A choice made

While hearing Hera talk about everything she's been through, all the adventures they had together, all the fights, all the dungeons, all the training sessions, all these skills, everything, Blue unconsciously started to practice with the skill Wildborn's friend had given her. The idea was to pick a type of mana and slowly weave it to make a limb. Doing that with raw mana was very difficult, but with an element, it made things a lot more simple. She would basically be doing a mana reinforcement on the air to create a specific shape. That was the first step of the skill.

Once she was able to complete the sculpture of an arm, a mannequin of sorts, then she could start working on the next step. But to do that, she would need to talk to Wildborn's friend, as he had only given her the instructions to start things. After all, there was no chance that she would be able to complete this initial step before he arrived.

Over the course of the interview, Blue was only able to create a small ring around the golden band in her arm. She wasn't really focusing on the task. Doing such a thing was mostly out of a need to move. But since doing so would interrupt her family, she decided to just move her mana instead. And out of pure habit, she made it so it was in the shape of a cloud. What she didn't expect was to gain a skill when she wasn't even trying.

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You have acquired a skill

Cloud Conversion

You are able to turn mana structures into cloud. The cloud receives the properties of the effect created by mana as well as the properties of the type of cloud they became.

Mana cost: 10% of spell or skill cost.

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You have chosen the element for the Forsaken Heir title.

You're able to acquire and develop skills related to the cloud elements at an accelerated rate.

Title name has changed - Forsaken Heir of the Clouds.

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Blue stared at the notifications for a moment. It's been a long time since she saw a notification while at home. Usually, something like that would only happen if she was in the MAZE. But at the same time, it felt right. The part of Stormcloud that she used the most was the creation of clouds. The storm part was extremely powerful, of course, but even the giant arms that she used to make were all based on the cloud aspect of the legacy. Being able to acquire skills related to clouds more easily felt like a nice benefit.

Glancing down at her arm, she focused on the cloud that was surrounding the golden band. It currently looked like wisps of smoke going around the stump. But her experience with her legacy made her see things a bit differently. This was a cirrus, a cloud made out of tiny ice crystals that were generally seen as simple wisps in the sky.

With a quick change in her intention, the cloud changed to an altostratus, a denser type of cloud with ice crystals and water droplets. It was still very fuzzy and without a set shape, but no longer just the wisps of the first iteration.

One more change and the thin ring of clouds grew, taking over most of her arm and reaching the couch below. All she did was change the type of cloud to a cumulonimbus, but as the water turned to vapor, it expanded much more than she was expecting.

"Blue!" Robert gasped, his voice full of worry.

"What's happening! Do we need to call Wildborn?" May jumped to her feet.

"No. Sorry. Sorry. I was testing something, and it got a bit out of hand. Everything is fine," Blue dropped the skill, making the entire cloud vanish completely. Even the moisture created by it was gone.

"Wow, that is so cool! Can you still make that flying cloud?" Samuel, Blue's little brother, who had just turned 10, gasped. He was wearing blue pants and a white shirt with the picture of a knight riding a griffon.

Blue smiled and tried her best to not pretend everything was ok, "I can't, Sam. Not now, at least. The bad man stole that skill. But I'm working on it. Maybe I can make something like that in the future."

May and Robert glanced at Samuel, not knowing what to say, but Daphne followed up, "You'll see, she's going to be able to make something even more incredible than the flying cloud. She doesn't need whatever that man stole from her." Unlike her little brother, Daphne understood what actually happened. And thanks to the guild having started to give all the information they had about the MAZE to everybody who wanted it, she also understood that legacies could be remade.

Samuel was too young, while Robert and May were too worried to notice a change in the controller. Daphne, on the other hand, idolized her sister enough to notice a spark in her sister's eyes as she played with the different types of clouds in her arm. A spark that only appeared when she first talked about her old legacy.

On the television, Hera finished talking about her contributions to the war. She mentioned almost all of them: how the Harmony Guardians started as a team that was supposed to take care of the alliance, helping with any quests and issues that came up while the high level personnel weren't there to assist. Next She talked about fighting another wendigo, and finding medicine for a specific disease. Followed by a brief discussion about the Rampages not going into too many details on the layout and organization of the alliance. She talked about how she helped the alliance steal a Strength Spirit back from the guild. And over the course of a few months, they were able to locate where the home of those Strength Spirits was.

She phrased that part of the interview in a way that made it clear she was working with the alliance, but also did not mention the intelligence agency at all. To anyone hearing it, they wouldn't even be able to know the existence of a spy network like that, much less the specific room where they gathered. Next, she mentioned a specific operation where she saved one of the first people who were experimented on. She mentioned the battles she was a part of and fighting the Soldiers of Strength over and over. Hera also made a special note that her court was fundamental in breaking the barrier in one of the sieges.

Lastly, she talked about the final operation, the one that was live streamed to everyone. But this part of the interview was brief. There wasn't much to say, and if anyone was curious, the video archives were still available for anyone who wanted to watch.

Becca listened, asking for clarifications here and there, to either complete parts of the story, or to highlight areas where Hera was downplaying her contribution.

"I have to say, hearing everything that you've been through, and everything that you accomplished all at once here, I personally find it hard to argue against calling you Aspirant Hero. Not only were you fundamental in unraveling the Soldiers of Strength program, but you also participated in a few of the biggest battles of this war, all the while not ignoring the pleas of people who were just suffering through all of this. And that's not to mention your contribution on rescuing an ancient civilization that was lost, discovering the presence of wendigos all over the MAZE, and even finding your way back to civilization after being stuck more than once," the reporter paused and smiled, "Hera Quetzaveth, you really are carving the path of a Hero."

