Two days went by in the blink of an eye, allowing Imuru to get back into a bit of a rhythm. He shuffled over some parchment, and reports of all the progress that's deep being made down in the cave, along with its ecosystem.
There was only one other thing he had constantly on his mind, he was anxiously waiting to be finished.
To his luck he heard a knock at the door, from the person he was hoping to hear from. "Come in," Imuru called out to them.
The door slid open, revealing Roll behind it. "Lord Imuru," He said, stepping in, and closing the door behind. "The Fernum elves were requesting your presence, my lord."
"Ow, really." Imuru was up out of his seat. "Just what I was waiting for."
"Wait…" Roll exclaimed. "Apologies. I… have a request."
"Hmph." This took Imuru by surprise, nevertheless he welcomed Roll to take a seat. "A request from you. I am certainly curious what this may be."
"Thank you. Now I've been meaning to ask, would it be possible for us to send a message back home to our settlement…" Roll requested. "I can imagine their shock from not hearing from us in such a while."
"Uh. Roll, of course you can, please be my guest. You didn't even need to ask," Imuru replied, seeing this as such a light issue. "I'm certain you have someone back home wondering what had happened to you." He stood from his chair once again, coming from around his desk. "So, yes, please do, you have my permission. Now then, shall we?"
Roll stood up. "Thank you so much Lord Imuru," He bowed. "Right, we shouldn't keep the elves waiting."
With the end of this short conversation the pair headed to the village together. Arriving at the newly built Transportation Platform, it was far larger than Imuru had expected, especially compared to the ones at the Sacred Forest Capital and Fernum.
"Lord Imuru." The head craftsman elf greeted Imuru with a bow. "I hope this is to your liking," He said.
"It looks brilliant!" Imuru replied. "Thank you, I appreciate it." He returned a bow of respect.
"Larger than expected…" Imuru took a stroll around the platform, coming back to the group. "Now the real question, could the Deviders make this?"
Their work completed, the three elves seized the moment as the perfect final test of their craft, climbing swiftly to the top. With a synchronized pulse of intent, raw energy flooded the carved channels, lighting them in a brilliant, blue hue, they vanished in a thunderclap of displaced air.
"It works," Imuru noted, very much impressed by their work. "Nice. With this I can get to Fernum easily."
"What do you think?" Imuru inquired, looking to Roll. "Pretty good huh?"
"Very. Such craftsmanship," Roll replied. "I've never gotten to see something like this back home. The only thing I would consider that came close was my short time as a blacksmith… so this truly was an experience."
"Glad to hear it. You know, I have to ask, was fighting really that prominent?" Imuru asked, deep down finding it difficult for a species to constantly live in such violence. "We all live so incredibly long, you practically rule the world right now. I mean look at what only a few of you can do."
"That is who we are at heart…" Roll's head dipped, his eyes casting downward. "I never saw the point in it… But, I couldn't just go around and say that now could I? From birth we're trained to fight, and kill. Other skills such as building, hunting and gathering, and creating weapons from whatever we can are taught too."
He raised his head, lifting it high, a confident look on his face. "That was in the past. Thanks to you, I'm certain we can get others to see our ways. That's why I'm sending a message home. If we're able to recruit them here, then I'm sure that would start a chain reaction."
"You want them here?" Imuru asked hesitantly. The idea sounded possible, but Imuru knew the circumstances of these other Deviders arrivals would be vastly different, since unlike Roll's group they were pretty much mentally defeated after losing so many allies.
"Umm… Yes. I would like you to have a talk with them..." Roll requested. "I'll be by your side, I'm just not sure I can confront them alone."
"Uh-huh. I would've never guessed." Imuru glanced off, thinking momentarily. "A bunch of uncontrollable Dark Deviders… It's gonna be Arken all over again, with the only difference being that there's more… And I don't even wanna deal with that. But this is a sacrifice I can make, after all I throw all my workload on him, so something that will bother me for a day should be acceptable."
"Roll, I will be more than happy to have a word with them. So bring them all," Imuru said with feign confidence.
Roll felt his heart skip a beat, and couldn't help but now earnestly in gratitude. "Thank you, My Lord!"
Coming from behind, Yosho called out to Imuru, with brisk and cheerful readiness. With a touch up in beauty, her hair tidied up, stylised to a centered ponytail… And intriguingly a black necklace choker around her neck. "Great Imuru, I have excellent news!" She exclaimed.
Imuru spun around. "Great news?" He thought perplexed. "Roll, if you'll excuse me. My secretary has great news."
Leaving and returning to his house, in his office on his desk was a stack of five thick books. Imuru blinked, tilting his head in curiosity, as Yosho presented the books.
"Right here, are all you'll need to learn about Perivállon, and the skills of our world," Yosho said, a hand on her hip, and the right one atop the books. "Thankfully, I still had them in my room… They were slightly dusty, but hey, it's a book."
