FVN Chapter 320 - 320. Empty Head
Chapter 320 - 320. Empty Head
The puppets stared at the three of them, then ran toward them. Mag jolted and reached for his sword, but Ike put his hand out, stopping him. Not yet.
Without giving them a second look, the puppets pushed past, rushing into the building.
Ike and Wisp exchanged a look. They shared a nod. It worked.
They pushed their way through the stream of puppets and out onto the roof of the building. Ike hopped down and wound his way through the back streets. The majority of the puppets were concentrated around the house he'd leaped into, but a few stray puppets still roamed the streets,
He stood in the grasslands. A wind blew past his face. He gazed around him, taking in the hunting grounds. In the distance, a herd of buffalo roamed, watching him warily. Long, dangerous horns bared at the sky.
The image shifted. "—surveying this route, and I think…" He trailed off, losing his thought. The grasslands laid behind him. Around the corner of the mountain he stood on, crystal and slate spires pierced the sky. The sun refracted through them, painting the whole region in pale light.
Another shift. From a low angle, he watched a white-robed man descend into the center of the spires. A body laid in his arms, wrapped in clean white linen. Its face was covered, and it wasn't breathing.
And then he was back, standing in front of the ants. Ike staggered. He shook his head. "What was that?"
KNOWLEDGE.
The black puddle seethed. For a time, it said nothing. A crackling sound emanated from the ants as they crawled over one another.
THERE LIES A BEAST. THE BEAST HAS THE SKILL YOU LACK.
Ike wiped his forehead. Knowledge. Those had been other people. Other lives. The ants' lives? Or lives the ants had observed through their psychic skills?
Does it matter? Either way, he'd gained the knowledge of where a skill he needed was.
"What if it isn't there?" Ike asked. The memories it had given him were old memories. It could have moved. The 'beast' could have left that area.
Silence. The ants looked at him. WE ARE EVERYWHERE.
"Right." Ike paused. "Wait, then why show me old memories, if you're there right now?"
I HAVE GIVEN YOU A GIFT. IT IS YOUR JOB TO REALIZE THAT. With that, the ants dispersed. From a leafy nook full of ants, to one completely devoid of them an instant later.
Ike threw his hands up.
"So? Did you get it?" Wisp asked.
"I got knowledge," Ike replied, deadpanning her.
She raised her brows. "Knowledge of… a skill?"
"Supposedly."
"You can trust the ants. If they said it's true, it's true. The only power they have is their information, so they always tell the truth; otherwise, they'd undermine their entire selling point," Wisp replied.
Ike squinted at her. "How do you know all this? How come I've never heard of it?"
Wisp shrugged. "I dunno. Humans ignore bugs, but you really shouldn't. There's a whole world going on just under your noses."
"Huh." Ike gestured. "Come on, let's get out of here. I know where to go, and there's an angry centaur down here somewhere."
"We could… hang around. Maybe see if she shows up," Wisp suggested.
Ike gave her a look.
She grinned and shot a thread toward the edge. "Yeah, yeah. Let's go get you that skill, so you can master the King."