About a mile away from the coalescence of roots, and by extension, the deer of Abundance, Sunny reappeared within a closed restaurant, seating himself upon a chair as he considered his next course of action. As he was seated next to a window, he decided to look out towards the wacky situation outside.
Streets were mostly cleared out — totally not due to his own efforts — which meant that it was also mostly safe for people to exit. Nobody did, though, which was understandable. They'd be foolish to exit their buildings simply because the Mara-Struck population lessened. It was best to wait for an authoritative figure to announce that they were to safe enough to do as they wished.
Closing his eyes, Sunny's vision traveled towards the roots of the Ambrosial Arbor, as his sight has been replaced with that of his shadow. Gloomy eyed the deer closely, watching as the roots it had summoned disappeared. The creature gracefully walked back to the Ambrosial Arbor's roots, its hooves clicking as it crouched down and disappeared, form fading away and absorbed by the roots.
Its presence was still there, however. The pressure emitted by a Transcendent Tyrant was obvious to the instinctual senses of any Awakened — especially a Master. Clearly to his Ascended senses, Sunny could tell that the deer was simply an avatar for the Ambrosial Arbor. When the roots of the tree were threatened, the deer would be called upon to serve as an autonomous defense mechanism.
So… was the Ambrosial Arbor a system? The Abundance itself?
Actually, everything seemed to be a system in some way, shape, or form. Runic sorcery was able to accomplish countless functions by simply changing around the runes used. Weaving followed a similar premise.
Paths, despite their abstract nature, were able to perform feats that coincided with mortal logic. The Lance of Preservation served as a 'key' to Belobog, and could access the inner functions of the city. The Matrix of Prescience — and all Jade Abacuses for that matter — borrowed the runes left behind by the Erudition to act as extremely sophisticated computers. Was such a thing a combination between sorcery and Paths, or were the runes used simply that — runes?
Herta had managed to create the Simulated Universe, a machine that accurately replicated the real world through past scenarios. The beings in there were seemingly alive and able to think for themselves. She had even stated that multiple Aspects were used to create such a thing…
Then, there was Sparkle's unusual progression when it came to her Aspect. He was somewhat aware of the fact that the Abilities from her Sequence somewhat corresponded to the Nightmare Creature she got the ingredient from. Then, there were the puppets that had been pursuing them before the Second Nightmare, and what she had said when Sunny asked if she knew anything about them.
'Not everyone can be special…'
Her Aspect didn't give Abilities unique to herself… but was something shared amongst others? Since the Nightmare Creatures seemed to share a degree of those Abilities, did that mean there was a benefit to killing others with the same kind of powers, using their corpses as an ingredient to gain more strength?
Cannibalism? Can't say that he was unfamiliar with such a concept.
Either way, although it was certainly possible for Sunny to be wrong, he felt like there was a connection between that cannibalistic hunger for power and the Nightmare Spell. Or rather, all of existence?
Awakened humans and Nightmare Creatures grew stronger by consuming the souls of those they've slain through the form of Soul Shards, making the next kill marginally easier. Carriers of the Spell gained Memories and Echoes through the act of murder, with the next lowering in difficulty with each new murder gadget they gain.
Nightmare Creatures, by nature, simply wanted to kill humans, whose souls were untainted. Humans, whether in self-defense or in conquest, choose to fight back against those abomination.
Even on their own, humans fight eachother for the sole purpose of gaining more wealth or power, whether political or literal.
'…Where am I going with this?'
Sunny wasn't sure when he had become drenched in a cold sweat, but here he was. His hand that had been tapping the table was trembling as he tried to think harder…
But to no avail. He could tell that he almost understood something — something crucial about the very nature of the world itself, but he couldn't grasp it.
…Or was it that his mind refused to cooperate?
Sunny sighed. At the very least, he already understood that even Paths operated under a system. The question was about the best way to exploit said system — which in this case, meant slaying the deer and severing the roots that birthed it.
He rubbed his temples for a few moments. Then, he froze.
'Aren't I doing this in the wrong order?'