Debauchery of a Soul-Eating Wraith

They walked in silence after that.

Gryon clenched and unclenched his fists as though he was getting used to the strength he had now gained. He also had a look on his face like he couldn't wait to test out that strength in a duel.

It wasn't hard to determine who was the target of that duel; It was Gillert. Evian made for a close and immediate target but Gryon currently held him in too much of a high regard to dare challenge him to combat.

"Gryon," Evian said suddenly.

"Yes, Master?"

They were nearing camp now.

"Be careful with what you reveal of the change you have undergone," Evian said with his voice grave in warning, and even as Gryon nodded in obedient affirmation, Evian used the Seal to make sure Gryon kept that vow,

"Also, although the Decadent and Pure Revolution Act does not automatically grant you control of your increased strength and other physical abilities, do not take that as grace to while the time away with pointless spars all so you can 'get used to yourself'.

Advance to the Fifth Order within the coming week."

Gryon's eyes widened,

"What?"

Yes, he had been privy to a speedy advance but he also knew and had witnessed the increased gap between Orders, and a week to cross all nine steps and break through the barrier blocking the Fourth from the Fifth Order seemed like a tall order so for the first time in the half an hour he had been Evian's subordinate, he showed defiance.

Evian raised a brow,

"Is that insolence I hear?"

"No, Master, I wouldn't dare," Gryon said with a bow, "It's just—"

"You can do it," Evian said simply.

"I-I'm glad you believe in me but—"

"Believe in you? Haha, don't make me laugh," Evian said while waving him off, "You can do it because talent is not required.

I am a being of the Abyss. Talent is pointless there. All that matters is what you are ready to do for power which in most cases, is to kill and siphon energy.

Thanks to me, you don't have to waste your time sensing energy and drawing it in. Your talent in that aspect was always lacking but with the Decadent and Pure Revolution act, you will only have to instigate the Spiritual energy around to attack you and thereby strengthen you.

The fact that I still have to explain all this to you after the initiation you just went through worries me about what potential you have."

"I'm sorry Master. Give me a week, No, Six- Five - Six days and I'll be at the Fifth Order," Gryon said with a fist over his heart and his lips stretched wide in a weird-looking grin. It looked forced.

Evian watched him for a minute and then sighed while rubbing the bridge of his nose,

"Just don't disappoint me," he said eventually, "Now hurry along back to camp."

Gryon bounded forward and soon his back was gone from view.

Once he was truly alone, Evian brought every information he had gotten from Gryon's mind about the tattoo branding. Gryon's father, Gryon Senior, had not only branded his son but made sure to teach him every detail of the practices in the hope that his son carried on the tradition.

Every year since Gryon was ten, his Father would call on him and they would have a revision just so he was sure his son had not forgotten. He seemed to think Gryon was a bit dense. Evian agreed.

Anyway, the ancient clan branding was done with Spiritual energy and herbs meant to make it sear and bond to the Tattooed person's body.

If Evian planned to replicate their method, he would be at a loss without the herbs, luckily he had an alternative. He could already brand people without those extra steps. All he had it do was modify the procedure for creating his subjugating seal.

Evian crossed his legs and stripped his upper robes, baring his pale skin to the glow of the moon above as he began the process by creating every single one of Gryon's tattoos, intricate as they were like they were subjugating brandings except for the important detail that he was binding his own body to be subjugated to HIS will.

The tattoos floated above his head, ethereal and oozing the deathly chill of the Abyss. Where Evian sat also began to ooze the energy and then moved around, synchronized until it formed a ritualistic pentagram that drove its Eldritch powers into Evian's body.

Evian fuelled the pentagram and it fuelled him. A balance that neither improved the energy nor diminished it. Just as Evian wanted it to be.

The Tattoos he had conjured above finally descended with his body ready to receive and when the first symbol touched him, Evian could not stop himself from sucking in a breath.

"Sssss— Ah!"

The pain got worse with every tattoo symbol that landed on his skin. Because his branding was a subjugating kind, it caused the tattoos to not only bond to his skin but also his soul, and when Evian yelled…

"Arrrrgggghhhhh!"

… That was him successfully keeping the sounds of pain muted to not call attention to himself.

Ten minutes passed and the branding was finally over and Evian could open his eyes and view the results.

His right and left forearms were completely covered up to the back of his right and left hands. His chest -pecs- were covered by the intricate symbols as well and it even trickled down toward his abs. The tattoos were most apparent on his back and thanks to extended senses and being attuned with his body, Evian knew exactly how they looked.

It took merely a thought to activate the Tattoos and have them glow up and shift around with an eerie grey glow that seemed like wisps from the underworld. They looked quite unlike how Gryon's tattoos had looked whenever he activated them which told Evian his incorporation of Soul branding, and the fact that he was a Wraith, had caused a mutation to occur.

He felt that mutation in the increase in strength the Tattoos granted.

"Fuck me!" Evian exclaimed with his eyes wide.

Gryon's tattoos usually gave him about Four steps, maybe Five if he pushed himself but what Evian was feeling from his activation was an entire Order of increase. He could feel some imaginary timer ticking and it would only last about Thirty minutes but, Oh, the wonderful havoc he could wreak in that time.

With Gryon's tattoos, only strength was imbued but every physical attribute Evian possessed was boosted by his. Somehow, probably because of Soul branding and the use of an Eldritch energy from the Abyss, he had improved on the formula the members of the dead clan left behind.

And then he felt the downside.

His stomach churned. It felt as though an invisible hand reached into his stomach, grabbed his organs, and was squeezing them for every last drop of energy they had.

The activation did not just cost him Eldritch energy, it cost him Physical energy as well. Siphoning both at such an insane rate that, should he keep the activation up for the Thirty-minute limit, he was sure to be unable to move his body for at least two hours. Leaving him a sitting duck for anyone to find, cart away, or kill.

It was a fairly heavy drawback but Evian was already thinking of ways around it, refusing to let that get him down. This was a massive card that could help him keep up his massive balance of Soul Points so he could go on a Spending spree.

Anyway, that was that for the Tattoos so he deactivated them and watched as they faded from the surface of his skin, sinking deep, deeper than the physical.

He continued on his way to the Camp after adjusting his upper robe while quietly musing.

Now that he had checked the acquisition of the tattoos off his to-do list, he pondered on a different topic that had proven more elusive; The ability to create his personal Spells.

It was a matter he no longer bothered to discuss with his Decadent Assistant who was not at all helpful and acted like the very idea of such was blasphemy against some deity but Evian didn't buy it. Or at least he didn't care enough to stop trying.

The only clue he had to help was studying the spells he had purchased but they were mostly dead-ends so far.

•••

At dawn, while they prepared to board the carriage and continue on their journey, Evian decided to confide in both Ember and Carleine what he had planned for the break they were about to receive and of course, they had questions. Experience tales at m-vl-e-mpyr

"Hold on," Ember said holding out both her palms, "We can't come with you?"

"You can't," Evian said.

"Why not?" Carleine asked.

"Listen, if I need you there, I'll bring you there," he told them with his arms on top of both their shoulders, steering them toward the Carriage, "I just have to go ahead on my own first."

"It's to see Daria, isn't it?" Ember asked.

Zayda raised her brows at this. This was the first time she would hear of Evian's Arcanist lover.

"Oh, it must be. But we like Daria," Carleine said, "We want to say Hi."

'Since when were they a 'We?'' Evian asked himself with a chuckle before shaking his head slowly,

"No, I don't think you do. Just stay with Zayda and the others," he said warmly and kissed both their temples,

"I won't be gone long."