A hawk vessel, like all his vessels really, would be very helpful in locating the mages.
They're too far. And move too fast, however.
At his current level, to take over a vessel, they needed to be within a ten metre radius and he needed to view their essence sea first.
A rat vessel would be good bait.
He thought.
Hadrian's gaze left the clouds. Some distance In front of him, he saw deathly pale and dirty kids having a play fight. They laughed and shouted as they pulled each other's tattered rag clothings.
Hadrian's eyes narrowed.
Elsewhere, chicken Hadrian was making his escape.
With his sharp beak, he tore through the rope that tied his two legs. He needed to. The man, Hadrian had easily learned, had bought them for his daughter's thirteenth birthday.
The place was in one of the better parts of Calos district. There were more children than Hadrian cared to count causing a pandemonium.
Laughter and conversation filled the compound.
As they boiled water to peel the chickens' feathers, chicken Hadrian managed to break himself free. As his beak snapped on the rope, a shadow loomed over him.
Chicken Hadrian tilted his small head to see a small child observing him, her eyes were wide.
Hadrian got to his two chicken legs. His chicken neck stretched backwards as he spread his wings dramatically.
The little girl's eyes widened further as her lips quivered.
In that wingspread pose, head curved to his back so it looked like the chicken was headless, Hadrian shook his chicken body in a horrific dance.
The little girl's quivering lips parted as she let out an air slicing scream.
Hadrian's shoulders, in Alia's body, shook with a chuckle.
Chicken Hadrian flapped its wings as it ran and glided in the air, dodging everyone trying to catch him.
Hadrian looked down to the dry mud road, at one of the collected filth piles where he'd seen movement from the edge of his vision.
There, a long bodied black and red cockroach moved.
Hadrian altered his sight and looked into its essence sea.
He called at the fog. Immediately it made contact with Hadrian, the cockroach's body exploded, tiny pieces of it splattering all over the place.
Huh?
Hadrian's brows rose.
Did I overwhelm it? Was it its size, or some creatures I can't take over? I suppose no fly Hadrians for now.
As he stood there, Hadrian felt strength disappear from his body.
The rat vessels' soul bodies strength?
He staggered and supported his hands on his knees.
It's only been an hour.
Hadrian's eyelids pressed tightly as a slight ringing built up somewhere inside his skull.
Is it me, incapable to hold on the vessels long or the soul vessels themselves not being able to last long?
Hadrian massaged his temples as he straightened his posture. Alia had still given birth some hours ago, though he had healed her with the rat vessels, there was still a remnant body fatigue.Not to mention the bite on his ankle. He sighed as he headed back to the makeshift wooden house.
Standing in front of it, Hadrian's fist tightened.
This is worse than I was in my previous life. I have to hurry.
Standing, he was a head taller than their wooden house. The house leaned to the left, where a sewage river flowed. It was the last in a series of similar houses that seemed to be pushing it to the sewer.
Hadrian pulled the door off, bent as he got in and covered the space back up.
He threw himself on the pile of rotting clothes next to Baby Hadrian.
It is truly bizzare.
Hadrian thought as he stared into his baby self's brown eyes. He had not truly appreciated the strangeness of everything.
It's not even standard magic, like force techniques, life techniques or elemental techniques and the others.
Even though Hadrian had never gotten access to education or books, mages and magic were popular enough for him to know a thing or two.
I've heard that life technique mages are capable of healing magic. Though it's different from how I heal.
The two Mages that caused my death, one I'm certain was an elemtal technique Mage while the other could have been a force or star technique Mage. I did not get to see the battle for long.
Apart from their hair colours, Hadrian had not gotten a proper look at their appearance.
What were mages doing in a random inn in Calos district for that matter?
It is too lowly for them. Mages weren't uncommon. Their abilities, however, ensured them a proper life. At least one above a district like Calos.
As he thought this, he felt the urge to pee. With a grunt, Hadrian got off the bed, got out of the house and went around to the sewer river.
He lifted up his gown and squatted down.
Sigh, I wish my vessels were hollow versions of the originals instead of this.
Back on the bed, he turned to baby Hadrian. "You need to grow up fast." he said out loud, rubbing his puffy baby cheek.
Alia's eyes narrowed as Hadrian thought this.
Could I ?
His heart drummed louder in anticipation.
Do we age solely because of time? If all my vessels are one and I have the substitute ability could I transfer the life-state of one of my vessels to another?
My substitution ability rewrites flesh and essence from one vessel to another.
Hadrian took a deep breath. It should work.
He sent out his intent and as he did, his eyes widened. In front of him, baby Hadrian began to age quickly in a matter of seconds.
At the same time, Alia got younger as her life state was being "substituted" to baby Hadrian.
This was not affecting time.
Hadrian's heart tightened and he stopped.
The roles were reversed, currently a teenage boy Hadrian sat on the bed with a baby Alia Hadrian.
Teenage boy Hadrian raised his hand in front of his face and slowly twisted it. The fingers were a decent length.
His hand went to his face and hair. He could not see it but he had inherited a lot of his looks from his mother, Alia.
His features were soft and pretty, his black hair covering his ears.
His eyes darted to his manhood and he sighed with relief. He looked to Alia who was now a small baby.
Creak!
His heart jumped to his throat.
Alia's mother held a wrapped package between her knees as she pulled their wooden door.
Buck-buck-buck
Her neck twisted as she heard the sound come from behind her. Turning around, she saw a thin chicken walk up to her, it's head bopping back and forth.
Her brows pinched as she looked around. Her hands left the door and she took careful steps towards the chicken, her gaze focused and lips pressed tightly shut.
As she got closer, her look puzzled more as the chicken didn't seem to mind her.
With a jump, she grabbed the chicken by its neck and immediately ran to their door, the chicken bucking loudly and flapping its wings in her hands.
With haste, she pulled the door and threw the chicken inside.
Her shoulders rose and fell with anxious breaths as she pulled the door back up to close the space.
Bending, she turned to the piles of clothing with a smile.
There, Alia lay as she had left her with the baby.
"I got lucky." She said with an exhale, gesturing to the chicken in the house with them.
Alia's lips stretched to a thin smile.