Patrol was usually quiet.
Nussudle preferred it that way. Flying steady loops above the forest, watching the canopy shift and breathe beneath him, gave his mind space to settle. Nova glided smoothly, wings barely moving as they rode warm air currents together. Below, the trees rolled on endlessly, broken only by rivers and the occasional clearing where light reached the ground.
Two other riders flew further out to his left and right, maintaining formation. It wasn't a hunt. Just presence. A reminder to the forest, and to the clan, that Home Tree was watched.
It should have been routine.
Then the thought hit him out of nowhere.
The Toruk Makto's reward.
Nussudle stiffened slightly in the saddle.
"Oh… no," he muttered under his breath.
Nova felt the shift in his focus immediately, letting out a low questioning sound through the bond. Nussudle barely noticed. His mind was already racing.
The reward. The system. The cave near the Hallelujah Mountains. The prompts. The importance.
He had completely forgotten.
Months. Maybe longer.
"Idiot," he hissed to himself. "Absolute idiot."
The words spilled out before he could stop them. "What kind of hunter forgets something like that?"
Nussudle clenched his jaw. "You could've said something." He said this, implying to the system to which a panel appeared instantly.
That alone made his breath hitch.
System Response: You were informed. You acknowledged it. You then ignored it.
Nussudle nearly jerked Nova off course.
"What?" he snapped, gripping the reins harder than necessary.
Nova hissed in mild irritation but corrected smoothly, banking back into formation. One of the other riders glanced his way, brow raised. Nussudle forced himself to breathe evenly.
"You… replied," he said under his breath.
System Response: Yes.
That was it. No formal tone. No flat notification.
Just… yes.
Nussudle stared ahead, heart beating faster. "You don't usually do that."
System Response: You don't usually forget something that important.
He blinked. "That's not your job. You're meant to prompt, not judge."
System Response: I prompted. You forgot. That part is on you.
He let out a quiet, incredulous laugh. "You're blaming me now?"
System Response: Correct.
That sent a strange chill through him.
The system had always been distant. Clear. Mechanical. It delivered information, rewards, and warnings. It didn't argue. It didn't sound… annoyed.
Yet this did.
Nussudle frowned. "Since when do you talk like that?"
There was a pause.
Not a delay. A pause.
System Response: Since you started talking back.
That made his skin prickle.
The phrasing. The timing. The tone.
It reminded him of someone.
Nayat'i.
The way she'd respond when he complained about something that was clearly his own fault. Dry. Direct. Slightly amused.
The comparison settled uncomfortably in his chest.
"That's… weird," he said quietly.
System Response: You're deflecting.
He grimaced. "Stop doing that."
System Response: Noted. and ignored.
Nussudle let out a slow breath, forcing himself to stay calm. He glanced at the riders flying nearby. They showed no sign of noticing anything wrong. Good.
"This isn't normal," he muttered.
System Response: Neither is forgetting the Toruk Makto reward.
He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "Fine. Fine. Where is it?"
The panel shifted.
Objective Reactivated:
Location: Hallelujah Mountains
Status: Unclaimed
Distance: Updating…
A faint marker appeared at the edge of his vision, pointing toward the distant floating peaks.
Nova felt the change in direction before Nussudle consciously guided him. The ikran angled slightly, wings adjusting as if the decision had already been made.
Nussudle hesitated only a moment.
He signalled the other riders, drawing two fingers across his chest and pointing downward. Break signal.
They nodded without question, one of them raising a fist in acknowledgement.
Nova banked away smoothly, leaving formation.
As they turned toward the Hallelujah Mountains, Nussudle glanced once more at the faint marker hovering in his vision.
"Don't start acting like this is my fault alone," he muttered.
System Response: It mostly is.
He snorted despite himself. "You're enjoying this. Aren't you?"
There was another pause.
System Response: Possibly.
That sealed it.
Nussudle shook his head as the mountains grew larger in the distance. "When I get there, we're having a conversation."
System Response: Looking forward to it.
Nova let out a low, alert rumble as the air shifted, the floating peaks casting long shadows across the sky.
