Rebirth and Second Chances

Chapter 55: Deus ex Machine

Somehow these messages didn't comfort me. In fact, they only increased my anger. I'd thought for some time that I was manipulated and used by S-Prime. It had guided and hastened my awakening in this world too quickly. Offering rewards and incentives that were just too tempting to ignore.

These announcements only re-affirmed that belief. I was the bait in S-Prime's game. The required pawn S-Prime needed to demonstrate conclusively that System had been tampered with and give It permissions to intervene. I wasn't sure why it needed to act in such a convoluted manner. Possibly some cosmic or universal law that demanded non-interference on Its part.

[System Generated Quest - Status Mandatory

Identify those responsible for tampering with System programming and learn how those actions were possible - Time Limit - None]

Maybe System's actions had been so egregious and obvious that S-Prime was able to ignore those Cosmic restraints to take action. My reincarnation wasn't a serendipitous or chance occurrence. S-Prime had used me to further Its own agenda. And in doing so, I had almost lost Caraid, System functionality, and my ring.

And now?

Now, I had a mandatory quest to find the source.

I was pissed. Manipulate me, fine. Punish me, fine. But, at least have the decency to explain the problem. I would have happily helped. I wasn't sure what I could do, but somehow, I would find a way to honor the sacrifice Caraid made.

[You know the angst and sentiment is appreciated. But before you engage in righteous indignation, shouldn't you ask me what I think,] Caraid said amusement evident in his voice.

"Caraid? I responded in delight, happy that communications had been re-established.

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"Gwyn said you had been made a warrior of the Hunt! That you had volunteered to take my place, and that you were denied to me forever."

[That is true.]

[System Avatars made the offer, and I accepted]

[A temporarily created Avatar of a virus-infested System that attempted to thwart the will of S-Prime. An Avatar that had been created and given administrative functions, at that moment, falsely, because of an error in programming.]

[These actions and yours allowed S-Prime to identify and patch System.]

[Rip us asunder?]

[Forever?]

[Did you forget that S-Prime linked our souls?]

[I am a part of you. I have no form, no substance. I was created to guide and help you. We were woven together before you reincarnated. Our fates are intertwined.]

[I exist in the realm where phantoms and dreams are created. And like the Wild Hunt, I am Quicksilver, a construct of magic, betwixt and between, the instant where rain transforms into the snow. I exist within and outside of reality. Our merging was quixotic and serendipitous a perfect alignment of possibilities.]

[The whole greater than the sum.]

[My Agreement to take your place in the Wild Hunt could not sunder our connection. Since we were joined, I never existed, separately, in this realm to begin with. I was always a part of you. So why would my joining the Wild Hunt alter that connection?]

[S-Prime has allowed me to stay a member of the Hunt. It could have restored us to how we were, but by joining the Hunt, I have access to a corporeal form and body.]

[We can still communicate. There is no distance between here and there because there is no here or there. And as long as the Hunt is not summoned, in those silent moments of expectation and preparedness, I am free to continue my partnership with you.]

[But realize and remember, my choice did place limits on our bond. When the Hunt calls, I must answer. In those moments of service, answering the call from the Hunt will take precedence over the connection between us. During those times when the Hunt is called, I will honor your agreement and serve. I will Hunt,] Caraid concluded.

[Eventually, as I learn to control and marshal those energies that allow the Hunt to manifest, I should be able to control the body more thoroughly and join you physically.]

[You've found a way to gain a body!]

"If you and I can still talk, and S-Prime negated the nerfs that System applied, why am I getting truncated System status screens?" I asked.

[S-Prime did modify the edict placed on the Ring of Hidden Depths. That item was SYSTEM purchased, and you performed the necessary requirements to form a soul bond. Spit, blood, or semen, remember? Your semen upgraded the item. It transformed the ring to artifact tier and blood and semen was used to establish ownership for you and those that share your lineage.]

[Avatar-Gwyn did not have the ability or authority to remove the ring, no matter the attempt. The garbled words you were hearing when talking to Avatar-Gwyn were System errors that S-Prime was able to track.]

"You seem strangely well versed, almost as if S-Prime and you have had a conversation," I said. "Are you in contact with S-Prime?"

[Not exactly.]

[The Wild Hunt is a unique phenomenon. A collection of individuals that act in concert. A hive mind mentality that moves as one, acts as one, thinks as one while Hunting.]

[When a fragment of Gwyn ap Nudd was imbued by System and made Avatar, that fragment remained in contact with the real Gwyn and his host. The change to Avatar included a splinter of awareness that remained available to the collective mind that makes up the Wild Hunt.]

[What he knew, we knew. What he experienced, we experienced. And when System Reboot occurred, when the Universe paused, everything was destroyed and remade in that nano-second of time.]