days to come just because you reached your goal.”

“Ah, I’m not such a fool as to think that gaining a skill like this in the middle of a war would somehow shrink my workload and I’m not so thick-headed to turn down any lessons from someone who knows more than me so if we gotta start on this then let’s get going.”

With everything to learn and discuss taking up days, Falk couldn’t help but wonder how the others who’d achieved the same feat as himself managed with it all. Learning the laws of gods he’d be expected to follow upon death was one thing, but the planning on how to put his newfound strength towards the world had been a whole other, no matter how much sense it made given the circumstances he found himself in. There was a whole world out there just waiting to be armed, and it seemed he was going to have to play his part.

By the time he was finally done, or at least done enough that he was allowed to wake up, he was greeted with a stiffness in his joints that could only come from being stuck on a far too small bed the entire time, his yeti frame towering over any succubus had left his limbs hanging over the edges as he massaged some life back into himself, even as he was finally able to appreciate the feeling that had come with awakening.

Falk was powerful. He always had been, both due to the innate physical strength of his race and the high mana values he had from years of training and raising his magic, but now that his attributes had doubled he felt incomparable to how he had in the past.

When he clenched his fists he felt like he could crush stones, and when he moved the mana within himself it felt like the churning of an ocean, ready to swallow up anything he directed it at. His thoughts were more clear than usual and his body felt light and healthy despite what he’d just put it through. He couldn’t remember ever feeling better.

Even more than any of that though was the change in how he saw the world around him. Despite the fact that he was undoubtedly in Pelenia’s home, the residence of a queen, the room he’d been left in hadn’t been heavily furnished, having the bare minimum to make it comfortable, but without even looking he could feel the metal fixtures around it, innately sensing them, along something else in the room.

Spirits, and plenty of them. Having both an awakened earth and death magic before they’d just grown to a whole new stage, he’d been able to see both of those types in the past for many long years, but now he was seeing all of the life and light ones fluttering about, not from the mana they put out, but from the presence of their souls that now shone so bright in his eyes.

He was sure there was going to be more too, plenty of things to discover as he adjusted to his new normal, but he would have to take time to figure out what it all could be. Time he wasn’t going to get then as an old friend of his kicked open the door.

“Falk, you sleepy bastard!” Pelenia yelled, carrying a paper in hand. “Good to finally have you up! Here’s your bill for taking care of you this entire time so make sure you pay it in full, okay?”

Before he could get a word in it was shoved into his hand, simply saying ‘one hundred items of the highest rank you can create’, leaving him to sigh as he exerted just the barest bit of his newfound power, making the sheet decay in his grasp.

“And ain’t it lovely to see you too, Pel. Been a minute, you been well?”

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“As well as I can be now that I have a lovely friend with more power than I could ever dream of,” She laughed, not minding Falk destroying the note since she'd scribbled it out quickly in jest, even if she was fully planning on taking advantage of him. “It’s good to see you up though, we were getting worried.”

“Ah, looks like since I passed out anyway the gods decided to keep me knocked out to deal with some of the fine print that comes with getting so high. Looks like I’m not getting any real peace till the war ends, one way or another.”

“Ha, well unfortunately for you, there is one small thing you need to do first,” She told him, pulling out a different sheet of paper. One he immediately recognized as the letter the boy had written up for him to hand over, getting him fully supplied in a way that had finally let him reach the third tier and instantly left a lump in his stomach. He hadn’t given it much thought at the time, too deep in the idea of finally completing his dream, but it looked like he was going to have to face whatever he’d been offered up to do as he took it and read it over, feeling his eyes squint at the few short lines.

“You both really are a couple of bastards, you know that?” Falk sighed. “I already told the boy I’d do it.”

Even if I forgot.

Between his exhaustion and the talks with various gods, he didn’t have time to think about what reaching his goal had meant until it was thrown so bluntly in his face. He actually needed to talk with Sonya.

