Misfit’s Journey

At the deepest part of her lair, inside the room she only referred to as ‘the core’, Veraxia, Enforcer and Daughter of Nature, pulled her consciousness back, deactivating her possession skin and allowing her mind to return back to her body for good.

All of the sensations a physical body brought with it returned, the warmth of the flowers she was laying in, the silence that was so rare within her home nowadays and the nagging pain, that stemmed from the hole in her stomach. A wound who did look beyond lethal.

Yet, Veraxia opened her verdant eyes, breath returned to her chest as it gently heaved up and down and she slowly began to rise from the ground. A painful process.

Becoming increasingly annoyed at it, she disabled her pain receptors. This would prevent pain from disrupting her for what she was planning to do. Her pain disappeared just like that and she got to her feet without any trouble.

The injury was a result of betrayal. Deplorable humans, blinded by greed had tried to murder her after breaking their promise to assist her in the fight against the Exapoda. The revenge she inflicted upon them was going to be her last happiness after one of the humans had wounded her.

Now she was too wounded to defend herself properly and too weak to heal her own wounds before the Exapoda breached the walls of the core. After receiving the wound, she had tortured and tormented the humans to death, giving them the most horrible of experiences right before their death. It was a fit of despairing anger, irrational and excessive, she knew as much, but she welcomed these emotions. After all, she was certain of her own approaching death.

The Exapoda had eradicated the life from her lair and started tearing into its foundation. Her bonded tree was slowly torn apart and she had to focus a large part of her energy to keep it alive, but as a result, she did not have the energy to heal her own wounds.

It was an upsetting ending, and an avoidable one. If she had dealt with the bugs on her own from the start, instead of trusting that filth of humanity, she might have lived, but the mistake was made. She did not want to accept it, but will alone was not enough to stop what was coming.

At that time, unintentionally or not, she had abandoned her own faith and doubted the care of her mother, but just a few hours ago, her mother reminded her that Nature never gave up her daughters. That being said, the help she said was not exactly what Veraxia had expected, or hoped for. That was not to say she was disappointed in what her mother had brought her, but she was not certain if it would actually make a difference.

It was a single girl, naked, dirty, and most importantly, weak. Weaker than even a human child, and just as knowledgable. Right from the very start, it was abundantly clear that the girl wouldn't be able to battle the hundreds of Exapoda waiting for her in the depths of Veraxia’s lair.

But, Veraxia also knew that her mother would not have sent the girl to her death, and Veraxia soon discovered something very surprising, yet pleasing. The girl was not only an Original, but also part of a species unknown to the system itself. That was as rare as they came.

It was not just Veraxia who didn’t recognize her species, but the system, a fundamental part of the world, had no knowledge about her kind. That was unheard of. A mystery even Veraxia, with all of her knowledge accumulated over a thousand years, could not unravel.

One could interpret that many ways, but it confirmed one thing. The girl was not created by her mother, but someone else. Creatures created from someone beside Nature were not particularly rare, and actually quite numerous, but it was strange that her mother sent something not from her own making. Veraxia did not give a fuck about who actually made her, but it would help to discern what she was.

For now though, her heritage was of no importance. Her status as an Original, on the other hand, was. Originals were… rare to come by, and especially such a weak one. If people discovered her identify, she would have a giant bounty on her head in no time. The girl was quite lucky that she ran into Veraxia, because of all the beings in the world, she was someone who had no desire for the materials one could harvest from an Original’s body. No, she just had use of Original’s superior growth potential.

Prior to the girl’s arrival in her lair, Veraxia had basically been empty-handed. However, now, a diamond in the rough had fallen into her hands. All she had to do was nurture, train her and ensure her survival until she turned into a powerful pest exterminator.

However, at this moment, the girl was merely an inexperienced, weak and frail creature with a small chance to survive this entire situation. Furthermore, she lacked even the most fundamental knowledge that every sapient being should have, so beside a lot of training, Veraxia would also need to provide her with some basic education covering the world, the system and basically common sense in general.

The knowledge part was actually what Veraxia was curious about the most. From what she learned, the girl was only a young woman appearance wise, and carried at least a century of memories with her, maybe more, so knowing so little about the world was not a result of ordinary circumstances.

