Wasteland Travelers - VI - [PT.4]
Then in that moment, the circle opening below us expanded inside the closed space and encapsulated us in a completely dark space.
Dragan's necklace started shining and moving rapidly like it was about to explode. Behind Dragan appeared a shadow, with spikes intertwining within each other, opening way.
For I saw a cloaked figure, he looked up, his skin a red burning color, and eyes of a cat. But before we could say anything, Dragan's necklace chimed and the black space disappeared like it had appeared once before, and left us like it had been before.
Dragan had closed his eyes because he was in bliss, and hadn't seen it, so there wasn't any moment for concern, but I had.
I sat down with the utmost concern, my breath was shallow - and a deep fear rushed through my body. The dark space around me had cast such an anxiety over me - it was immediately noticeable. An almost primordial fear rang through me - chills ran down my spine and it felt like I couldn't breath.
Like death itself was looming over me.
"What's wrong?" he said in between heavy breaths. Now worried. Clearly taking note of my change in demeanor.
"Just now, all of this turned black, and you're necklace rattled and chimed, did you not hear it?" I said with jagged breath, as I tried to calm myself from the panic attack.
"I'm afraid not, I didn't even feel my necklace rattle, what's the matter?" he said pushing his hands against my cheeks, softly, but the skin on his hands was prickly and blistery, from working so much. Still it was calming me down.
"My imagination then?" I gaslighted myself - but I had seen it, with my own two eyes. Was it some kind of hallucination?
Dragan squirmed his lips.
"I don't think that's it," he started. "What you saw was real - and I might have an idea of what it is," he continued.
I looked up at him terrified.
A beat between us - but he started explaining with a heavy heart.
"This necklace was given to me by my mother, it repels void magic, evil, demonic magic, are you sure you saw what you saw?" said Dragan now with heavy concern.
"I'm sure, I saw what I saw, there was a man, a cloaked figure behind you!"
"Okay, don't worry, I believe you, we need to take protection as soon as possible," he said standing up. But before we knew Sybil spoke to me.
>Notice:
>Information Relevant to User -Dragan-
>Permission needed
>Continue?
I agreed to letting Dragan know whatever Sybil was about to tell us.
>Stats have levied up.
He perked up looking at me as he suddenly heard the voice of Sybil.
>Magic Power Increased.
>User Dragan Shu Neven has acquired Evolution I.
>Proceed?"
I looked at Dragan, he mouthed not right now.
"Refrain from running Evolution I on user Dragan," I said way too naturally.
>Understood
>Archiving Program
Suddenly my memory got filled up almost to half. I was surprised but let it go for now.
>Running Diagnostic
>Deleting Archives
With that my memory space let up a little bit, but it was still way too big of a file to make any difference.
>Diagnostics complete
We thought Sybil had finished
But she starter back up again.
>Notice
>Informing only Root.
>World Tendency has changed.
World Tendency what the fuck was that?!
"Do you know anything about World Tendency?" I asked Dragan.
He shrugged, he didn't know as well.
It took a long time, but Sybil spoke again.
>Changing World Tendency
>World Tendency has changed.
>Ashen 4; now in effect.
>Complete
>Analyzing
It's still not done?! I was getting annoyed.
>Taboo Level Increased
Taboo, what was that about? I checked my stats, then clicked on taboo, it said level 12, that was a big high, wasn't it?
I started reading the description.
Taboo will be active if: Leveling up through prohibited / indecent/negligent acts.
What the - ?
It continued.
Extreme bloodshed… Then I couldn't read anymore because it started being censored, right in front of my eyes, black bars appearing over the text I was reading like a magic black highlighter making sure I couldn't read anymore. Then the file just locked itself.
I clicked on it, it just made an error computer sound. I was able to exit out of it, but going back in seemed impossible right now.
>Administrative Privileges required,
>Unable to proceed
"But I have root, don't I?!"
>Affirmative
>Privileges go as follow
>Admin; Root; User; Sub
Sybil then made a sound to indicate that she was done with all the annoucments. I took a big sigh.
"Finally she's done," I said. Dragan had all but gotten dressed, comfy black shorts, and a white sleeveless t-shirt. It seemed like he was wearing a compression shirt.
He sat down in front of me. His legs crossed.
He had gotten used to me being like this sometimes, whenever Sybil made announcements, it was like I was on the phone with someone else.
I looked at him and decided to just finally ask him about it.