“Just be aware, if you try to back out I’ll be killing both you and your little student for raising my hopes like this, I don’t care how important either of you might be.”

“Damnable woman, I said I’d do it. Infinite hells, at least let me get myself together a bit and washed up.”

“If you think you were allowed to be placed on my sheets before you were washed given the state you were in when Abrus brought you back then you’re insane. We’ve had a couple water spirits around to keep you clean, you’re fine.”

He gave himself a quick glance hearing that. His fur was back to a beautiful snow white, free of the gunk and grime that had covered him in his unending weeks of smithing and construction and leaving him in the best state he could be in.

“...Not sure how I feel ‘bout that Pel.”

“Don’t be a baby, it’s fine. Now come on, off with you already.”

“Can’t believe you’re kicking me out minutes after I’ve woken up.”

At least I’ll have however long it takes to get back to properly think on what to say.

Pelenia gave him a curious look before breaking into a deep grin.

“You’re thinking that you’ll have some time before you get back, aren’t you?”

“We really have known each other too long.”

“Ha, well, sorry to burst your bubble but you’ll have a lot less time than you’d expected.”

“Damn it all, are you really going to have your hubby carry me back to Stonewall?”

He could easily imagine it, even if he didn’t want to, and it would be the sort of thing that would instantly kill any dignity that his newfound power carried, but at least it would leave him a little time to think. Not the days he’d been expecting, but at least a few good hours, along with a conversation partner to bounce thoughts off of.

In the face of his question though, the queen's eyes sparkled.

“Oh, you’ll see in a minute. After all, you’re not the only person who’s grown while you’ve been gone, you know.”

It was with those mysterious words she led him out of the room.

“Gods above,” Falk gasped as he was led to Thera’s old room, where one unusual feature now stood. Something he would have thought impossible if not for the fact that he was touching it himself, his senses screaming out the details of it to him. “I knew the boy was bound to do one or two interesting things while I was gone, but I never imagined this.”

A gate, one as big as a standard doorway, just waiting to be passed through to get to his shop on the other side. Seeing it took his breath away and left him wishing he’d been there for its construction, if only to help celebrate Ben’s success. His apprentice had finally broken into making legendary items and had kicked off what was sure to be a ridiculous string of them with an absolute bang, all while Pelenia enjoyed the reaction.

“Oh, he’s done plenty of interesting things while you’ve been gone, but you’ll be able to hear all about that when you’re back. Well, you will eventually, he and Thera are off who knows where right now but Sonya’s also had some big things come up so stop stalling and go already.”

“Admiring my student’s work isn’t stalling,” He told her, even as she had her hands pressed against his back, trying to push with all of her might but failing against his large body. “But fine, I’m off. Be safe Pel, with this stuck in my shop it probably won’t be as long till I see you again.”

“Hmph, it better not. And make sure you come back with good news or you’re never hearing the end of it from me.”

“Whatever you say.”

With a final wave, he stepped beyond the gate after so long gone, finally back home in Stonewall.

“Er, is Sonya here?” He asked at the clinic, finding the place less packed than he was used to seeing from his few times going in the past, with the worker at the front giving him a nod.

“Just a minute.”

As they left to grab her, he had nothing to do but look around, taking in what he was seeing, as well as the changes to himself.

He could see the souls of everyone present and practically felt the construction of the building itself but could suppress both effects if he so chose, making other things more apparent in return.

While his soul smithing had sprouted partially from his death magic, at its pinnacle it should have been more than capable of doing anything life magic could as well and though he didn’t know many of the spells for it beyond a purely academic sense, he could sense the bodies of the people around him, how they were put together and things that seemed like might be wrong, all of which where just more aspects for him to learn and develop with the time he had, pointing to just how busy he’d be.

His work wasn’t ending. If anything, he was going to be far busier than any time in the past. Adding that on top of the ever present feeling of impending doom, could he really give Sonya what she wanted?