There were some cheers from the audience. At first, it mainly came from the front row, but slowly, more people in the back started to join in. The camera panned and although Blue couldn't recognize those people, it seemed Hera did. It was a mixed bag of different species: some that were helped by the Empress during the war, others that were saved in that initial rescue, and a large group of humans, all waving handmade flags and banners with her name on it. Blue recognized the emblem a few of those people had. They were all part of 'Beyond the Scale.'

The cheers stopped, and the camera returned to Becca. "If you don't mind, I would like to start the second part of this interview. The part which I do believe most people are curious about. You are no longer human, and as you stated, this happened after you went through the Ophidianite Ascension. Can you explain to us a bit more about that?"

Hera nodded. Now that she didn't have to talk about herself, she felt much more comfortable. "Of course. I will start from the beginning, because I think it's possible that there are other similar situations that can be found somewhere else. I hope it will be clearer once I start explaining things. During one of the dungeon quests related to the ancient Naga civilization, I gained a skill called Naga poison. Honestly, I can't remember if it was just the quest reward, or something special that came along with another item. Either way, it was specifically a skill that belonged to a different species."

"Is that something common? Species specific skills?" Becca asked. That was an open secret of sorts. People who spend enough time in the MAZE eventually came to learn that every single intelligent species had unique skills that belong to them and only them, but at the same time, had no intention of revealing that by herself.

"My experience is limited to being a human with a few Naga skills and becoming an Ophidianite. I can't say anything about the other species. But getting one of those skills is a requirement for the ascension," Hera explained.

"What do you mean by that?"

"In order to go through the ascension, I needed to have one of the Naga skills reaching rank 6. In addition to being in possession of a specific type of item that linked me with the ancient Naga civilization. Once those requirements were completed, I was given that option. But I had no information about what the ascension actually entailed. Only that it would change me to a new species."

"When did you get more information?" Becca asked.

"Only when I actually went through the process. Even then, a lot of the details were not explained to me. They were all things that I had to simply deal with as they come."

"Do you have any more Ophidianite exclusive skills?" Becca asked.

Hera smiled with a nod. "I do. Ophidianite Scales is one of them. For the rest, I'm afraid I am only willing to discuss with those who are decided to go through with the Ascension."

Becca tsked and crossed her arms, clearly playing up her annoyance at not being able to get more information. Again, a rehearsed thing that the Empress knew could happen. "I had to try."

Hera chuckled. "I know."

"But are you able to help people acquire those skills? Or would they be required to find a way to gather Naga skill by themselves?" Becca continued.

"I do have a way to jumpstart the process, but I am searching for other methods to help spread my species. And if you don't mind, I'm going to advertise a little bit. Anyone who becomes an Ophidianite will have the lifespan of 300 years, go through a full body transformation, and get a tail. In addition, any child born out of an Ophidianite parent will also be full-blooded Ophidianites. Both of those things, the ascension and the birth, will continue to happen until there are 50,000 Ophidianites. After that, I believe no one else would be able to ascend and children will be born following the genetic rules that apply, which honestly I have no idea what they are."

"You mentioned body transformation as one of the benefits. Does that mean you are willing to help anyone who has a physical condition? Are you offering the Ascension to all those who might be suffering from ailments that cannot be recovered in any other way?" Becca asked.

That question caught Hera off guard. She didn't expect something so direct, but at the same time, it was a question she had already thought about. The Ophidianite placed her hands, one on top of the other, over her legs and spoke firmly. "No. Becoming an Ophidianite should not be seen as a way to solve issues that cannot be solved otherwise. One of my titles, not actual titles, but the ones given to me by people, is the Ophidianite Empress. I am more than willing to hear the cause of anyone who wants to go through the Ascension, but I expect that their motives go beyond just I need something to be fixed. Unfortunately, I have to think about my species, my civilization, and in doing so, I will need to screen the candidates properly. If anyone is able to complete the conditions for the Ascension without my help, they are more than welcome to join. After all, I have no power over what other people do, but my help is reserved for those who I personally think will be a good fit for this new emerging species."

"If you don't mind me saying, that sounds a bit vague. How are you going to decide who is a good fit for this new species?" Becca asked.

"I know it's very vague, because I don't really have a framework for that. This is the first time I'm actually able to think about expanding the species. I ascended during the war and jumped into the conflict right away. There are a couple of people close to me who already asked to join and they are starting the process, even if it's going to take a few months. Any Spirit and daemon who still want to become Ophidianites, I will happily accept them. Beyond that, I'm still working with the alliance to figure out a fair way to decide who can join this new species. I understand there are a few aspects of the Ascension that make it a very sought after possibility, but at the same time, I still want to hold the power to veto someone if I think they might not be a good fit, or the reason why they are going after this change is not a good one, or if they went about it the wrong way."

"Like how?" Becca asked.

"I'm not entirely sure. It's going to be on a case-by-case basis, but as an initial thought: money. If someone is trying to buy out the opportunity to become an Ophidianite, I think I would veto them, no matter how much they are offering. Unfortunately, I can't say anything else about this, because I truly don't know. It's the first time in the history of the MAZE that something like an Ascension has been discovered, so everything we're doing here is new. There are no protocols or precedents for something like this. Which means that this is not the hard sell, just an announcement that in the future we might have an option for those who are interested. Personally, I think it's a good idea to give time for people to understand that the process is irreversible. If you become an Ophidianite, you'll be like that for the rest of your life."

Becca thanked Hera for the explanation and asked a couple of follow-ups about the details of the ascension. Two questions, more related to the logistics and procedure to apply to become an Ophidianite, couldn't be answered. But other questions, like if she laid eggs, and if she could unhinge her jaw were easily explained. The interview finished not long after with her promising to give more details when she had recovered the Naga homeland. Once that interview was over, Blue just stared at the screen of the TV, her mind thinking about only one thing: How long it would take to get back to the MAZE?