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Sanctuary Nadir | 1:09 PM | Third Day
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impact.
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vast. Vast in a manner that provoked a similar feeling to looking out over an open plain or up a mountain, except inverted in a way that confounded the mind. And the structure surrounding us felt only a little smaller. Countless curling metal beams, all engraved and glowing vividly with arcane energy, surrounded us in every direction, overlapping one another in a manner that more evoked a beehive at an obscene scale then anything constructed by a human.
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conceptually it was impressive.)
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Hundreds of thousands, maybe.
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all of a person, a mind bent utterly to a specific purpose in a manner fringing on madness. Will itself given material form.
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That''s right - I''m supposed to have seen this before. Even if there was a good chance they might''ve overheard the conversation I had with Fang earlier to some extent, I didn''t want to be too obvious about my descent into insanity. I sped up a little, moving to match the position and pace of the others.
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proven."
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that big a deal. I mean, if you need all of this - this much space, this much energy, just to make one person physically young - isn''t it just a safer version of cloning someone a new body, and transplanting the brain?" He looked to Kam. "That technology has been coming along pretty well recently, hasn''t it?"
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far more vital."
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advancing the human condition, but merely paving over the holes of a broken foundation."
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were the observation tools of the Ironworkers that there so essential to everything? Were they part of the walls themselves, the very structure of the place? Or were they concealed, somehow?
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always been pedestrian. You can either crawl out of the quagmire of human existence by daring to imagine advancement beyond it, or you can die like a dog in Plato''s Cave, like countless billions before you."
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long term. That''s where the true potential of something like this innovation lies."
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then, my friend, you''re cooking on fucking gas."
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world young, that''s what!" she declared, smiling widely. "Fixing this dead-end reality, held together by nails and tape, before something important gets broken and we''re all screwed."
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within the Remaining World, not beyond it."
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Transcension, obviously," she answered. "Ascending from the banal nature of physical form outright, to a state where the termination of one''s own existence is not even possible within the laws of physics. Where we win the battle to all battles - the tension between reality and the human mind - and live as gods."
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cave bats. But then, what can you expect from an organization whose idea of progress is simply chasing the Philosopher''s Stone like we''re a pack of New Kingdoms Era alchemists?"
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odd. I couldn''t shake the sense there was something about the Order''s goals I didn''t understand.
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Apega''."
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person. Or rather, for another device, itself named after a person." She sighed melodramatically. "Clearly, you''re too young to appreciate a good historical reference. Maybe you''ll understand in a few decades when you have some culture in you."
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''If'' it comes to a confrontation. It felt like Zeno was still holding on to the side that this could all be some misunderstanding.
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Death-Sensing Arcana, for my part, while Seth used its Biomancy equivalent, and Fang employed the frightening technique they''d used back in the dining hall of the guesthouse.
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literally depended on it, but please try your best to retain this, okay? We''re standing in the primary observation chamber of this facility. If you press this button," she gestured towards a flat, grey tile on the controls, "and then enter 8-9-4 on this keypad, it will activate a barrier around this area and the elevator platform. It''s powered directly by the negation furnace beneath us, so it''s far more potent at repelling direct force then anything we''re capable of conjuring with our scepters."
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sure you don''t miss it."
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just collect paperwork," she corrected him. "You''ll also be here for your friends sake if things go sour and they have to pull away from the battle. You can all hold up here or flee while I do what must be done. Or, in a disaster scenario where this body is destroyed, do your best to flee back up while collapsing the passage around you. The sanctuary''s defenses aren''t active here, so you should be safe from any automated retaliation. I think."
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Death-Sensing Arcana, but it seemed like he might''ve had a barrier."
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Innocence." He looked upwards at the structure towering over our heads. "What would you think, if you could see us now, old friend?"
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far to the right, before ultimately striking the cavern wall with a thunderous crack that, for just an instant, made the entire area blaze with the light of the sun and sent roaring fire spiraling in all directions, like a massive firework.
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fuck are you going on about, you half-dead imbecile? What ''farce''?" she said, sneering. "Have you lost your mind?"
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sad he looked.
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"Why?"
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mean? You''ve talking like some deathist priest." Zeno spat the word like it was an insult. "What''s this really about? I deserve better then this idiotic pretense."
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