Whatever waited in that cave, forgotten or not, Nussudle had the sudden feeling that this trip was going to change more than he expected.
The Hallelujah Mountains grew larger with every wingbeat.
Floating stone drifted in slow, uneven patterns ahead, massive chunks of rock suspended in defiance of gravity. Waterfalls spilled endlessly from their edges, turning to mist before reaching the forest far below. The air here felt different - thinner, sharper, charged in a way Nussudle had learned to respect.
Nova slowed naturally, wings adjusting as he threaded between two smaller floating islands. Nussudle didn't rush him. He trusted the ikran's instincts more than his own when it came to navigating this place.
The system marker remained fixed in his vision.
Distance to Objective: 11.4 kilometres
"Could've told me that months ago," Nussudle muttered.
System Response: You did not ask.
He sighed. "I shouldn't have to ask."
System Response: You also shouldn't forget.
He clicked his tongue, annoyed. "You're really stuck on that."
System Response: Accountability is useful.
"That's rich, coming from a glowing box in my head."
Nova let out a short hiss as they passed close to a stone outcrop. Nussudle leaned with the movement, eyes scanning the rock faces. The further they went, the quieter everything became. Even the usual calls of distant ikrans were muted.
The marker shifted slightly.
Distance to Objective: 9.8 kilometres
Nussudle frowned. "You keep updating that like I can't tell we're getting closer."
System Response: You appear to appreciate clarity.
He opened his mouth to argue, then stopped.
"Do I?" he asked, more to himself than the system.
There was no immediate response.
That pause again. Short. Deliberate.
Nova's awareness brushed against his own, carrying a faint sense of caution. Not danger. Just alertness. The ikran was paying attention to things Nussudle couldn't see.
"Something feels off," Nussudle said quietly.
System Response: Agreed.
That made him swallow.
"You're not supposed to agree with me."
System Response: You are correct. That is unusual.
He shot a glance at the floating panel. "Then stop doing it."
System Response: Behaviour adjustment pending.
"Pending what?"
System Response: Context.
Nussudle huffed. "You're doing this on purpose."
System Response: Define purpose.
He rolled his eyes. "Never mind."
They flew on in silence for a while, yet he could feel the system within him smiling?
The rush of wind and the faint sound of distant waterfalls. The marker drew them toward a larger mass of stone, its underside jagged and shadowed. Thick vines clung to its sides, swaying gently.
The cave came into view slowly.
It wasn't obvious at first. Just a dark opening set into the rock, partially hidden behind hanging growth and shadow. Easy to miss if you didn't know exactly where to look.
Nova slowed to a hover, wings beating steadily.
Distance to Objective: 0.6 kilometres
"There it is," Nussudle murmured.
System Response: Correct.
He swallowed again, nerves creeping in despite himself. "You didn't warn me what the reward actually was."
System Response: You did not ask.
"Again with that."
System Response: Pattern recognition.
Nussudle shook his head, half-amused, half-unsettled. "You're starting to sound smug."
System Response: Unintentional.
He didn't believe that for a second.
Nova circled once, carefully, before angling toward a nearby ledge. He landed smoothly, claws scraping lightly against stone. The cave mouth loomed just ahead, darkness thick and unwelcoming.
Nussudle dismounted, resting a hand on Nova's neck. The ikran remained alert, eyes tracking the cave entrance, wings half-loosened.
"You stay here," Nussudle said softly.
Nova rumbled in response. Agreement, but cautious.
Nussudle stepped toward the cave, every sense on edge.
"You're not going to vanish on me now, are you?" he muttered.
System Response: No.
"Good."
He took another step, then hesitated.
"You know this is weird, right?" he said quietly. "You're talking back. Acting like this."
There was a longer pause this time.
System Response: Awareness acknowledged.
"That's not an answer."
System Response: You will receive further information inside the cave.
Nussudle stared at the dark opening ahead, unease tightening in his chest.
"So you're saying you planned this."
System Response: Planned implies intent.
"Do you have intent?"
Another pause.
Longer.
Nova shifted behind him, wings flexing.
System Response: Step forward.
Nussudle let out a slow breath.