"What's taboo?" I asked Dragan, I then remembered I was still naked from before, so I started putting on clothes.
"Well - from what the elders told me," he started.
"Taboo i..."
"#$!@LiMI^&%^KIO)()!@#4($@#!"
It was like he suddenly started speaking in another language, plus there was this weird static.
"Wait," I said stopping him. "I can't understand you,"
"Oh!" He said as if suddenly realizing.
"It must be part of the administrative privileges thing...prohibiting you from listening or reading about it,"
They can even censor conversations!?
"But why would they hide this taboo thing anyway?"
"Because it's part of the twelve forbidden magics," said Dragan.
"So indecent acts refer to acts of sex? I said.
"Hmmm…." he ruminated for a moment.
"There's more to that," he said trying to wiggle his way out of the answer.
"Come on tell me," I demanded. Dragan closed his eyes and crossed his arms. He opened one eye and looked at me, then closed them again and looked away.
"Lust between two men -" he said in a whisper. I entered a state of shock.
"Wait - they're punishing us, the gods are punishing us!" Dragan made a hand signal for me to calm down, maybe scared that they were listening. Were they always listening? Were they always watching?
"More than likely they're withholding information so you don't freak out like you're doing right now," said Dragan.
"I'm sure they'll give us the information we need when it so happens that we need it."
I was completely devastated. I sat down and pushed the ground against my back. I closed off all screens and just wallowed in my despair.
"It's not fair," I said then turned back into my slime form. Crawling into Dragan arms. "I'm not lusty, am I?" I said on the verge of tears.
Dragan grimaced his face. He didn't want to tell me - but he didn't have too.
"Seriously?!" I said as petty tears ran down my face and consequently whole slime body. The tears were made of the same color as my body.
Dragan just comforted me.
"It's okay, little one, we'll figure this out. Forbidden magics are not a bad thing per se," he was speaking broadly to not get censored.
"You just said it's one of the forbidden magics," I said.
"That sounds bad!" I said losing my composure a little.
I couldn't help myself but feel like a massive jerk.
"Look - it's not like having a little taboo is bad, everyone has some level of taboo either way, it might even help us in our travels!" he explained. Trying to make me feel better. It was working even if just a little bit.
"In the wild - all monsters are under the influence of miasma and use that to their advantage, you can imagine what depravities the orcs get up too..." he started.
"They cast it on other people or use it for war, that's why it's prohibited, because they can power scale until the miasma consumes them and they have to be put down like ravaged dogs..." he said.
I looked up, and sniffled.
"Can monsters create a First Contact?" Dragan snickered and continued patting me.
"Good question - but no - only Creation Breath users can reach First Contact," he explained while he patted me softly. His touch did made me feel better. I felt like a little kid being pampered after throwing a rage fit.
The way he put it, I guess it wasn't that bad.
"Miasma comes from the void - and thus we call that dark magic void magic, creatures of the dark rely heavily on void magic," he continued.
"Oh - that's right!" he said suddenly, remembering something.
"I almost forgot - you can cast an anti-void protection spell around us, why don't you try little one?!" he said enthusiastically.
I wasn't sure that I could, but I would try anyway.
"All right," I said. I had no idea how to even start casting one of those, but just after he said it. I jumped from his lap and unto the floor, feeling a little better now.
>Notice:
>Request Received
>Casting anti-void magic protection area.
>Proceed?
Sybil spoke once more.
"Activate please," I said almost feeling demoralized.
>Running Program
Then a magic circle appeared under us, on the wall and the ceiling, it had inscriptions and runes I had never seen before.
"Woah!" said Dragan.
"That's one powerful anti-void magic circle," he said looking at it with awe.
"I'm glad to have you on my team little one," he said with a hearty laugh.
It made me shuffle red.
The magic stopped being magical and faded into black, where before it was shining purple all around us.
Then it just calmed down, and everything around us seemed to sparkle and shine with iridescent bubbles.
"Can we go to sleep now," I said, changing the subject.
"Of course we can, I'm sleepy myself," he said yawning hard.
He laid down on the sleeping bag, and I cuddled in between his chest and arms. He grabbed me like a giant throw able pillow.
I was squishy and soft in this form.
But I didn't mind.
The AC inside the tent lay it's breeze against us, it was starting to become a chilly summer night.
Slimes don't sleep, or dream.
But that night I had nightmares, involving that red-cloaked figure.