The girl had vaguely explained her life so far, and it did explain some of it, but she did not at all seem to question why a human barbarian clan locked and tormented her for a century. Veraxia was no expert on humans, but that was not something they would do just because they were primitive trash. Considering what she was, and what she wasn’t, there was definitely more to it. If she wasn’t dying, Veraxia might actually have cared, but currently she had other problems. Maybe she would talk to her about it after they survived this. If not, the girl would surely find out on her own by just following her path of vengeance.

Veraxia was actually empathizing with the hardships the girl had endured. Her life had been filled with suffering, and just when she managed to escape, she became entangled in this mess of a situation. So while she would use her to survive, the least she could do in return was to keep the girl alive and aide her in her wish for revenge by making her stronger.

To do so, she had promised the girl to find a method with which she could increase the capacity of her mana pool. A partial lie she told in order to facilitate her departure without long explanations. The truth was, Veraxia already had a method in mind with which they could achieve what they wanted, but the girl needn’t know that at the moment. It was not something she could have done by herself anyway. She needed another, in other words, Veraxia would have to meet her in person.

The issue at hand was Veraxia’s body. In its current state, leaving was not only insanely stupid, it was also not possible. It was supplying the energy necessary to survive and if it left, her bonded tree would die shortly after.

Luckily, possession was a basic ability for forest spirits like her. She just needed a proxy body which could host her spirit, one that could hold its own in fights even without skills. And creating an entire body, with all its functionalities, a nervous system, organs and muscles required time.

She had a feeling that the girl would have asked endless questions if told the truth, so Veraxia just didn’t tell her. Also, she did not want to the girl to know about her injury. She hated humans for it, but they were not the only species that could get greedy for power and trust was something the two of them had to built first.

Veraxia approached the center of the core room, knelt down, and placed her hands on the ground. With her eyes closed, she began a murmur in the language spoken by those of nature.  Here soft incantation summoned vines, grass and plants from the earth. And then, she began weaving.

For a spirit like Veraxia, maintaining concentration for a day was not that big of a deal, but she could not be interrupted. And pain was very interrupting, which was part of the reason she deactivated it prior to this.

After a two days and a half, Veraxia had completed the body she had envisioned.

Four long, muscular legs were and a thick tail were attached to a torso vaguely resembling a humanoid shape. Each leg ended in a claw reminiscent of a human hand, yet far more beastly than it should be, with long and thick nails and scaled fingers.

Connected to the body by a long neck, the creature possessed the head of bull, with twisted horns growing from its side. But unlike a bull, its maw was filled with two rows of vicious, sharp teeth, a sight that would send shivers down the spines of many, and its skin was green like the vines and leaves it was made from. Overall, the creature stood thirteen feet tall, with a body length of twenty feet and an additional twenty feet of tail.

After all this time, Veraxia opened her eyes for the first time in two days and glanced upon her creation. A satisfied smile decorated her face as she looked at the two empty eye sockets.

Giving it one last scan, she confirmed that everything was in order. It had been decades since Veraxia last possessed a nature-formed body. She liked the physical body she had gained after her evolution, but even before, she did just fine as an incorporeal spirit. Still, she was not excited to enter the beast she made.

It was known as a Bahkauv. An ancient species of magical beasts that stood out due to their dexterous body and sharp mind. It was not particularly strong, but its body would come in handy in battling giant bugs. Also, it was about the most powerful creature she could create without tiring herself completely out.

Now the only thing left was to actually possess it. For that, Veraxia walked back to her favorite flower bed and laid down. The plants around her began to encircle her body and limbs, as if securing it. She shut her eyes and immediately, a green mist started to emanate from her body, shaping an exact duplicate of Veraxia’s appearance—just more green and translucent.

The mist Veraxia shifted toward the Bahkauv body and entered through its gaping mouth. As soon as it had entirely entered, two free mana-forged eye-like orbs materialized within its eye sockets and infusing the body with life.

The Bahkauv’s body quivered, shedding a few leaves in the process. Lifting the head, it unleashed a resounding roar, causing it to echo upwards until it faded away in the looming darkness above.

Veraxia restrained the instincts contained within the body and forced her new mouth shut. Once she was in full control, she started stretching, warming up the muscles and joints, while testing their functionality. In the end, she found no issue with the body.

This body had to function properly, since she could only rely on its physical attacks in combats. Possession had crucial weaknesses, and one of them was that it heavily limited the usage of skills. The other one was the inability to level the body up. The body itself would be equal to a level 70 Bahkauv. It was nothing extraordinary, but better than about seventy percent of the Exapoda hive. It was sufficient in case she needed to help the Original girl.