"Fine," he said quietly. "But if something jumps me, I'm blaming you."
System Response: Duly noted.
He stepped into the shadow, the light behind him fading as the cave swallowed him whole.
The air inside the cave was cooler.
Not damp, not stale - just still. Nussudle's footsteps echoed softly as he moved forward, one hand resting near his knife out of habit. Faint bioluminescent moss clung to the walls in uneven patches, just enough light to stop the darkness from closing in completely.
Nova remained at the entrance. Nussudle could still feel him through the bond - alert, steady, ready.
The system marker shifted again.
Distance to Objective: 42 metres
"Very helpful," Nussudle muttered.
System Response: You say that every time.
He stopped walking.
"…Do I?"
System Response: Yes.
That earned a short, uneasy laugh. "You've been paying attention."
System Response: I always do.
"That's not comforting."
The cave narrowed slightly, the stone walls closing in before opening into a wider chamber. The ceiling arched overhead, vines hanging down like thin curtains. At the centre of the chamber sat something unmistakably out of place.
A stone pedestal surrounded by bones.
It wasn't carved the way Na'vi stonework usually was. No flowing shapes. No symbols of Eywa. It was simple. Solid. Almost crude.
On top of it rested a small object, faintly glowing.
Nussudle slowed, heart beating faster. "That's it?"
System Response: That is the reward.
He approached cautiously. His feet moving bones as he made it closer, the glow sharpened as he got closer, resolving into something smooth and dark, no larger than his palm. It looked almost like polished stone, but the surface shifted faintly, as if light was trapped beneath it.
"What is it?" he asked.
System Response: A focus.
He frowned. "That's vague."
System Response: So are you.
"Hey."
He reached out, hesitated, then pulled his hand back quickly. "You didn't mention touching it would be safe."
System Response: Risk is unavoidable.
"That's a terrible answer."
System Response: Accurate answers often are.
Nussudle stared at the object again. "You're really leaning into this new personality, aren't you?"
System Response: Personality implies individuality.
"And you're implying you don't have one?"
A pause.
Shorter this time.
System Response: Correct.
He didn't buy that for a second.
Nussudle took a breath and placed his hand on the object.
Nothing exploded. Neither the floor nor the cave collapses.
That was a relief.
Instead, a warmth spread through his palm, not burning, not painful. Familiar, somehow. The system panel flared brighter, filling his vision.
Reward Unlocked: Toruk Makto Legacy - Phase One
Function: Neural Resonance Amplification
Status: Dormant
Requirement: Connection Stat 50
"…That's it?" Nussudle said. "My Connection stat being 50?"
System Response: You cannot use what you do not understand.
"That applies to half my life."
System Response: Progress acknowledged.
He closed his fingers around the object. It felt solid now, real. The glow dimmed slightly as if settling.
"So this thing's been sitting here while I was off flying around pretending to be responsible."
System Response: Correct.
He sighed. "You could've reminded me."
System Response: You would have ignored it.
He hated that it was probably true.
Nussudle turned, the object secured carefully at his side. "So what now?"
System Response: Now you leave.
"That's it?"
System Response: For now.
He paused at the edge of the chamber, glancing back once more at the empty pedestal. The piles of bones and faintly bearly marked hand prints on the walls. "You're not going to explain any of this, are you?"
System Response: Not yet.
"Because?"
System Response: You are not ready.
Nussudle shook his head, half-smiling despite the lingering unease. "You're starting to sound like Eywa."
Another pause.
Longer than any before.
System Response: That comparison is inaccurate.
"…Sure."
He stepped back toward the cave entrance, the light growing brighter ahead. Nova's presence surged in relief as Nussudle emerged into the open air.
The ikran turned immediately, eyes locking onto him.
"I'm fine," Nussudle said, resting a hand against Nova's neck. "Just… confused."
Nova huffed softly.
As they lifted back into the sky, the cave vanished behind them, hidden once more among stone and vine.
Nussudle glanced down at the object secured against his chest, then up at the endless sky ahead.
"Why?" This thought appeared to be forgotten as he and Nova were bathed by a shadow.