It was something he’d only just begun asking himself as she came out the back, smiling wide as she saw him and rushing over to pull him into her embrace.

“Well, how’d it go?” She asked him in place of a greeting, looking like she already knew the answer.

“I pulled it off, Sonya. It wasn’t easy but I managed it.”

Neither were saying what it was, it was the sort of thing that would explode across town and beyond if any careless words were spoken, but he could see joy in her eyes on his behalf and turned to the one manning the front.

“Looks like something came up so tell Drari I’m leaving early.”

The statement made their face fall but neither of the two saw it, both walking to catch up over a meal in Sonya’s home.

“Goddamn, looks like I need to be congratulating you too,” Falk laughed. “High life magic, that’s fantastic!”

“Well, thank you very much mister god-to-be,” She teased. “It might not be on the same scale, but I am pretty pleased no matter how unearned it was.”

“Bah, no such thing. Everyone grows with help, if you got there then you’ve earned it. I know how much the clinic would struggle without you Sonya, this is well deserved.”

He watched her lips gently curl up at that as they fell into a comfortable silence, having mostly caught up on everything that had happened in their months apart, both of them starting to think about what to say next. He’d told both Ben and Pelenia he’d actually talk to Sonya about her feelings but how was he even supposed to begin, how did he start that?

Just thinking about it made him wish he had the boy in town. As shameful as it would have felt, he could have used the advice for how to broach the topic, but it seemed he didn’t need to.

Keeping her small smile, Sonya spoke up.

“I love you, you know.”

“Wha…”

Given he’d been told this was something she’d been holding onto for years, her coming out with it was the last thing he’d expected and whatever look his face was wearing was rewarded with a laugh.

“I have for decades at this point, you've just been too dense to see it this entire time. Although that’s not really fair to you either, is it? I should have just told you when it became obvious you were never going to catch on yourself.”

Awakening a skill had come with a new level of confidence for Sonya, one she enjoyed feeling in herself and now that Falk had reached his dream she couldn’t deny her desire to get that out there, for whatever the consequences would be. There was no denying she was nervous, a part of her wished she’d taken him out for a round of drinks first so she could have blamed whatever she said on that, but she wanted the words out of her while she knew she had the courage, all that was left was seeing how he’d respond.

“Sonya, you deserve a better man than me,” He told her. “You don’t want to be with a fella who’s too blind to notice your feelings, or one who's going to be as stuck with as much work as I am. Now that I’ve reached my goal I’m going to be slaving away till the end of the war, however it turns out, and neither of us are dumb. How it turns out is likely going to be a solid bad. You should be spendin’ that time with someone who can give you all of the attention you deserve.”

He didn’t know if he really liked his answer, but it was the one he thought was for the best. Back before awakening his skill, he’d thought that would be the end, not taking the time to properly imagine every little obligation that would come with it now that he’d managed, but having done it he was forced to see that he’d never have the time to give her all he thought she was worth. Sonya was the most important person in his life, even if it ruined their friendship, he didn’t want to leave the last few years of her life on someone who was never going to have the time for her, but she didn’t back down.

“Falk, I’m the only one who gets to decide what I deserve,” She told him, flicking his nose as she did. “And I think I deserve you. However much or little time you have for me doesn’t matter, I told you how I feel knowing that. The only thing that’s important here and now is how you feel about me. So?”

So how do I feel?

“There’s plenty of people who matter to me, but only one who does the most. I think you know where you stack.”

“Maybe, but I want to hear you say it.”

“...If you’d really be fine having someone like me for whatever time we’ve got left, then I can’t imagine giving it to anyone but you.”

The embarrassment coursing through him as he said it was enough to leave him feeling like a bashful kid and he was thanking his lucky stars that neither the boy nor Thera were around to overhear them, with the thought only cut off by Sonya making her move, leaning forward and pushing her lips against his before pulling back with a satisfied expression.

“Well then, I guess you’ll just have to make sure the time we have together is even more special to make up for how busy you’re going to be.”

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