Veraxia produced a series of creaking noises, each sound emerging from the Bahkauv’s maw as she attempted to acclimate her new vocal cords. With possession already active, she would need another way to communicate with the girl. And what better method for communication as there than talking?

Having never created vocal cords before, her voice exhibited an uneven pitch, oscillating between high and deep tones every few seconds. However, after some practice, she succeeded in producing a words of questionable quality.

“He…llo,” she cleared her throat, “Hello. I am… Vera…xia. Hello, I am Ve.Ra.Xi.A. Veraxia,” she spoke finding some difficulty with pronouncing her own name.

Accustomed to her new body, Veraxia was now ready to go and meet the girl, however, she decided to take a look at her first and locate her in the lair. This sensory ability was a skill, but it was also more than that, and so she could use it even while possessing something. An advantage of being born a spirit.

After a few seconds, images appeared in her mind. To her surprise, the girl was no longer naked, and actually found some clothes that she recognized. The state of the clothes told her which human she had taken them from, and remembering that human pissed Veraxia off, but she was happy that the human was at least useful to some degree.

While the clothes could hide her dirty skin, her hair was still showing and it had gotten worse. Her hair was matted, tangled and soiled. Blue and red blood stains, remnants of bug and her alike, disclosed her hair, rendering it almost unrecognizable from its original black color.

Her face remained mostly unscathed and unblemished, save for some specks of blood on her cheeks. However, what struck Veraxia as more interesting were her eyes, which had gained some intensity from the last time she saw her. They were a striking gold, radiating with a brilliance akin to the sun itself. Definitely a rare pair of eyes.

In Aevintir, specific eye colors or forms held particular meanings. For example, heterochromia often indicated the convergence of two powerful, yet conflicting bloodlines, often observed in hybrids and mongrels. Red eyes were an exclusive hallmark of vampires and a certain draconic lineage. Then there were instances were the eyes reflected an individuals affinity, like eyes blue as the ocean, or ablaze like a fire.

As she changed her focus from the girl to her surroundings, she recognized that she had already ventured quite deeply. Maybe even too deep. She was proven right, when she discovered an Exapoda soldier nearby, who was clearly advancing toward the girl.

Veraxia cursed in her mind as her body already moved, rushing forward and jumping against the nearest wall. Clawing into the bark, she started running upward, defying gravity all the way.

The core was served as an interconnected hub, providing shortcuts to access any area within the lair. However, even with this, Veraxia would not make it in time. But she was not ready to lose hope, so she tried anyway, hoping the girl to hold out until she arrived.

Keeping watch over the girl in the back of her mind, Veraxia observed the moment as the soldier burst through the wall. Her blood ran cold, and she pushed her body to its absolute limit, accelerating even further, each step tearing the wall beneath her claws.

Despite her plans to remain optimistic, Veraxia feared for the worst, but the girl soon proved her fear unnecessary. Instead of being ripped apart and devoured, the girl had thrown a glass vial at the soldier. Veraxia recognized the acid instantly and even before the soldier died, she knew the outcome. No level 40 creature would survive direct contact with a Ghouldblood Orchid.

Just as relief settled over Veraxia’s mind, emotion and body, she discovered multiple Exapoda movements, all of which soldiers. One group in particular stood out to her though, a dozen soldiers, led by a single drone.

“Shit,” the Bahkauv’s first curse word left its Maw.

Luckily, Veraxia was closer to most of them than they were to the girl, so she changed her course. It seemed like she had a few things to take care off first.

In her current form, Veraxia was nowhere near as powerful as her original body at full strength, but it was more than enough for a few level 40 soldiers. She exterminated some groups that were dangerously close to the girl until no more soldiers were close to her. All the remaining ones, were closer to the girl than her.

After all of this, Veraxia was certain of one thing. The Exapoda were aware of the girl now. Not only the nearby ones, but the entire hive, which meant she was now officially prey and actively hunted.

Realizing that, Veraxia decided it was safest for both of them to work together. At the girl’s side, Veraxia could protect her from what was coming. It was finally time for Veraxia and the nameless Original to meet in person.

I had to scrap an entire chapter after realizing it was completely dogs*it, so I did this one. I hope this still reads well.