"All I need to know huh?" Imuru repeated, taking up the first book at the top. 'Source Of The World' was written in gold on the red book. "Goodness…" He sighed silently, the thickness of just one book intimidating. "Thank you Yosho…" He opened the book. "Better get started."
Sitting around his desk, Imuru got to the first chapter, exhaling, he prepared himself and dug into the plethora of information, hoping to digest most of it.
Imuru turned pages after page, reading quietly, with Yosho a silent pillar at his side ready to provide any clarification for questions he may have. Until at last, as hours bled into the evening, Imuru leaned back in the worn wooden chair with a long 'ha~a...', letting the heavy book rest upon the desk as he pressed the heels of his hands against his weary eyes.
Imuru rubbed his chin, pondering over the information. "So Perivállon is the root of existence… The first thing that came to be, from this the world came to be born; First World or Central World... It created many more worlds after this… Not really important at the moment, but intriguing."
"Now this is important; Perivállon Pool… Okay, let's see, if this works…"
Imuru closed his eyes, turning his awareness inward, descending past the rhythm of his own breath and the quiet pulse of blood, diving deep into the internal darkness to seek the subtle, resonant signature of his own Perivállon, the very core of every being. He felt the thickness and otherworldly energy within him, as the energy started to surface flowing slowly upwards from his body in the colour of deep purple.
It wasn't much but very eerie for Yosho standing beside him—This was a demonic aura. Imuru opened his eyes, looking at the energy flowing from his body, he grinned deeply, practically on the brink of rocketing from his chair to his feet to cheer, but Yosho was here so he maintained his cool, as he inhaled deeply, his aura subsiding.
Imuru cleared his throat, a small smirk tugging at his lips. "Easy. That's good… My Perivállon Pool is decent, at least. Obviously I have no one to compare it to right now. Not that I will anytime soon." He exhaled slowly. "Alright… next."
He leaned back slightly, organizing his thoughts. "Skills. Le already gave me the basics—Baseline, Complex, and Awakened. I've got one Baseline skill already: Duplicate Attack."
Imuru's eyes narrowed in thought. "Awakened skills can only be acquired by those who have Awakened… That part's self-explanatory. But there's a loophole. Skills can evolve and shift categories. If I can raise something from Baseline all the way up, I might be able to handle an Awakened skill without it tearing me apart… provided I have enough Perivállon to support it." He gave a short, dry laugh. "The system doesn't always follow strict logic anyway. Nothing here is set in stone. Good. That makes me feel a little better."
He picked the book back up, flipping through the pages until he found the section he was looking for. His finger traced the text as he read.
"Specialized Skills… Le didn't mention these." His eyes widened slightly. "Skills that are unique to an individual. They can be crafted through skill combinations, Perivállon manipulation, strong desire, or granted through evolution and battle…"
He kept reading, and his expression brightened when he reached the next part.
"Gift-Donum… or Self-Ipsum. GDSI." A thoughtful hum escaped him. "Doesn't require Perivállon to activate. Thank goodness for that. If Belzora had needed to burn through a Perivállon Pool, things could've gotten a lot messier."
Imuru continued scanning the page, absorbing the details. "Strength varies wildly. Most are weak, but a few are immediately potent… even deadly." He nodded to himself. "Only one at a time normally. Unless you've Awakened—then the limit rises to three. They can evolve by steadily pouring Perivállon into them, though the process and timeframe are… unknown. Most people stay clueless about how it actually works."
His face suddenly tightened as he read further.
"Possessor evolution plays a major role in a GDSI's growth… Some of them even siphon Perivállon from their owner because they become sentient." He grimaced. "That sounds dangerous."
Imuru kept reading, his unease growing. "These extremely rare types operate according to the owner's deepest desires and obsessions… They might even disobey the user's conscious intent, acting on their own while leaving the possessor none the wiser."
He closed the book for a moment and rubbed his temples. "Ugh… that's worrying." After a few seconds, he exhaled and reopened it. "As long as it's not working against me, I guess I can live with it."
Stretching, Imuru rubbed his eyes, having read enough for one day in his mind. "Yosho, did you read all of this?"
Yosho leaned in with a pleasant smile. "Absolutely… Not," she said, sparkling with charm and confidence.
"Hmm?" Imuru was taken aback by this reply. " Wasn't expecting… though did something happen to her? Aside from the hair and thing around her neck, I guess she went home and brushed up, nicely… I mean she looked good before, but now…"
An abrupt knock came at the door, dragging the pair's attention. "Please come in," Imuru said swiftly.
The door slid open, Imuru and Yosho felt a sharp sense of dread roll up their spine, as their eyes landed on the individual standing just beyond the door.