The ship drifted quietly across the open ocean, rocking gently with the waves as the sea stretched endlessly in every direction, it's surface shifting between a deep sapphire and silver, as the fading sunlight rippled across it. The sun hung low and heavy at the edge of the horizon, casting a shimmering trail of gold across the water that broke it apart with every wave.
Beholding that sight was Azdin and Hugo, both watching from the ships bow. They had suddenly found themselves here immediately after coming out of the holds below. It seemed Azdin was drawn to the sight, so they just stopped and watched, and strangely Hugo found himself joining in.
So for the last good while, they had just been stood here like this.
Thinking back on it now, he hadn't expected Azdin to have that kind of side to him. Well, have that kind of side anymore. He thought he had become much kinder, but that little stunt he pulled near the end of his talk was quite the sight to see.
Inflicting the same inhumane treatment that he had under went, back on his foe. It was a kind of petty revenge that he didn't expect him to do.
He could also be cruel in his own way it seems, and could take pleasure in it without even realising still.
'To be fair, I found it kind of amusing too...'
So in a way, he had instead become more of a normal person, instead of becoming a complete and total opposite of who he once was. Any other person would've wanted some form of revenge after that too.
'Or maybe that's just how I feel too. Whose to say what's normal and what isn't anyway?'
While he kept dwelling on the matter, Azdin suddenly spoke first.
"Hey Hugo."
A bit surprised, he turned his head towards him.
"You can tell me about your Aspect now."
He was a little startled. He hadn't expected him to bring it up first as he wasn't very familiar with the whole thing. Nevertheless he found himself becoming ecstatic, which really did show on his face.
'Hes always gloomy, so its obvious when he's excited. Is an Aspect that big of a deal?'
Feeling eager, he pointed out towards the horizon with his finger, which Azdin traced. And there flying in the distance, was that same pitch black crow that was in the captain's quarters.
"We're the awakened rank, so we get two abilities from our Aspect when we unseal it. As I told you earlier, that crow is my dormant ability. The first Aspect ability I obtained."
It appeared to be flying around the perimeter of the ship with great speed without halting. It had been going at it all morning without stop, and it didn't seem like it would tire any time soon.
"I can create only one, and it seems to posses it own attributes which vary in strength. They're generally not that powerful though. Oh, and we also share senses."
"Whatever it sees, I can see, and whatever it hears, I can hear."
At this current moment, Hugo was currently seeing out of his crows eyes. There, he could see the tiny dot that was the ship in this vast ocean, and then everything that came after that. He could feel the wind rustling against it's wings, and a slight thrill as it blew across the sky with speed he wouldn't ever be able to reach on his own.
He and the bird, were one in the same.
"If it were to be destroyed.. I think I might take some recoil. I could possibly die too."
The two were connected both in mind and body. Although whatever damage Hugo took wouldn't appear on the bird, the same did not hold true the other way around.
"On its own it's generally pretty weak though. I can keep imbuing it with essence to make it stronger, but the difference isn't all that much."
It possessed sharp talons sure.. but if it were injured somehow it would cause more harm for him than good. The losses outweighed the benefits. So keeping it in mid range would suit it more.
This ability was also handy for scouting, which Hugo had been in charge of for the last few days. It was how he was able to spot and stay clear of any suspicious looking ships before they made contact with them, of which there had been quite a few.
Other than that, he didn't have too many details. Normally he'd go see a diviner who could give insight into his Aspect for him, but he didn't have access to one right now. Everything he had figured out was through trial and error.
"As for my Awakened ability, well, you've already seen it, as well as experienced it."
Azdin only needed to ponder it for a short while. There was only one thing that could come to mind when he thought of something like abnormal.
"That teleportation?"
He simply nodded, as he then continued while sounding quite smug.
"Yeah. One of this things abilities is to release a bunch of its feathers at once. Each feather, as well as anything it may touch can then act as a target for my Awakened ability, which allows me to swap places with them."
These expulsed feathers could be quickly regrown, by consuming some of the essence that was imbued into it so there wasn't a quantity issue.
"I can swap other people too, but it seems to use alot of essence. Swapping a weakened or willing participant is much easier."
Like wise, it was easiest when the target was in both states, Like when Azdin was when that ability was first used on him. Unlike his dormant ability though, this one was much more simple.
'Its not very combat centered I suppose.'
Still, even if it wasn't combat focused..
"Wow.. I didn't think an Aspect could be that be incredible. Roswell's seems pretty underwhelming now."
That man could only attract and repel that small dagger at a glance. It was actually quite pathetic looking back at it now.
As the thought stayed in his head for a short moment, he suddenly found himself on the floor with one knee. His face flush pink with embarrassment.
'To think I got bested by such a thing!! What the hell!'
Hugo held back a laugh, finding it quite amusing. But then he quickly recalled his own mistake that he made during that battle. Seeing Azdin injured made him freeze for a moment, allowing the enemy awakened he was fighting to strike him at the back of the head. For someone like him, it was an amateurs mistake.
Clearing his throat, he continued,
"Well, most aspects tend be like that. I ended up being one of the more lucky ones to be honest. If I awakened an Aspect like that I'd quit walking the path of Ascension all together.."
There was no point in being a high rank if you didn't have powerful abilities to compliment it. Strength without substance wasn't strength at all, and likewise, those with a strong foundation would be stronger than those without. Of course there were some exceptions, but they were few and far between.
For the foes that he intended to fight in the future, he had to be the former, no matter what.
"Anyway, What's this path of Ascension thing? I'm pretty sure you've mentioned it before."
All he did was sigh heavily, his disappointment one more very apparent. The good mood he was in had been eradicated in just but an instant.
"Oh boy."
For the next long while, Hugo shared everything he knew about Awakening to Azdin. It wasn't anything special, but just common knowledge that anybody of his rank should've known that he had forgotten, such as things like Flaws, ranks and classes that were unique to creatures.
It seemed simple, and yet, the conversation dragged on way too long. It was so long even, that the sun had long since set, and the moon had already begun to arise.
Once all was said and done though, Azdin felt a little relieved.
"I guess that solves my earlier issue then."
Hugo's eyebrow raised with worry.
"If I want to fight a god, then I just need to become one too."
Right away, he braced himself. He felt an oncoming scolding coming from a mile away already.
"I still can't believe your serious about that. Becoming a god is no small matter you know?? You'll accumulate plenty of responsibilities before you even reach that high, and you're not exactly a bright person.. you couldn't possibly handle that! I'm not sure if anyone has even become one in the last thousand years. That kind of stuff that big of deal, get it?"
At some point, he started to sound like a harsh mother rather than a concerned friend.
But it was clear to him now, that there was so much he had to learn, and so much he needed to achieve before he could even consider reaching that level.
"Well, I'm not very knowledgeable on stuff like that, so who can say. We've had no contact with the outside world till recently."
And as it just so happened, there was a very knowledgeable person on the ship other Hugo who was available to help.
'Maybe Lotte would know a thing or two then.'
Azdin kept that in mind.
From there, things seemed to be over. He believed that they had said all that they needed, and all that was left was to wait for the coming days. But that was how he felt, Hugo did not feel that was the case.
"There's something I've been meaning to say to you for a while now."